# Crusifixing **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 27, 2011, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crusifixing/607474 "2011-12-27T01:10:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mewl\_Dear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Mewl\_Dear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mewl_Dear)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2011, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crusifixing/607474/1 "2011-12-27T01:10:45Z")
Did it really happen? Is there evidence? The brutality of man to man does not surprise me, but did we once nail people to crosses? ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2011, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crusifixing/607474/2 "2011-12-27T01:16:11Z")
I think they tied them to the cross in most cases, but it did happen. It’s called crucifixion, by the way. According to tradition, Jesus was given an especially painful death. They whipped his back tremendously, put a crown of thorns on him, and then put nails through is wrists/forearms and feet. The normal way, I think, was to tie them up there and then break their legs later so they slumped down and suffocated. ---
**Author:** ![Arjuna34](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Arjuna34](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arjuna34)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2011, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crusifixing/607474/3 "2011-12-27T01:17:43Z")
Yes. Cecil on the subject: [What was the actual cause of death by crucifixion?](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2760/what-was-the-actual-cause-of-death-by-crucifixion) ---
**Author:** ![tellyworth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/977dab/32.png) [@tellyworth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tellyworth)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2011, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crusifixing/607474/4 "2011-12-27T01:23:17Z")
> **[Crucifixion](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crucifixion)** > > Note: Varies by jurisdiction > Note: Varies by jurisdiction > Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the victim is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross or beam and left to hang until eventual death. It was used as a punishment by the Persians, Carthaginians and Romans, among others. Crucifixion has been used in parts of the world as recently as the 21st century. > The crucifixion of Jesus is central to Christianity, and the cross (sometimes depicting Jesus nailed to it) is the main... Plenty of info there, including one gruesome photograph of a real crucifixion in 19th century Japan. ---
**Author:** ![Indian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@Indian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indian)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2011, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crusifixing/607474/5 "2011-12-27T01:40:16Z")
Philipinos crucify themselves occasionaly. Here is one such [video.](http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/player/places/culture-places/beliefs-and-traditions/philippines_crucifixion.html) ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2011, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crusifixing/607474/6 "2011-12-27T12:26:38Z")
There’s a fair amount of references to crucifixion as a standard mode of execution in quasi-contemporary Roman historical accounts (Livy, for one).l Usage nitpicks: The verb is _ **crucify** _ (-fied, -fying). The associated noun is _ **crucifixion** _. (While occasionally a typo, the form _“crucifiction”_ is usually considered a bit of snark, shorthand for “(Jesus’s) fictional crucifixion.”) A _ **crucifix** _ is a bit of (nearly always Catholic) devotional art, showing Jesus on the cross. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2011, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crusifixing/607474/7 "2011-12-27T13:30:07Z")
> [@indian](#): > > Philipinos crucify themselves occasionaly. There was also that South Korean guy who fatally crucified himself. Drilled holes with a power drill in his hands and slipped them onto the nails. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2011, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crusifixing/607474/8 "2011-12-27T13:38:28Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > There was also that South Korean guy who fatally crucified himself. Drilled holes with a power drill in his hands and slipped them onto the nails. Is there a creationist version of the Darwin Awards? ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2011, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crusifixing/607474/9 "2011-12-27T14:55:31Z")
Read some of the stories of modern Iraqi terror - people with eyes gouged out, holes drilled in their body in the most painful places with power tools. Read about medieval torture - racks, burned alive, hands and legs crushed, etc. Read about some of the works of the holocaust or the Cambodian genocide, or the 20% or more of the population hacked to bits with machetes in Rwanda. Knee-capping in Northern Ireland… Human cruelty is not limited by race, creed, colour, time, geography, education, or civilization. The only odd thing about crucifixion as torture is that it seemed to be limited to the Roman Empire. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2011, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crusifixing/607474/10 "2011-12-27T14:55:48Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Is there a creationist version of the Darwin Awards? My mind just assploded upon reading that. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2011, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crusifixing/607474/11 "2011-12-27T15:48:35Z")
> [@md2000](#): > > Human cruelty is not limited by race, creed, colour, time, geography, education, or civilization. The only odd thing about crucifixion as torture is that it seemed to be limited to the Roman Empire. Crucifixion was practiced by Japan and is prescribed by Islam as a punishment for certain crimes. It’s still in the penal code of states like Iran and Sudan, though it’s not clear whether the punishment has ever been applied there in modern times. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2011, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crusifixing/607474/12 "2011-12-27T16:00:50Z")
First offense? ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2011, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crusifixing/607474/13 "2011-12-27T20:32:56Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > First offense? Seciond offense is usually actual or attempted cerebrophagy. ---
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2011, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crusifixing/607474/14 "2011-12-27T20:44:34Z")
At least it gets you out in the open air. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2011, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crusifixing/607474/15 "2011-12-28T04:23:41Z")
[There is even archeological evidence of it](http://www.joezias.com/CrucifixionAntiquity.html). ETA: [A picture of an old foot bone](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3FqEz_Gr10c/TkQnJimb00I/AAAAAAAAFAU/KsNAAZi5rk4/s1600/5.1.E.1.swf+%2528application_x-shockwave-flash+Object%2529.png) (calcaneus, I think) with a crucifixion nail in it. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2011, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crusifixing/607474/16 "2011-12-28T14:26:50Z")
> [@Polycarp](#): > > Seciond offense is usually actual or attempted cerebrophagy. Bloody Romans. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2011, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crusifixing/607474/17 "2011-12-28T14:28:46Z")
According to a documentary on it that airs \*occasionally on the History Channel, one of the precursors to actually hanging the person up to die practiced by the Romans was “scourging,” in which the back was essentially flayed open with nasty whips knotted with nasty sharp objects. You were already in pretty bad shape when they hung you up to die. \*When they’re not showing UFO and Bigfoot stories. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2011, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crusifixing/607474/18 "2011-12-28T15:17:12Z")
> [@psychonaut](#): > > Crucifixion was practiced by Japan and is prescribed by Islam as a punishment for certain crimes. It’s still in the penal code of states like Iran and Sudan, though it’s not clear whether the punishment has ever been applied there in modern times. Plus the Persians apparently used it in pre-Roman times (and the Macedonians and Carthaginians seem to have borrowed it). As with many things borrowed from their neighbors, the Romans just “went big” with it.