5 Most Painful Ways To Die In Ancient Rome

The following article contains graphic descriptions of death.

The ancient Romans created an incredibly sophisticated society, and its influence in the fields of art, architecture, literature, and law is still felt today. They built impressive road systems, produced a form of concrete, and invented arches for their bridges and aqueducts (some of their many inventions that changed everything). The Romans were equally inventive when it came to capital punishment. While the best known form of execution was crucifixion, this was just one of incredibly painful ways to die in ancient Rome. "The Romans had a genius for brutality," theologian Allen D. Callahan told PBS in 1998.

There was damnatio ad bestias, which involved being torn apart by wild animals in front of a jeering crowd. Then there was slowly breaking the condemned person's bones by hammering on an iron wheel laying on top of them, or being drowned in a leather sack with various live animals including a snake. Perhaps the most painful was what's become known as the Roman candle, which involved forcing the condemned to wear a shirt covered in pitch or other flammable material that when lit slowly burned them alive.

Thanks to Jesus of Nazareth, the ancient Romans' best known form of execution by far is crucifixion. This slow and extremely painful way to die involved driving seven-inch nails through the wrists of the condemned person and into the wooden cross beam, severing the median nerves, which caused searing pain and paralyzed the hands. The executioner would also nail the person's feet into the vertical part of the cross, with the legs bent to make it hard for the victim to support their upper body.

Dying by crucifixion entailed either slowly suffocating as the victim's weight pulled on the arms and eventually made it impossible to breath, dying from loss of blood from the nail wounds, organ failure, or loss of blood circulation. As the condemned person grew weaker, the weight of their body would begin to painfully pull their shoulders out of socket as well. Depending on the method used, it could take as little as 10 minutes or as long as a few days to kill the victim. The Romans used this particularly brutal method of execution for political dissidents, slaves, pirates, and others. "This is how the Romans handled trouble-makers, even if they didn't intend to make trouble," Allen D. Callahan told PBS.

While crucifixion is the best known of the extremely painful ancient Roman execution methods, it was only one of many they used. Another that did double duty as public entertainment was damnatio ad bestias (condemnation to beasts). These public executions took place in an arena and were sometimes interspersed between gladiator fights. The range of animals used included leopards, bears, lions, and even elephants. Being mauled to death by a wild animal would be a horrible way to go as the bear, lion, or leopard slashed you with razor sharp claws and clamped down on a limb or your head with bone-crushing force.

The ancient Romans sometimes made damnatio ad bestias into an art form with elaborate set pieces and intricate equipment. Strabo, a Greek geographer and historian, witnessed one such macabre display when a bandit named Selurus was executed at the Roman Forum during the reign of Augustus (27 B.C.–14 A.D.). "I saw him torn to pieces by wild beasts at an appointed combat of gladiators in the Forum; for he was placed on a lofty scaffold ... and the scaffold was made suddenly to break up and collapse, and he himself was carried down with it into cages of wild beasts—fragile cages that had been prepared beneath the scaffold for that purpose," he wrote in "Geographica" (via Tufts University). Besides robbers and other criminals, early Christians were among the victims of this form of torture and death.

Although the ancient Romans are forever associated with crucifixion, they didn't actually invent it — they borrowed it from the Persians. But they are credited with the invention of the breaking wheel, a torture and execution device known by many other names including the Catherine wheel, for the Christian martyr St. Catherine of Alexandria. The Romans invented the breaking wheel sometime during the reign of the Roman emperor Commodus (161 A.D to 192 A.D). Initially, the execution method involved tying down the condemned person and laying a heavy iron wheel on top of them. The executioner would then pound the wheel with a large hammer, starting with the ankles and working upward, breaking the victim's bones with each blow. The wheel caused massive injuries and eventually killed the victim.

Over the years, the Romans came up with other variations of the wheel. These included binding the condemned person to its face or along its edge, with the executioner then hammering on their bodies. Sometimes a fire was placed underneath the vertical wheel, roasting the victim alive as they were tortured. Still another included spikes. The device became associated with St. Catherine after Roman Emperor Maxentius ordered her execution around 305 A.D. (the wheel supposedly shattered when she touched it and she was instead beheaded). Ironically, the breaking wheel became a much used tool by later Christians, including the Spanish Inquisition in its attempt to root out heretics.

One form of capital punishment in ancient Rome was mainly reserved for killing a blood relative, especially a parent or grandparent: the poena cullei (the punishment of the sack). It was a death so brutal and painful it boggles the mind. The condemned person would be tied into a large leather sack along with a live rooster, dog, snake, and monkey and tossed into a deep body of water. On its own, drowning is a very painful way to die. The victim painfully aspirates water into their lungs, along with suffering excruciating vocal cord spasms.

Add to this scenario being in a cramped, pitch-black space with frenzied animals clawing, biting, and trying to rip their way out. It's one of the most nightmarish forms of executions ever dreamed up. The Romans didn't just randomly pick the animals, either — they all had symbolic meanings. Still, you have to feel bad for the animals that were innocent of parricide, but were simply sacrificed to make a point.

Perhaps the most painful way to die in ancient Rome was what has become known as the Roman candle (no, not the fireworks). This extremely cruel form of capital punishment was often reserved for arsonists, but under the Emperor Nero (37 A.D. to 68 A.D.), it became the go-to form of execution for early Christians. The condemned person would be forced to wear the tunica molesta (annoying shirt). It was a large tunic soaked in a flammable material, such as oil or tar, and then set alight, slowly roasting the victim alive. In some cases, they were tied to stakes.

After the Great Fire of Rome in 64 A.D., Nero blamed the Christians for the catastrophe and went on a bloody rampage against them. The Roman historian and politician Tacitus described what happened next. "In their very deaths they were made the subjects of sport: for they were covered with the hides of wild beasts, and worried to death by dogs, or nailed to crosses, or set fire to, and when the day waned, burned to serve for the evening lights," he wrote in "Annals." Yes, Nero had them set on fire and used as human torches. The ancient Romans were an anomaly, creating incredible art, literature, and architecture, as well as the most depraved capital punishment.