Only Criminals were nailed to a Cross
CRUCIFIXION is an ancient Roman method of execution in which the condemned person was tied or nailed to a large wooden cross and left to hang until death. <br>
By Vision Reporter
CRUCIFIXION is an ancient Roman method of execution in which the condemned person was tied or nailed to a large wooden cross and left to hang until death.
According to accounts, it comes from the Latin term, crucifixion, which translates as “fixed to a crossâ€. This form of execution traces its origins in the ancient times.
Rev. Dr. Alex Ojacor, a lecturer of religious studies at Ggaba National Major Seminary, says crucifixion was practiced in the Roman Empire even before the birth of Jesus.
“It was a punishment given to criminals who broke the law or defied the Roman government,†he says. Other accounts suggest that this form of punishment was also used among the Persians, Seleucids and Carthaginians from about the 6th century BC to the 4th century AD.
A most painful punishment Crucifixion mainly involved affixing an individual to a tree, to an upright pole or a combination of an upright and a crossbeam. If a crossbeam was used, the condemned man was forced to carry it on his shoulders to the place of execution.
A cross would weigh about 135kg, but the crossbeam would weigh between 35 — 60kg. In the article, The History of Crucifixion, David J. Shestokas says: “Crucifixion is an ancient method of execution, in which the condemned prisoner was tied or nailed to a large wooden cross and left to hang there until death.
It is perhaps the death penalty at its worst.†According to the Wikipedia (world encyclopedia), Crucifixion was almost never performed for ritual or symbolic reasons outside of Christianity, but usually to provide a death that was particularly slow, painful (hence the term excruciating, literally “out of crucifyingâ€), gruesome and public (hence the metaphorical expression “to nail to the crossâ€), using whatever means were most expedient for that goal. Crucifixion methods varied considerably with location and time period as Shestokas explains.
“Death could come in hours or days, depending on the precise methods employed, the health of those crucified and environmental circumstances,†he says.
“One theory is that death was typically caused by asphyxiation where, with the whole body weight borne by the stretched arms, the victim’s ability to exhale was severely compromised.
In order to breathe, the victim would have to draw himself up by his arms, or have his feet supported by tying or by a wood block,†he adds.
Shestokas says Roman executioners were said to break the victim’s legs in order to hasten his death. This is consistent with the execution of the two thieves on either side of Christ.
“With their legs broken, they could not support themselves for breath and died within a few minutes. If death did not come from asphyxiation, it could result from a number of other causes including physical shock, dehydration and exhaustion.â€
According to a Roman historian, Tacitus, the city of Rome had a specific place for carrying out executions, situated outside the Esquiline Gate, and had a specific area reserved for the execution of slaves by crucifixion.
Upright posts would presumably be fixed permanently in that place, and the crossbeam, with the condemned person perhaps already nailed to it, would then be attached to the post.
CRUCIFIXION is an ancient Roman method of execution in which the condemned person was tied or nailed to a large wooden cross and left to hang until death.
According to accounts, it comes from the Latin term, crucifixion, which translates as “fixed to a crossâ€. This form of execution traces its origins in the ancient times.
Rev. Dr. Alex Ojacor, a lecturer of religious studies at Ggaba National Major Seminary, says crucifixion was practiced in the Roman Empire even before the birth of Jesus.
“It was a punishment given to criminals who broke the law or defied the Roman government,†he says. Other accounts suggest that this form of punishment was also used among the Persians, Seleucids and Carthaginians from about the 6th century BC to the 4th century AD.
A most painful punishment Crucifixion mainly involved affixing an individual to a tree, to an upright pole or a combination of an upright and a crossbeam. If a crossbeam was used, the condemned man was forced to carry it on his shoulders to the place of execution.
A cross would weigh about 135kg, but the crossbeam would weigh between 35 — 60kg. In the article, The History of Crucifixion, David J. Shestokas says: “Crucifixion is an ancient method of execution, in which the condemned prisoner was tied or nailed to a large wooden cross and left to hang there until death.
It is perhaps the death penalty at its worst.†According to the Wikipedia (world encyclopedia), Crucifixion was almost never performed for ritual or symbolic reasons outside of Christianity, but usually to provide a death that was particularly slow, painful (hence the term excruciating, literally “out of crucifyingâ€), gruesome and public (hence the metaphorical expression “to nail to the crossâ€), using whatever means were most expedient for that goal. Crucifixion methods varied considerably with location and time period as Shestokas explains.
“Death could come in hours or days, depending on the precise methods employed, the health of those crucified and environmental circumstances,†he says.
“One theory is that death was typically caused by asphyxiation where, with the whole body weight borne by the stretched arms, the victim’s ability to exhale was severely compromised.
In order to breathe, the victim would have to draw himself up by his arms, or have his feet supported by tying or by a wood block,†he adds.
Shestokas says Roman executioners were said to break the victim’s legs in order to hasten his death. This is consistent with the execution of the two thieves on either side of Christ.
“With their legs broken, they could not support themselves for breath and died within a few minutes. If death did not come from asphyxiation, it could result from a number of other causes including physical shock, dehydration and exhaustion.â€
According to a Roman historian, Tacitus, the city of Rome had a specific place for carrying out executions, situated outside the Esquiline Gate, and had a specific area reserved for the execution of slaves by crucifixion.
Upright posts would presumably be fixed permanently in that place, and the crossbeam, with the condemned person perhaps already nailed to it, would then be attached to the post.