# Concerning Greek, Aramaic, and crucifixions

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/concerning-greek-aramaic-and-crucifixions/25478>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [July 13, 2000, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/concerning-greek-aramaic-and-crucifixions/25478 "2000-07-13T20:22:56Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 2

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Needs2know](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5e925/32.png) [@Needs2know](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Needs2know)\
**Post date:** [July 14, 2000, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/concerning-greek-aramaic-and-crucifixions/25478/21 "2000-07-14T13:46:03Z")

</div>

The hanging thing I believe is how they died. The description of not being able to breath is correct. If I remember right. The crazy guy somewhere out in the Pacific Northwest that captured that girl and kept her in a box for two years…he had a hanging fetish. He liked to suspend his victims by their wrists while he did whatever it was he did with them. Often he almost killed them for the very reason described. It’s an unnatural position and puts a huge strain on the heart and lungs.

Needs2know

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![capybara](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/capybara/32/202_2.png) [@capybara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/capybara)\
**Post date:** [July 14, 2000, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/concerning-greek-aramaic-and-crucifixions/25478/22 "2000-07-14T14:43:01Z")

</div>

I think I’ve already packed up this article so no real citation, but in an American Journal of medicine from a few years back (or similar journal) there was a scholarly article on “the physical death of Jessus Christ”. Pretty amusing to see it beaten to death forensically.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\
**Post date:** [July 14, 2000, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/concerning-greek-aramaic-and-crucifixions/25478/23 "2000-07-14T14:57:55Z")

</div>

> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Annie-Xmas \*  
> \*\*Weird. There was a grusome robbery/murder  
> in NYC where the male had his hands nailed  
> to a board.
> 
> Now someone will claim reading these Boards  
> leads to this type of thing. \*\*

It wasn’t me! I swear! I was in…uh…Pittsburgh at the time.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\
**Post date:** [July 14, 2000, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/concerning-greek-aramaic-and-crucifixions/25478/24 "2000-07-14T18:52:36Z")

</div>

I’ve seen pictures of crucifixions where the person was supported with ropes or a peg between his legs. Supposedly, if nails were used, they were _never_ intended to support the person’s entire weight. They just added that little extra bit of misery to the execution. But yeah, the idea was that you hung there and had to push yourself up just to breath. Eventually, this became too hard and you suffocated. If they wanted you to die sooner rather than later, they could break your legs, preventing you from pushing yourself up. This is why the centaurian was going to break Jesus’ legs, but didn’t when he saw that He was already dead.

Remember, the Romans considered compassion to be a moral defect. Brutality and ruthlessness were virtues :eek:

[Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/concerning-greek-aramaic-and-crucifixions/25478.md?page=1)