History knows many examples of merciless tyrants who used sophisticated methods of execution. In the period of Antiquity, Falaris from Akragant brought terror to his compatriots. During his life, he committed many brutal murders, but his atrocities did not go unpunished and he met death in the body of a Sicilian bull - one of the most brutal methods of execution in human history.
Bull of Phalaris: Characteristic
The copper bull is an ancient instrument of execution, which the tyrant Falaris used to torture, famous for his ruthlessness. He lived in Akragant (the modern city of Agrigento in Sicily) in the second half of the VI century BC. Contemporaries said that the tyrant brutally cracked down on his enemies and did not spare the captive people. There is evidence that Falaris threw prisoners into the mouth of a volcano, threw them off a cliff and used other sophisticated methods of killing.
It is with Falaris that historians connect the emergence of the instrument of execution, named for the merciless tyrant - the copper bull of Falaris. In different sources you can also find the second name of this invention - Sicilian bull. The design, designed for the brutal killing of people, was a hollow sculpture of a bull made of life-size copper. On the side or, as another version says, on the back between the shoulder blades was a door through which the victim was put inside. A fire was lit under the belly of the bull, and the man burned alive, experiencing terrible torment.
Descriptions have come down to our time, according to which, holes were made in the area of the bull’s nostrils through which smoke came out. Also, the design was equipped with special pipes. When the victims groaned in pain and screamed, the sounds they made were like a roar of a bull that was so strong that it could be heard at great distances from the place of execution.
The creator of the bull - sculptor Perilay
According to legend, the creator of the bull of Phalaris was the sculptor Perilay, who lived in Akragant in the middle of the VI century BC. The ancient Greek historian Diodorus of Sicily wrote that Perilay created a copper bull especially for the tyrant Falaris, who became famous for his cruelty. It is not known for certain what dialogue took place between Perilay and Falaris after the first created his invention. There are several versions of this event.
Ancient historians claim that the sculptor, wishing to please the cruel tyrant, delivered an invention to him in the hope of receiving high rewards for him. Perilay explained the principle of execution and said that the cries of the victim, passing through the flutes embedded in the nostrils of the animal, are transformed into a melodic lowing, the sounds of which will please the witnesses of the execution. Falaris decided that Perily should use his own invention on himself. The railing was put inside the bull, and then set on fire. Then the cruel tyrant pulled out the body of the still living sculptor from the bull and threw it from the top of the hill. Ovid gives the following lines describing this episode: "Peril himself was fried in the bull he created, and the cruelty was the first to confirm the work of his hands."
The ancient Greek writer Lucian in his work “Phalarides” portrays Falaris as a fair ruler, who rarely resorted to violence. Lucian writes that the execution of Perilay became a retaliation and was carried out in order to punish him for his "evil invention." After the death of Perily, the bull was transferred to Delphi.
Below is an engraving by Pierre Weirio "Falaris". It depicts the execution of the sculptor Perily, who became the first victim of his brutal invention.
Persecution of Christians in Rome
The story of the bull of Phalaris was continued in Rome during the period of persecution of Christians. The Romans are believed to have used this torture device to kill Christians who did not want to renounce their faith in the Lord God and worship the “demon gods." An episode from the life of the holy martyr Antipas of Pergamon is given.
The bishop was accused of preaching the people from sacrifices and worship of local gods with his sermons. In response to demands to renounce his faith, the saint replied that he would never betray faith in the Son of God. Enraged priests took Antipas to the temple of Artemis and threw him into a red-hot copper ox. The relics of the saint were buried in Pergamum. Christians believe that they heal from diseases and give man comfort.
Mentioning the Bull of Phalaris in Literature
Mention of the ancient method of execution can be found on the pages of literary works. In the story of Gogol “Taras Bulba” there is a quote: “the hetman, fried in a copper bull, lies in Warsaw, and colonel’s hands and heads are transported to fairs for show to all the people.” In order to better understand this scene in the work and mentally imagine the picture described by Nikolai Gogol, the reader must have an idea of what execution was like in the bull of Falarid.
The mention of execution can also be found in Umberto Eco’s novel “The Name of the Rose”, in Dante Alighieri’s poem “The Divine Comedy”, in Valentin Ivanov’s novel “Original Russia”.
In the story “The System of Dr. Smol and Professor Perrier,” Edgar Poe uses the metaphor: “the violins screamed, the drum rumbled like the copper bulls of Falarid.”
Cinema Execution Scenes
The brutal death with the use of the bull Falarida is mentioned in the following films:
- “War of the Gods: Immortals” (2011). The film shows a scene of torture in which a victim is set on fire in a bull.
- The film “Little Red Riding Hood” (2011) shows an almost identical torture device, but instead of the bull, the creators of the film used the figure of an elephant.
- In the movie “Saw” 3D (2010), a woman dies in a device similar to the Falarida bull.
In addition to the films presented above, the scene of a brutal death using an ancient instrument of torture can also be seen in the computer game "Amnesia: The Dark Descent".