Ancient Greek Torture Methods

During the ancient Greek period in time, it was the beginning of the age of culture. Art, theater, music, and architecture was beginning to take a grip on life. But while this was happening, there was a darker side to Greek life. Well, technically to Greek death. With a unique culture, you have very (and I mean VERY unique ways to kill and torture a person).

The first of these few is probably one of the more commonly known execution methods of the ancient world, the Brazen Bull. The way it worked was there was a large bull, made of pure bronze, with a small hatch on one side. The condemned would then be shoved inside the bull through the hatch, and have it latched shut. A fire would then be lit from underneath the bull, heating the bronze to a considerable temperature. The condemned would literally be roasted alive while inside the bull. The design of the bull was also made so that the victims screams would echo within the bull, making the sound of an angry bull. The Brazen Bull was designed by the Athenian Perillos under instruction from the king Phalaris. According to legend, when somebody was to die within the Brazen Bull, and it was reopened, the victims scorched bones "shone like jewels and were made into bracelets". When Perillos finished the bull and presented it to Phalaris, Phalaris was curious on how the sound mechanism worked. Perillos, eager to show the king his creation, climbed inside of the bull to show him. But before he could react, the latch was closed and a fire set underneath him, so that Phalaris could hear his screams. But before Perillos could die within the bull, Phalaris took him out. Perillos, expecting for a reward for his invention, was instead thrown down a hill, killing him. It is said the Phalaris and his entire family were executed by the Brazen Bull when he was overthrown by Telemachus.

One other method of execution was to simply throw the condemned into a pit of spikes, or, as in the case of Sparta, into a dried out well. Yes, that scene from the movie 300 is ACTUALLY true. They ACTUALLY did SOME research and got SOMETHING right. But there's really no way to explain this. I mean, it is pretty straight forward. Pit of spikes + (Person + Gravity) = Death. That's all there is to it. Another simple one is forced suicide, usually by poison. The condemned would be made to kill themselves, as was with the case of the philosopher Socrates. Again, simple. Poison = Death, Fall on your sword = Death, Suicide = Death, and so on and so on.

Other than this, Greece didn't have too many other forms of punishment, what, compared to the Chinese and Romans. I swear, they were thinking of a new way to hurt or kill someone EVERY DAY. Either way, Greece was a civilization that brought about more in the form of art, than it did in the torture department.   

          In the story 'Twas a Dark and Dreary Night' by Patrick F McManus, the main character of the story, Patrick, decides to have a sleepover with his best friend, Ronnie Ditmire. Ronnie proposes the idea that they sleep outside in the dark. There is only one problem with this to Patrick. He is afraid of the dark. He also frightened to tell Ronnie about his fear, because he does not want to be called a "yellow bellied chicken". His sister, whom he calls 'The Troll', gives him endless trouble about his fear, and tries to make the the traumatic experience even more so for Patrick. The thing that motivates Patrick to continue the adventure is his other fear of being ridiculed and judged by the rest of his friends. Since he doesn't want that to happen, he tries to get out of sleeping out, but through any means of not telling Ronnie about his fear of the darkness. In the end, Patrick is scared, but a flock of bats comes out from the woods next to Patrick's home, and he discovers that Ronnie is terrified of bats, yet he isn't. He then simply says 'I have a feeling I'll be awake for a while too", admitting he has a fear, yet not elaborating on it.
          Patrick in the story shows courage, however, it is false courage, because he is trying to put on a tough face to hide his nyctophobia, or fear of darkness. However, he is even MORE afraid of letting his friend know about the fear than he is afraid of it itself. As such, he makes plenty of bold moves to escape the outing. He attempts to convince Ronnie that there are black widow spiders and venomous snakes in the back yard. But this attempt is foiled by his sister, who simply tells Ronnie that there aren't any. Why she didn't just say Patrick was afraid of the dark is something that cannot be answered. He also attempts to turn on the bathroom light, due to the fact that that window borders the outside, and the light would shine out right next to Patrick, but, again, it was ruined by his sister who turns off the light.
          I believe a song that fits the story perfectly is 'The Sound of Silence' sung by Simon and Garfunkel in 1962. You can find that song here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zLfCnGVeL4 .
The song fits the story because of the first verse in the song, which are "Hello darkness my old friend. I've come to talk to you again. Because a vision softly creeping, left its seeds while I was sleeping. And the vision that was planted in my brain, still remains. Within the sound of silence." What this means with "Hello darkness my old friend, I've come to speak with you again," is that no matter how much Patrick puts off telling others about his nyctophobia, its always going to come back to haunt him again. He can't keep putting it off, and so he has to face it once and for all. With the lyrics "Because a vision softly creeping, left its seeds while I was sleeping. And the vision that was planted in my brain, still remains. Within the sound of silence," means that he has been afraid for some time now, and still is afraid. There is even a passage in the story that says on how when he's grown up, he will continue to be afraid. It is for these reasons that I believe that this song fits the story perfectly.