Damnatio ad bestias

Under damnatio ad bestias (Latin for " condemnation to the wild animals " ) refers to an applied in the Roman Empire method of execution.

Background

The damnatio ad bestias was particularly cruel and disgraceful death but often did not occur immediately in the attacks of animals, but only through the Mangle alive. The condemned would be razed to their deeds wild animals and should now see through " second to none " end.

Pompey was in the decade of 50 BC for the first time condemned criminals trampling by elephants to death, a procedure that originated in India.

That this method of execution in the persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire was applied, as is often claimed, is not provable by contemporary sources and is now in parts of the research as a legend.

The offender was often, not always, tied to a stake and then starved predators tasty morsel, mostly in the context of gladiator fights and animal hunts. The animals were imported to consuming.

Current time

This method is still practiced today in some cases. According to a report by the Hong Kong newspaper Wen Wei Po let North Korean leader Kim Jong-un lacerate his uncle Jang Song - Thaek of dogs. The credibility of this report, however, is under doubt.

Trivia

In the second half of the 20th century, the practice of damnatio ad bestias a broad audience through the Asterix comics of the French authors René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo became known. The method of execution there is always a component of threats. This culminates in the Asterix band number 19 ( " The Laurel Wreath " ), where the damnatio ad bestias is caricatured normal.