| Crucifixion |
Articles about Crucifixion |
Information AboutCrucifixion |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT CRUCIFIXION | |
| ancient rome | |
| christianity | |
| sorrowful mysteries | |
| jesus | |
| corporal punishments | |
| execution methods | |
| torture | |
| human body positions | |
| cross symbols | |
| christian hagiography | |
|
Crucifixion is an ancient method of Execution , where the victim was tied or nailed to a large wooden cross and left to hang there until dead. It is widely considered a not uncommon but extremely dishonorable and excruciating form of judicial execution in the Roman Empire , though similar methods were employed in other ancient cultures such as Persia . Crucifixion has special significance in Christianity , which holds that Jesus was crucified but later Resurrected . Because of this the Christian Cross or Crucifix has become the main symbol of Christianity (an alternative symbol in Roman days was the Ichthys ). Crucifixion was used by the Romans until about 313 AD , when Christianity became the dominant faith in Rome. However, it has been used in various places in modern times. DETAILS OF CRUCIFIXION Crucifixion was rarely performed for ritual or symbolic reasons. Usually, its purpose was to provide a particularly painful, gruesome, and public death, using whatever means were most expedient for that goal. Widely different crucifixion methods varied considerably with location and time period. Two methods were followed in the infliction of the punishment of crucifixion. In both of these the criminal was first stripped naked, and bound to an upright stake, where he was Scourged . After this, the victim was dressed again, and if able was made to drag the stake to the place of execution. At this point he was again stripped naked, and was either fastened to it, or impaled upon it, and left to die. In this method, the ''crux simplex'' of Justus Lipsius , a single stake was used. The other method is described in the New Testament account of the crucifixion of Jesus. In such a case, after the scourging at the stake, the criminal was made to carry a Gibbet , formed of two transverse bars of wood, to the place of execution, and he was then fastened to it by iron nails driven through the outstretched arms and through the ankles. Sometimes this was done as the cross lay on the ground, and it was then lifted into position. In other cases the criminal was made to ascend by a ladder, and was then fastened to the cross. Probably the feebleness, or state of collapse, from which the criminal must often have suffered, had much to do in deciding this. It is not quite clear which of these two plans was followed in the case of the crucifixion of Christ, but the more general opinion has been that he was nailed to the cross on the ground, and that it was then lifted into position. The contrary opinion, has, however, prevailed to some extent, and there are representations of the crucifixion which depict him as mounting a ladder placed against the cross. Such representations may, however, have been due to a pious desire, on the part of their authors, to emphasize the voluntary offering of himself as the Saviour of the World, rather than as being intended for actual pictures of the scene itself. It may be noted, however, that among the Emblems of the Passion, as they are called, and which were very favorite devices in the middle ages, the ladder is not infrequently found in conjunction with the crown of thorns, nails, spear, and other related items. Cross shape The horizontal beam of the cross, or transom, could be fixed at the very top of the vertical piece, the upright, to form a capital T called a Tau cross or Saint Anthony 's cross. According to some unikely theories, this shape had its origin in ancient Babylonia as the symbol of the god Tammuz , being in the shape of the mystic Tau, the Greek initial of his name. The horizontal beam could also be affixed at some distance below the top, often in a mortise, to form a lowercase t-shape called a Latin cross, and a sign was fastened to the top with the name of the victim, used for executing kings. To mock Christ as "King of the Jews," tradition holds that Christ was crucified on such a cross. Alternatively, the cross could consist of two diagonal beams to form an X, alternatively known as the decussate cross (after ''decem'', Latin for 'ten', 'X' being the Roman numeral for ten) or as Saint Andrew 's cross. Additionally, evidence supports that malefactors were sometimes nailed to a "crux simplex" , a single, upright wooden stake, with no transom at all, which was often used for ancient ordeals similar to crucifixion. The original Greek word "stauros", typically translated "cross", actually indicates a simple upright pole or stake. Similiarly, the Greek word "xy'lon", also translated "cross", literally means "a stick, club, or tree". It is believed that by the middle of the 3rd century AD, pagans received into the churches sometimes retained their pagan signs and symbols, hence the Tau or T, with the cross-piece lowered, is said to have been adopted to stand for the cross of Christ. Of course, archaeological and literary evidence discussed elsewhere in this article supports that actual crosses were indeed used as a very real means of execution, but certain hagiographies concur with occasional variations in shape, e.g. upside down or X-shaped ( Saltire ). Location of the nails typically show him supported by nails through the palms.]] For the sake of expediency, the victim was probably affixed to the cross by ropes, nails, or some combination of the two. In popular depictions of crucifixion (possibly derived from a literal reading of the translated description in the Gospel Of John , of Jesus' wounds being "in the hands"), the Victim is shown supported only by nails driven straight through the feet and the palms of the hands, which is possible, if there was a foot-rest to relieve the weight; on their own, the hands could not support the full body weight. Another possibility, that does not require tying, is that the nails were inserted just above the wrist, between the two bones of the forearm (the Radius and the Ulna ). The nails could also be driven through the wrist, in a space between four Carpal bones (which is the location shown in the Shroud Of Turin ). As some historians have suggested, the Gospel word χειρ (''cheir'') that is translated as "hand" may have in fact included everything below the mid-forearm. Indeed, Acts 12:7 uses this word to report chains falling off from Peter's "hands", although the chains would be around what we would call "wrists". This shows that the semantic range of χειρ is wider than the English "hand", and can incorporate nails through the wrist. Another possibility, suggested by Frederick Zugibe , is that the nails may have been driven in on an angle, entering in the palm in the crease that delineates the bulky region at the base of the thumb, and exiting in the wrist, passing through the Carpal Tunnel . A sedile, or a foot-rest, was often attached to the cross, for the purpose of taking the man's weight off the wrists. This was most likely a simple peg or slab of wood, upon which the man would rest the feet. |
|
|