Crucifixion 38115 225603195 2008-07-14T14:41:44Z 64.102.45.218 Minor reordering to arrange in most-probable order of interest. {{otheruses}} {{Capital punishment}} '''Crucifixion''' (from [[Latin]] ''crucifixio'', noun of process ''crucifixio'', from perfect passive participle ''crucifixus'', fixed to a cross, from prefix ''cruci-'', cross, + verb ''ficere'', fix or do, variant form of ''facere'', do or make )<ref>[http://www.allwords.com/word-crucifixion.html AllWords.com]</ref>is an ancient method of [[execution (legal)|execution]], whereby the condemned person is tied or nailed to a large wooden [[cross]] (of various shapes) and left to hang until dead. It was in use particularly among the [[Persian Empire|Persians]], [[Seleucid Empire|Seleucids]], [[Carthage|Carthaginians]], and [[Ancient Rome|Romans]] from about the 6th century BC to the 4th century AD, when in the year 337 Emperor [[Constantine I]] abolished it in his empire, out of veneration for [[Jesus Christ]], the most famous victim of crucifixion.<ref>[http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9028045 Encyclopaedia Britannica Online: crucifixion]</ref><ref>[http://www.mb-soft.com/believe/text/crucifix.htm Crucifixion]</ref> It has sometimes been used even in modern times. A [[crucifix]], (from [[Latin]] ''crucifixus'' or ''cruci fixus'', past participle passive of ''crucifigere'' or ''cruci figere'', "crucify", "fix to a cross"),<ref>[http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=crucify Online Etymology Dictionary]</ref> an image of [[Crucifixion of Jesus|Christ crucified]] on a cross, is for [[Catholic]] [[Christianity|Christians]] the main symbol of their religion, but most Protestant Christians prefer to use a [[Christian cross|cross]] without the figure (the "corpus" - [[Latin]] for "body") of Christ. ==Details of crucifixion== [[Image:Caravaggio-Crucifixion of Peter.jpg|right|thumb|200px|"Crucifixion of St. Peter" by Caravaggio]] Crucifixion was almost never performed for ritual or symbolic reasons outside of Christianity, but usually to provide a death that was particularly painful (hence the term ''excruciating'', literally "out of crucifying"), gruesome (hence dissuading against the crimes punishable by it) and public (hence the metaphorical expression "to nail to the cross"), using whatever means were most expedient for that goal. Crucifixion methods varied considerably with location and time period. The Greek and Latin words corresponding to "crucifixion" applied to many different forms of painful execution, from [[impalement|impaling on a stake]] to affixing to a tree, to an upright pole (what some call a ''crux simplex'') or to a combination of an upright (in Latin, ''stipes'') and a crossbeam (in Latin, ''patibulum'').<ref>[[Seneca the Younger]] wrote: "I see crosses there, not just of one kind but made in many different ways: some have their victims with head down to the ground; some impale their private parts; others stretch out their arms on the gibbet" ([http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/sen/sen.consolatione2.shtml Dialogue "To Marcia on Consolation", 6.20.3]).</ref> If a crossbeam was used, the condemned man was forced to carry it on his shoulders, which would have been torn open by [[flagellation]], to the place of execution. A whole cross would weigh well over 300 pounds (135 kilograms), but the crossbeam would weigh only 75-125 pounds (35-60 kilograms).<ref>[http://www.orlutheran.com/html/crucify.html Crucifixion in the Ancient World]</ref> The Roman historian [[Tacitus]] records that the city of Rome had a specific place for carrying out executions, situated outside the Esquiline Gate,<ref>[http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/tacitus/tac.ann2.shtml#32 Annales 2:32.2]</ref> and had a specific area reserved for the execution of slaves by crucifixion.<ref>[http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/tacitus/tac.ann15.shtml#60 Annales 15:60.1]</ref> Upright posts would presumably be fixed permanently in that place, and the crossbeam, with the condemned man perhaps already nailed to it, would then be attached to the post. The person executed may sometimes have been attached to the cross by ropes, but nails are mentioned in a passage of [[Josephus]], where he states that, at the [[Siege of Jerusalem (70)]], "the soldiers out of rage and hatred, ''nailed'' those they caught, one after one way, and another after another, to the crosses, by way of jest",<ref>Jewish War V.II</ref> and in {{bibleverse||John|20:25}}. Objects, such as nails, used in the execution of criminals were sought as [[amulets]].<ref>Mishna, Shabbath 6.10, quoted in [http://www.centuryone.org/crucifixion2.html Crucifixion in Antiquity]</ref> Frequently, the legs of the person executed were broken or shattered with an iron club, an act called ''crurifragium'' which was also frequently applied without crucifixion to slaves.<ref name="Wine">{{cite journal | last = Koskenniemi | first = Erkki | coauthors = Kirsi Nisula and Jorma Toppari | title = Wine Mixed with Myrrh (Mark 15.23) and Crurifragium (John 19.31-32): Two Details of the Passion Narratives | journal = Journal for the Study of the New Testament | volume = 27 | issue = 4 | pages = 379–391 | publisher = SAGE Publications | location = | date = 2005 | url = http://jnt.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/27/4/379 | doi = 10.1177/0142064X05055745 | id = | accessdate = 2008-06-13}}</ref> This act hastened the death of the person but was also meant to [[Punishment#Deterrence_.2F_Prevention|deter]] those who observed the crucifixion from committing offenses.<ref name="Wine"/> ===Cross shape=== :''See also [[Cross or stake as gibbet on which Jesus died]]'' [[Image:Lipsius jesus.jpg|thumb|180px|right|[[Justus Lipsius]]: ''De cruce'', p. 47<br />Image by Justus Lipsius of the crucifixion of Jesus]] [[Image:Justus Lipsius Crux Simplex 1629.jpg|thumb|100px|left|''Crux simplex'', a simple wooden stake. Image by [[Justus Lipsius]].]] <br /> The gibbet on which crucifixion was carried out could be of many shapes. [[Josephus]] describes multiple tortures and positions of crucifixion during the [[siege of Jerusalem (70)]] as [[Titus]] crucified the rebels;<ref>Josephus, ''Wars of the Jews'', 5.11.1</ref> and [[Seneca the Younger]] recounts: "I see crosses there, not just of one kind but made in many different ways: some have their victims with head down to the ground; some impale their private parts; others stretch out their arms on the gibbet."<ref>Seneca, Dialogue "To Marcia on Consolation", in ''Moral Essays'', 6.20.3, trans. John W. Basore, The Loeb Classical Library (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1946) 2:69</ref> At times the gibbet was only one vertical stake, called in Latin ''crux simplex'' or ''palus''. This was the simplest available construction for torturing and killing the criminals. Frequently, however, there was a cross-piece attached either at the top to give the shape of a T (''crux commissa'') or just below the top, as in the form most familiar in Christian symbolism (''crux immissa'').<ref>"The ... oldest depiction of a crucifixion ... was uncovered by archaeologists more than a century ago on the Palatine Hill in Rome. It is a second-century graffiti scratched into a wall that was part of the imperial palace complex. It includes a caption - not by a Christian, but by someone taunting and deriding Christians and the crucifixions they underwent. It shows crude stick-figures of a boy reverencing his "God," who has the head of a jackass and is upon a cross with arms spread wide and with hands nailed to the crossbeam. Here we have a Roman sketch of a Roman crucifixion, and it is in the traditional cross shape" ([http://www.catholic.com/thisrock/1991/9110fea1.asp Clayton F. Bower, Jr: Cross or Torture Stake?]). Some second-century writers took it for granted that a crucified person would have his or her arms stretched out, not connected to a single stake: [[Lucian]] speaks of Prometheus as crucified "above the ravine with his hands outstretched" and explains that the letter T (the Greek letter tau) was looked upon as an unlucky letter or sign (similar to the way the number thirteen is looked upon today as an unlucky number), saying that the letter got its "evil significance" because of the "evil instrument" which had that shape, an instrument which tyrants hung men on (ibidem).</ref> Other forms were in the shape of the letters X and Y. The earliest writings that speak specifically of the shape of the cross on which Jesus died describe it as shaped like the letter T (the Greek letter tau),<ref>[[Epistle of Barnabas]], [http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Epistle_of_Barnabas#Chapter_9 Chapter 9]. The document no doubt belongs to the end of the first or beginning of the second century.[http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/barnabas-intro.html]</ref> or composed of an upright and a transverse beam, together with a small ledge in the upright.<ref>"The very form of the cross, too, has five extremities, two in length, two in breadth, and one in the middle, on which [last] the person rests who is fixed by the nails" ([[Irenaeus]] (c. 130–202), ''[[On the Detection and Overthrow of the So-Called Gnosis|Adversus Haereses]]'' II, xxiv, 4[http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0103224.htm]).</ref> ===Location of the nails=== 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 condemned is shown with nails in their hands. Although historical documents refer to the nails being in the "hands", the word usually translated as "hand", "χείρ" in Greek, referred to arm and hand together, so that, words are added to denote the ''hand'' as distinct from the ''arm'', as "ἄκρην οὔτασε χεῖρα" (he wounded the end of the χείρ, i.e. he wounded her hand).<ref>[http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057;query=entry%3D%23113561;layout=;loc=xei%2Fr Liddell and Scott on χείρ]. Cf. [http://www.apu.edu/infocus/2002/03/crucifixion/ The Science of the Crucifixion].</ref> A 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 (bone)|radius]] and the [[ulna]]).<ref>{{cite news |first=Jonathan |last=Wynne-Jones |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Why the BBC thinks Christ did not die this way |url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/03/16/nrowan216.xml |work= |publisher=[[Daily Telegraph]] |date=[[16 March]], [[2008]] |accessdate=2008-03-16 }}</ref> The nails could also be driven through the wrist, in a space between four [[carpal]] bones. The Gospel word ''{{polytonic|χείρ}}'' (cheir), translated as "hand", can include everything below the mid-forearm: {{bibleverse||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 ''{{polytonic|χείρ}}'' is wider than the English ''hand'', and can be used of nails through the wrist An experiment that was the subject of a documentary on the [[National Geographic Channel]]'s ''Quest For Truth: The Crucifixion'', and of [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7291066/#storyContinued/ a brief news article], showed that a person can be suspended by the palm of their hand. Nailing the feet to the side of the cross relieves strain on the wrists by placing most of the weight on the lower body. Another possibility, suggested by [[Frederick Zugibe]], is that the nails may have been driven in at 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 foot-rest attached to the cross, perhaps for the purpose of taking the man's weight off the wrists, is sometimes included in representations of the crucifixion of Jesus, but is not mentioned in ancient sources. These, however, do mention the ''sedile'', a small seat attached to the front of the cross, about halfway down,<ref>[http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=905&letter=C Jewish Encyclopedia: Crucifixion]</ref><ref>[http://www.centuryone.org/crucifixion2.html Crucifixion in Antiquity]</ref><ref>[http://www.freeminds.org/doctrine/cross.htm The Cross]</ref> which could have served that purpose. ===Cause of death=== The length of time required to reach death could range from a matter of hours to a number of days, depending on exact methods, the health of the crucified person and environmental circumstances. A theory attributed to [[Pierre Barbet]] holds that the typical cause of death was [[asphyxiation]]. He conjectured that when the whole body weight was supported by the stretched arms, the condemned would have severe difficulty inhaling, due to hyper-expansion of the lungs. The condemned would therefore have to draw himself up by his arms, or have his feet supported by tying or by a wood block. Indeed, Roman executioners could be asked to break the condemned's legs, after he had hung for some time, in order to hasten his death.<ref>{{bibleverse||John|19:31-32}}</ref> Once deprived of support and unable to lift himself, the condemned would die within a few minutes. If death did not come from asphyxiation, it could result from a number of other causes, including physical [[Shock (medical)|shock]] caused by the [[flagellation|scourging]] that preceded the crucifixion, the nailing itself, [[dehydration]], and exhaustion. Experiments by Frederick Zugibe have revealed that, when suspended with arms at 60° to 70° from the vertical, test subjects had no difficulty breathing, only rapidly-increasing discomfort and pain. This would correspond to the Roman use of crucifixion as a prolonged, agonizing, [[public humiliation|humiliating death]]. Zugibe claims that the breaking of the crucified condemned's legs to hasten death, as mentioned in {{bibleverse||John|19:31-32}}, was administered as a ''[[coup de grâce]]'', causing severe traumatic shock or hastening death by [[fat embolism]]. Crucifixion on a single pole with no transom, with hands affixed over one's head, would precipitate rapid asphyxiation if no block was provided to stand on, or once the legs were broken. It was, however, possible to survive crucifixion, and there are records of people who did. The historian [[Josephus]], a Judaean who defected to the Roman side during the Jewish uprising of AD66 - 72, describes finding two of his friends crucified. He begged for and was granted their reprieve; one died, the other recovered. Josephus gives no details of the method or duration of crucifixion before their reprieve. ==Archaeological evidence for ancient crucifixion== Despite the fact that the ancient Jewish historian Josephus, as well as other sources, refer to the crucifixion of thousands of people by the Romans, there is only a single archaeological discovery of a crucified body dating back to the Roman Empire around the time of Jesus which was discovered in Jerusalem in 1968. It is not surprising that there is only one such discovery, because a crucified body was usually left to decay on the cross and therefore would not be preserved. The only reason these archaeological remains were preserved was because family members gave this particular individual a customary burial. The remains were found accidentally in an [[ossuary]] with the crucified man’s name on it, 'Yehohanan, the son of Hagakol'. Prof. Nicu Haas, an anthropologist at the Hebrew University Medical School in Jerusalem, examined the ossuary and discovered that it contained a heel bone with a nail driven through its side, indicating that the man had been crucified. The position of the nail relative to the bone indicates that the feet have been nailed to the cross from their side, not from their front; various opinions have been proposed as to whether they were both nailed together to the front of the cross or one on the left side, one on the right side. The point of the nail had olive wood fragments on it indicating that he was crucified on a cross made of olive wood or on an olive tree. Since olive trees are not very tall, this would suggest that the condemned was crucified at eye level. Additionally, a piece of acacia wood was located between the bones and the head of the nail, presumably to keep the condemned from freeing his foot by sliding it over the nail. His legs were found broken, perhaps as a means of hastening his death as described in {{bibleverse||John|19:31-32}}. It is thought that, since in Roman times iron was expensive, the nails were removed from the dead body to cut the costs, which would help to explain why only one has been found, as the tip of the nail in question was bent in such a way that it couldn't be removed. Prof. Haas had also identified a scratch on the inner surface of the right radius bone of the forearm, close to the wrist. He deduced from the form of the scratch, as well as from the intact wrist bones, that a nail had been driven into the forearm at that position. '''Important references for the ancient practice of crucifixion and an examination of archaeological evidence:''' * Haas, Nicu. “Anthropological observations on the skeletal remains from Giv’at ha-Mivtar”, Israel Exploration Journal 20 (1-2), 1970: 38-59. * Tzaferis, Vassilios. “Crucifixion -- The Archaeological Evidence”, ''Biblical Archaeology Review'' 11, February, 1985: 44&ndash;53. * Zias, Joseph. “The Crucified Man from Giv’at Ha-Mivtar: A Reappraisal”, ''Israel Exploration Journal'' 35 (1), 1985: 22&ndash;27. * Hengel, Martin. ''Crucifixion'' (Augsburg Fortress, 1977). ISBN 0-8006-1268-X. ==History of crucifixion== ===Pre-Roman States=== Crucifixion (or impalement), in one form or another, was used by [[Achaemenid Persia|Persians]], Greeks, Carthaginians, Macedonians and Romans. Death was often hastened. "The attending Roman guards could only leave the site after the victim had died, and were known to precipitate death by means of deliberate fracturing of the tibia and/or fibula, spear stab wounds into the heart, sharp blows to the front of the chest, or a smoking fire built at the foot of the cross to asphyxiate the victim."<ref name=pathology> [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14750495 The history and pathology of crucifixion]</ref> Some Christian [[theologian]]s, beginning with [[Paul the Apostle|Paul]] [[Tarsus (city)|of Tarsus]] writing in [[Epistle to the Galatians|Galatians]] {{bibleverse-nb||Gal|3:13}}, have interpreted an allusion to crucifixion in [[Deuteronomy]] {{bibleverse-nb||Deut|21:22-23}}. This reference is to being hanged from a tree, and may be associated with [[lynching]] or traditional hanging. However, ancient Jewish law allowed only 4 methods of execution: stoning, burning, strangulation, and decapitation. Crucifixion was thus forbidden by ancient Jewish law.<ref>See Mishnah, Sanhedrin 7:1, translated in Jacob Neusner, The Mishnah: A New Translation 591 (1988), supra note 8, at 595-96 (indicating that court ordered execution by stoning, burning, decapitation, or strangulation only)</ref> [[Alexander the Great]] is reputed to have executed 2000 survivors from his siege of the [[Phoenicia]]n city of [[Tyre, Lebanon|Tyre]], as well as the doctor who unsuccessfully treated Alexander's friend [[Hephaestion]]. Some historians have also conjectured that Alexander crucified [[Callisthenes]], his official historian and biographer, for objecting to Alexander's adoption of the Persian ceremony of royal [[adoration]]. In [[Carthage]], crucifixion was an established mode of execution, which could even be imposed on a general for suffering a major defeat. ===Roman Empire=== [[Image:Construction Crucifixion Homage to Mondrian.jpg|thumb|200px|[[Barbara Hepworth]], ''Construction (Crucifixion): Homage to Mondrian'', outside [[Winchester Cathedral]]]] [[Image:Construction Crucifixion Homage to Mondrian Explanation.jpg|thumb|200px|Explanation of Construction (Crucifixion): Homage to Mondrian]] According to some, the custom of crucifixion in [[Ancient Rome]] may have developed out of a primitive custom of ''arbori suspendere'', hanging on an ''arbor infelix'' (unfortunate tree) dedicated to the gods of the nether world. William Oldfather, however, wrote a detailed study refuting the idea that this punishment involved any form of hanging or was anything other than flogging to death, and the claim that the "arbor infelix" was dedicated to particular gods.<ref>http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/secondary/journals/TAPA/39/Supplicium_de_More_Maiorum*.html</ref> [[Tertullian]] mentions a first-century A.D. case in which trees were used for crucifixion,<ref>[http://www.grtbooks.com/exitfram.asp?idx=3&yr=200&aa=AA&at=AA&ref=tertullian&URL=http://www.tertullian.org/latin/apologeticus.htm ''Apologia'', IX, 1]</ref> but [[Seneca the Younger]] earlier used the phrase ''infelix lignum'' (unfortunate wood) for the transom ("patibulum") or the whole cross.<ref>After quoting a poem by [[Maecenas]] that speaks of preferring life to death even when life is burdened with all the disadvantages of old age or even with acute torture ("vel acuta si sedeam cruce"), Seneca disagrees with the sentiment, saying death would be better for a crucified person hanging from the patibulum: "I should deem him most despicable had he wished to live to the point of crucifixion ... Is it worth so much to weigh down upon one's own wound, and hang stretched out from a patibulum? ... Is anyone found who, after being fastened to that accursed wood, already weakened, already deformed, swelling with ugly weals on shoulders and chest, with many reasons for dying even before getting to the cross, would wish to prolong a life-breath that is about to experience so many torments?" ("Contemptissimum putarem, si vivere vellet usque ad crucem ... Est tanti vulnus suum premere et patibulo pendere districtum ... Invenitur, qui velit adactus ad illud infelix lignum, iam debilis, iam pravus et in foedum scapularum ac pectoris tuber elisus, cui multae moriendi causae etiam citra crucem fuerant, trahere animam tot tormenta tracturam?" - [http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/sen/seneca.ep17-18.shtml Letter 101, 12-14)</ref> According to others, the Romans appear to have learned of crucifixion from the [[Carthage|Carthaginians]].<ref>[http://www.the-crucifixion.org/crucifixion.htm The Physical Death Of Jesus Christ, Study by The Mayo Clinic]</ref> Crucifixion was used for [[slavery|slaves]], rebels, [[piracy|pirates]] and especially-despised enemies and criminals. Therefore crucifixion was considered a most shameful and disgraceful way to die. Condemned Roman citizens were usually exempt from crucifixion (like feudal nobles from hanging, dying more honorably by decapitation) except for major crimes against the state, such as high [[treason]]. Notorious mass crucifixions followed the [[Third Servile War]] in 73-71 BC (the slave rebellion under [[Spartacus]]), other [[Roman civil wars]] in the 2nd and 1st centuries BC, and the [[Destruction of Jerusalem]] in 70 AD. Josephus tells a story of the Romans crucifying people along the walls of Jerusalem. He also says that the Roman soldiers would amuse themselves by crucifying criminals in different positions. In Roman-style crucifixion, the condemned took days to die slowly from suffocation — caused by the condemned's blood-supply slowly draining away to a quantity insufficient to supply the required oxygen to vital organs. The dead body was left up for [[vulture]]s and other birds to consume. The goal of Roman crucifixion was not just to kill the criminal, but also to mutilate and dishonour the body of the condemned. In ancient tradition, an honourable death required burial; leaving a body on the cross, so as to mutilate it and prevent its burial, was a grave dishonour. Under ancient Roman penal practice, crucifixion was also a means of exhibiting the criminal’s low social status. It was the most dishonourable death imaginable, originally reserved for slaves, hence still called "supplicium servile" by [[Seneca]], later extended to provincial freedmen of obscure station ('humiles'). The citizen class of Roman society were almost never subject to capital punishments; instead, they were fined or exiled. Josephus mentions Jews of high rank who were crucified, but this was to point out that their status had been taken away from them. Control of one’s own body was vital in the ancient world. [[Capital punishment]] took away control over one’s own body, thereby implying a loss of status and honour. The Romans often broke the prisoner's legs to hasten death and usually forbade burial. A cruel prelude was [[flagellation|scourging]], which would cause the condemned to lose a large amount of blood, and approach a state of [[Shock (medical)|shock]]. The convict then usually had to carry the horizontal beam (''[[patibulum]]'' in [[Latin]]) to the place of execution, but not necessarily the whole cross. Crucifixion was typically carried out by specialized teams, consisting of a commanding [[centurion]] and four soldiers. When it was done in an established place of execution, the vertical beam (''stipes'') could even be permanently embedded in the ground. The condemned was usually stripped naked - all the [[New Testament]] [[gospel]]s, dated to around the same time as Josephus, describe soldiers gambling for the robes of Jesus. ({{bibleverse||Matthew|27:35}}, {{bibleverse||Mark|15:24}}, {{bibleverse||Luke|23:34}}, {{bibleverse||John|19:23-25}}) The 'nails' were tapered iron spikes approximately 5 to 7 inch (13 to 18 cm) long, with a square shaft 3/8 inch (1 cm) across. In some cases, the nails were gathered afterwards and used as healing amulets. [[Constantine I|Constantine the Great]], the first Christian [[Roman Empire|emperor]], abolished it in the Roman Empire in 337, out of veneration for Jesus Christ, the most famous victim of crucifixion.<ref>[http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/144583/crucifixion#tab=active~checked%2Citems~checked&title=crucifixion%20--%20Britannica%20Online%20Encyclopedia Encyclopaedia Britannica Online: crucifixion]</ref><ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=GGJmFIf6mtIC Dictionary of Images and Symbols in Counselling By William Stewart] 1998 ISBN:1853023515, p. 120</ref><ref>[http://www.bible-archaeology.info/crucifixion.htm Archaeology of the Bible]</ref> ===Crucifixion in the Qur'an=== The [[Qur'an]] mentions crucifixion several times. In [[Surah]] 7:124, [[Firaun]] (Arabic for Pharoah) says that he will ''crucify'' his chief wizards. Also, Surah 12:41 mentions Prophet [[Yusuf]] (Joseph) saying that the king (the current ruler of the land he was stranded in) would crucify one of his prisoners. :'And the wizards fell down prostrate, crying: "We believe in the Lord of the Worlds, The Lord of [[Islamic view of Moses|Musa]] and [[Harun]]". Firaun said: "Ye believe in Him before I give you leave! Lo! this is the plot that ye have plotted in the city that ye may drive its people hence. But ye shall come to know! Surely I shall have your hands and feet cut off upon alternate sides. Then I shall crucify you every one."' Surah 7:120-124 :'O my two fellow-prisoners! As for one of you, he will pour out wine for his lord to drink; and as for the other, he will be crucified so that the birds will eat from his head. Thus is the case judged concerning which ye did inquire.' Surah 12:41 ===Japan=== Crucifixion was used in [[Japan]] before and during the [[Tokugawa Shogunate]]. It was called ''Haritsuke'' in Japanese. The condemned&mdash;usually a sentenced criminal&mdash;was hoisted upon a T-shaped cross. Then, [[executioner]]s finished him off with spear thrusts. The body was left to hang for a time before burial. In 1597, twenty-six [[Christian]]s were nailed to crosses at [[Nagasaki, Nagasaki|Nagasaki]], Japan. Among those executed were [[Paul Miki]] and [[Pedro Bautista]], a [[Spain|Spanish]] [[Franciscan]] who had worked about ten years in the [[Philippines]]. The executions marked the beginning of a long history of [[Japanese Martyrs|persecution of Christianity in Japan]], which continued until the [[United States of America]] and other [[Allies]] defeated Japan at war in [[1945]], ending [[World War II]]. The acclaimed historical novel [[Silence (novel)|"Silence"]] by Japanese author [[Shusaku Endo]] gives an account of the 17th century Christian persecutions based upon the oral histories of contemporary [[Kakure Kirishitan]] communities. ==Crucifixion as punishment in modern times== ===Sudan=== In the Fiftieth Session of the UN Commission on Human Rights (1994), local bishops reported several cases of crucifixion of Christian priests. [[Sudan]]'s Penal Code, based upon the government's interpretation of [[Shari'a]], provides for execution by crucifixion. The sentence has been passed as recently as 2002, when 88 people were condemned.<ref>http://web.amnesty.org/library/index/ENGAFR540132002</ref> ===Yemen=== As of 2000, [[Yemen]] provides for non-lethal crucifixion of criminals, though this punishment is apparently reserved for those also condemned to death.<ref>http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGMDE310032000?open&of=ENG-2MD</ref> ===Other=== During [[World War I]], there were persistent rumors that German soldiers had crucified a Canadian soldier on a tree or barn door with [[bayonet]]s or combat knives. The event was initially reported in 1915 by Private George Barrie of the [[1st Canadian Division]]. It is generally believed to be an Allied propaganda invention;{{Fact|date=March 2008}} however, a 2002 programme for Channel 4's ''[[Secret History (television documentary series)|Secret History]]'' identified the soldier as a [[Harry Band]], which has given arguable credibility to the story.<ref>{{cite episode | title = The Crucified Soldier | episodelink = The Crucified Soldier | series = Secret History | serieslink = Secret History (TV documentary series) | network = [[Channel 4]] | airdate = 2002-07-04 | season = 9 | number = 5 }}</ref> In 2002, an alleged [[joyrider (crime)|joyrider]] was found crucified to a fence in [[Northern Ireland]]. Despite the severity of his wounds he survived the attack. <ref>http://www.guardian.co.uk/Northern_Ireland/Story/0,,825136,00.html the Guardian</ref> ===Crucifixion as a devotional practice=== [[Image:Crucifixion in San Fernando, Pampanga, Philippines, easter 2006, p-ad20060414-12h54m52s-r.jpg|right|400px|thumb|Devotional crucifixion in San Fernando, Pampanga, Philippines, easter 2006]]Since at least the mid-1800s, a group of [[Roman Catholic|Catholic]] [[flagellants]] in [[New Mexico]] called Hermanos de Luz ('Brothers of Light') have annually conducted reenactments of Jesus Christ's crucifixion during [[Holy Week]], in which a penitent is tied&mdash;but not nailed&mdash;to a cross. Some very devout Catholics are voluntarily, non-lethally crucified for a limited time on [[Good Friday]], to imitate the suffering of Jesus Christ. A notable example is the ceremonial re-enactment that has been performed yearly in the town of [[Iztapalapa]], on the outskirts of [[Mexico City]], since 1833. <ref>http://www.ipsnews.net/interna.asp?idnews=23257</ref> Devotional crucifixions are also common in the Philippines, even driving nails through the hands. One man named Rolando del Campo vowed to be crucified every Good Friday for 15 years if God would carry his wife through a difficult childbirth. (There is a video of the crucifixion [http://religiousfreaks.com/2006/04/12/man-crucifies-himself-every-good-friday/ here].) In [[San Pedro Cutud]], devotee [[Ruben Enaje]] has been crucified 21 times, as of 2007, during [[Passion Week]] celebrations. <ref>http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/international/international-philippines-crucifixions.html</ref> <ref>http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/story.jsp?floc=FF-APO-1104&idq=/ff/story/0001%2F20060414%2F0726996803.htm&sc=1104</ref> In many cases the person portraying Jesus is first subjected to [[flagellation]] and wears a [[crown of thorns]]. Sometimes there is a whole [[passion play]], sometimes only the mortification of the flesh. The Crucifixion of Christ is one of the most important parts of any Passion Play, or Mystery Play, production. The story critically leads the audience through death to resurrection, the dividing of the resurrected into 'sheep' (the good, destined for heaven) and 'goats' (sinners, destined for hell), and to God and Christ in Glory. A typical account is in the York Waggon Plays performed by the Guilds of York, currently every four years. (next production summer 2010). This mediaeval set of plays includes two that depict Christ's Death (1) The Crucifixion (Christ is put on the cross) and (2) the Death of Christ. The second of these was traditionally played by the Butchers' Gild as the butchers took on a supplementary role in civic life as the city's executioners. ==Crucifixion in popular culture== [[Image:Crucifixio.jpg|thumb|125px|''[[Crucifixion (Corpus Hypercubus)]]'' by [[Salvador Dalí]].]] The cover art of [[Tupac Shakur]]'s album [[The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory]] features an image of Tupac being crucified on a cross. However, he states that the image is not a mockery of Christ, but how he's being "crucified" by the media. In the music video for "[[Hate Me Now]]" by [[Nas]] featuring [[Puff Daddy]], [[Nas]] is seen being crucified. One of [[Sevendust]]'s songs in their album [[Seasons]] is called ''Crucified''. The only reference to crucifixion in the song is the lyrics "''I've been crucified, and no one seems to care''" and "''The first time I knew you lied, I ended up crucified''" It is possible that the latter lyric could refer to [[Judas]] "selling out" Christ. In the music video for "[[Until It Sleeps]]" by [[Metallica]], [[Kirk Hammett]] was briefly shown crucified in the video. Carnehan in ''[[The Man Who Would Be King]]'' and Joe Harmon in ''[[A Town Like Alice]]'' both survive crucifixion. "Big Bill Shelley" (played by [[David Carradine]]) in the movie [[Boxcar Bertha]], was crucified on the side of a train freight car near the end of the movie. Crucifixion was featured in the comedy film ''[[Monty Python's Life of Brian]]'' (1979). In one of the more memorable scenes at the end of the film, the viewer is reminded to "[[Always Look on the Bright Side of Life|always look on the bright side of life]]" by singers hanging from crosses. [[Conan the Barbarian]] is nailed on a tree in a desert in the [[Robert Howard]] story "[[A Witch Shall be Born]]". Characters played by [[Arnold Schwarzenegger]] are crucified both in ''[[Conan the Barbarian (film)|Conan the Barbarian]]'' (1982) and in ''[[End of Days (1999 film)|End of Days]]'' (1999). Also, in the latter movie a priest is crucified to the ceiling of a hospital room. The movie ''[[Cyborg (film)|Cyborg]]'' has multiple scenes of crucifixion. The movie ''[[Men Behind the Sun]]'' features mass crucifixion in a scene in which innocent victims are used for various cruel experiments. The movie ''[[Spartacus (film)|Spartacus]]'' depicts mass crucifixions along the [[Appian Way]]. The opening scene of the movie ''[[Exorcist: The Beginning]]'' features a crowd of upside down-crucifixions, mirroring the crucifixion of [[Saint Peter]]. In 1991, [[Army of Lovers (band)|Army of Lovers]] released a single describing voluntary crucifixions as expressions of religious devotion in the Philippines. "Crucified" performed well on the DMR club charts, but controversial lyrics ("I'm crucified, crucified like my Savior; saint-like behavior, a lifetime I pray") precluded widespread radio play. According to urban legends,<ref name="Snopes">''[http://www.snopes.com/holidays/christmas/cross.asp Legend: A Japanese department store once created a Christmas display featuring a smiling Santa Claus nailed to a cross]'', [[Snopes]].</ref> a Japanese department store confused Western imagery and displayed a crucified [[Santa Claus]] as part of its Christmas decorations. [[Robert Cenedella]] actually painted a crucified Santa Claus as a protest against Christmas commercialization, displayed in the window of [[New York's Art Students League]] in December 1997. The song "[[The Ballad of John and Yoko]]" was banned by several US radio stations, due to Lennon's use of the word "Christ" and the phrase "They're gonna crucify me" in the lyric. In fact, the song's working title was "The Ballad of John and Yoko (They're Going to Crucify Me)". [[Tori Amos]]'s early hit single "[[Crucify (song)|Crucify]]" was also dropped in numerous locations because of its imagery.{{Fact|date=October 2007}} Multiple [[Marilyn Manson (band)|Marilyn Manson]] videos such as "I Don't Like The Drugs But The Drugs Like Me" and "Coma White" feature crucifixion imagery, often oddly staged in surreal modern or near modern day settings. Often questioning the truthfulness of the crucifixion of Jesus in such songs as Cruci-Fiction in Space. The song "[[Auf Achse (song)|Auf Achse]]" by Scottish band [[Franz Ferdinand (band)|Franz Ferdinand]] describes the crucifixion. Singer [[Madonna (entertainer)|Madonna]] opened her concerts during her 2006 tour with a mock crucifixion, complete with a [[Crown of Thorns]]. This caused considerable controversy, especially when she did so at a concert near [[Vatican City]] in 2006. [http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/showbiz/showbiznews.html?in_article_id=387254&in_page_id=1773] Norwegian black metal band [[Gorgoroth]] had several people on stage affixed to crosses to give the appearance of crucifixion at a now infamous concert in [[Krakow]], and repeated this act in the music video for 'Carving a Giant'. [[Dimmu Borgir]], another Norwegian black metal band, referred to Jesus' crucifixion in their music video of "In Sorgens Kammer Del 2" In the 2006 movie, [[The Nativity Story]], there is a brief scene in which several men are crucified. The music video for the [[Nine Inch Nails]] hit single "[[Closer]]" features a controversial scene in which a live monkey is tied to a cross in a mock crucifixion. The FPS game [[Unreal]] features crucified Nalis multiple times. However, there is a twist, as Nalis have four arms, so the crosses have two crosspieces in an X-shape. [[Wolverine (comics)|Wolverine]] of the [[X-Men]] was crucified on an fittingly X-shaped cross in Uncanny X-Men #251. Due to his healing factor, he survived. In the video for R.E.M.'s "Losing My Religion," they feature a scene depicting Thomas fingering the wounds of the crucified Christ. ====Professional wrestling==== A mock crucifixion was staged by [[Extreme Championship Wrestling]] [[professional wrestling|wrestlers]] [[Scott Levy (wrestler)|Raven]] and [[Jim Fullington|The Sandman]] in 1996. In a 1998 edition of ''[[WWE Raw|WWF Monday Night RAW]]'', [[The Undertaker]] handcuffed [[Stone Cold Steve Austin]], crucifix-style, to a large version of the Undertaker's symbol, a combination of a shovel, pick, and sickle which resembled a cross. ==== Anime series ==== [[Image:Rukia execution.jpg|thumb|125px| [[Rukia Kuchiki]]'s crucifixion-like pre-execution stance. Screencap from episode 54.]] [[Image:Sailor Mercury.jpg|thumb|125px| [[Sailor Mercury]] is crucified on a crystal cross. Screencap from episode 74.]] In the anime ''[[Bleach (manga)|Bleach]]'' on episode 54, when the Shinigami [[Rukia Kuchiki]] is about to be executed at the Sogyoku Hill, she's restrained in a position that is very similar to crucifixion. In episode 74 of the ''[[Sailor Moon R]]'' series, the Inner Senshi are captured by Rubeus and crucified on rock crystal crosses inside of his space ship. And also in episode 123 of ''[[Sailor Moon S]]'', during [[Chibiusa]]'s nightmare, [[Sailor Saturn|Hotaru Tomoe]] is bound on a cross with skeletal arms and hands. In the short clips [[Mazin saga]], [[Sayaka Yumi]]'s robot [[Aphrodite]] is tied up to a crucifix and is finally rescued by other Go Nagai robots. In the [[Pokemon]] movie [[Mewtwo Returns]], when [[Mewtwo]] was forced to be detained by [[Giovanni]]'s most powerful machine, he was set in a crucified position with a mirror similarity to Jesus's. In ''[[Naruto]]'', Kakashi is on a capital T cross in [[Itachi]]'s illusion and is stabbed with a sword instead of a spear. Also in Naruto, a young boy's father is murdered on a wooden cross. At the end of the cultural festival arc of ''[[School Rumble]]'' S2, [[Kenji Harima]] was tied up on a cross and nailed on the ceiling while everyone was celebrating the end of the festival as punishment for sleeping in the bed used for his class play. Near the end of [[Neon Genesis Evangelion]], the [[Mass-Production Evangelions]] fall to earth in cruciform poses, as well as the angel [[Lilith]] crucified in [[Terminal Dogma]] In one episode of ''[[Samurai Champloo]]'', two of the main characters narrowly escape crucifixion for unknowingly using fake passports at a checkpoint. In episode 3 of ''[[Macross Plus]]'', as [[Myung Fang Lone]] attempts to deactivate the Virturoid Idol [[Sharon Apple]], she is caught in coils of audio/video cables before being suspended in mid-air in a crucifix-like stance. Crucifixion-type imagery is employed in several of the popular [[Final Fantasy]] games, including the 7th, 8th, and 10th installments of the series. In one scene of the Square-Enix videogame, Xenogears, there is a scene involving the crucifixion of mech-robots. In ''[[Higurashi no Naku Koro ni]]'' Satoko is stabbed with a knife by Shion while chained to a cross. In [[One Piece]], ''[[Luffy]]'' finds ''[[Roronoa Zoro]]'' tied to a wooden cross while being held prisoner by the Navy. ====Crucifixion of Jesus in cinema==== Movies dating back to the days of the [[silent film]]s have depicted the crucifixion of Jesus. Most of these follow the traditional (and often inaccurate) pattern established by medieval and Renaissance artists, though there have been several notable exceptions. In ''[[The Passover Plot]]'' (1976) the two thieves aren't shown to either side of Jesus but instead one is on a cross behind and facing him while the other is on a cross in front of and facing away from him. ''[[Ben-Hur (1959 film)|Ben-Hur (1959)]]'' may be the first Biblical movie to show the nails being driven through the wrists rather than the palms. ''[[Jesus of Nazareth (miniseries)|Jesus of Nazareth]]'' is one of the first movies to show Jesus carrying just the crossbeam to Calvary rather than the entire cross. ''[[The Last Temptation of Christ (film)|The Last Temptation of Christ]]'' is the first movie to show Jesus naked on the cross. [http://www.premiere.fr/var/premiere/storage/images/cinema/photos/diaporama/la-derniere-tentation-du-christ/la-derniere-tentation-du-christ-the-last-temptation-of-christ-1987__6/7709183-1-fre-FR/la_derniere_tentation_du_christ_the_last_temptation_of_christ_1987_reference.jpg Image1][http://www.bsospirit.com/comentarios/images/lasttemptation_cruz.jpg Image2] In ''[[The Gospel of John (film)|The Gospel of John]]'' (2003), Jesus' feet are shown being nailed through the ankle to each side of the upright portion of the cross. In [[The Passion of the Christ]] (2004), the crucifixion scene depicts Jesus's hands being impaled, and the centurions dislocating his shoulder in order to impale his right hand, and impaling his feet, and then turning the cross over to block the nails from coming out. ===Other=== In 2000, British artist [[Sebastian Horsley]] had himself nailed to a cross in the Philippines in order to gain inspiration for an art project of his. ==Famous crucifixions== *[[Jesus]] of [[Nazareth]], the best-known case of crucifixion, was condemned to crucifixion<ref> That this was the manner of his death is not only recounted in the four first-century canonical Gospels, but it is referred to repeatedly, as something well known, in the earlier letters of [[Paul of Tarsus|Saint Paul]], for instance five times in his First Letter to the Corinthians, written in AD 57 (1:13, 1:18, 1:23, 2:2, 2:8). Pilate was the Roman governor at the time, and he is explicitly linked with the condemnation of Jesus not only by the Gospels but also by [[Tacitus]], ''Annals', 15.44.</ref> (most likely in AD 30 or 33) by [[Pontius Pilate]], the Roman governor of [[Iudaea province]]. According to the New Testament, this was at the instigation of the Jewish leaders, who were scandalized at his claim to be the Messiah, see [[Responsibility for the death of Jesus]] for details. The civil charge was a claim to be [[King of the Jews]], see also [[Titulus]]. *The rebel slaves of the [[Third Servile War]]: Between 73 BC and 71 BC a band of slaves, eventually numbering about 120,000, under the (at least partial) leadership of [[Spartacus]] were in open revolt against the [[Roman republic]]. The rebellion was eventually crushed, and while Spartacus himself most likely died in the final battle of the revolt, approximately 6,000 of his followers were crucified along the 200 km road between Capua and Rome, as a warning to any other would-be rebels. *[[Saint Peter]], Christian apostle: according to tradition, Peter was crucified upside down at his own request (hence the [[Cross of St. Peter]]), as he did not feel worthy to die the same way as Jesus. Note that upside-down crucifixion would not result in death from asphyxiation. *[[Saint Andrew]], Christian apostle: according to tradition, crucified on an X-shaped cross, hence the name [[St. Andrew's Cross]] *[[Simeon of Jerusalem]], 2nd [[Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem#Bishops of Jerusalem (62 – 451)|Bishop of Jerusalem]], crucified either 106 or 107 *[[Little Saint Hugh of Lincoln]] was an English boy whose disappearance in 1255 prompted a blood libel against the local Jews. A Jewish man was tortured until he confessed to killing the child. The story of Little Saint Hugh became well known through medieval ballad poetry. *[[Archbishop Joachim of Nizhny Novgorod|Archbishop Joachim]] of [[Nizhny Novgorod]]: reportedly crucified upside down, on the Royal Doors of the Cathedral in [[Sevastopol]], [[Ukrainian SSR]] in 1920 *[[Wilgefortis]] was venerated as a saint and represented as a crucified woman, however her legend comes from a misinterpretation of the full-clothed [[Volto Santo of Lucca|crucifix of Lucca]]. == References == {{reflist}} ==See also== {|width=100% |-valign=top |width=50%| *[[Asphyxiation]] *[[Atonement]] *[[Capital punishment]] *[[Crucifix]], a devotional representation *[[Crucifixion of Jesus]] *[[Crucifixion eclipse]] *[[Crucifracture]] |width=50%| *[[Hanging]] *[[Impalement]] *[[Torture]] *[[Execution by burning|Stake]] *[[Cross or stake as gibbet on which Jesus died]] *[[Cross in Christian Art]] *[[:Category:People executed by crucifixion|People executed by crucifixion]] |} == External links == *[http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=lw195 New Scientist] article on cause of death in crucifixion. *[http://e-forensicmedicine.net/Turin2000.htm "Forensic and Clinical Knowledge of the Practice of Crucifixion" by Dr. Frederick Zugibe] *[http://www.konnections.com/Kcundick/crucifix.html Jesus's death on the cross, from a medical perspective] *[http://www.joezias.com/CrucifixionAntiquity.html "Crucifixion in antiquity - The Anthropological evidence"] By Joe Zias *[http://jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=905&letter=C Jewish Encyclopedia: Crucifixion] *[http://www.islamic-awareness.org/Quran/Contrad/External/crucify.html Crucifixion in Ancient Egypt] at Islamic-Awareness.org *[http://thecrucifixions.blogspot.com/2007/02/crucifixion-of-joachim-of-nizhny.html Crucifixion of Joachim of Nizhny-Novgorod] {{commonscat|Crucifixion}} *{{1911}} [[Category:Ancient Rome]] [[Category:Sorrowful Mysteries]] [[Category:Jesus]] [[Category:Corporal punishments]] [[Category:Execution methods]] [[Category:Torture]] [[Category:Human body positions]] [[Category:Cross symbols]] [[Category:Christian hagiography]] [[Category:Jesus and history]] [[ar:صلب المسيح]] [[ast:Crucifixón]] [[ca:Crucifixió]] [[cs:Ukřižování]] [[da:Korsfæstelse]] [[de:Kreuzigung]] [[el:Σταύρωση]] [[es:Crucifixión]] [[eo:Krucumado]] [[fr:Crucifixion]] [[ko:십자가형]] [[hr:Razapinjanje]] [[id:Penyaliban]] [[it:Crocifissione]] [[he:צליבה]] [[ka:ჯვარცმა]] [[lt:Nukryžiavimas]] [[hu:Keresztre feszítés]] [[nl:Kruisiging]] [[ja:磔]] [[no:Korsfestelse]] [[pl:Ukrzyżowanie]] [[pt:Crucificação]] [[ru:Распятие (казнь)]] [[simple:Crucifixion]] [[sk:Ukrižovanie]] [[sl:Križanje (mučenje)]] [[fi:Ristiinnaulitseminen]] [[sv:Korsfästelse]] [[th:การตรึงกางเขน]] [[tr:Çarmıh]] [[zh-yue:釘十字架]] [[zh:十字架]]