Scaphism Meaning – Scaphism also familiar as the boats, or erroneously as cyphonism, is a so-called ancient Persian method of execution that is a brutal and barbaric punishment in the Persian empire. Scaphism word comes from the Greek meaning “anything hollowed out”. Scaphism was made for inflicting as much pain as possible for as long as the victim remained alive.
What would scaphism feel like? This punishment was only made for a person who does the worst crime. For example Murder, Corruption, and Sedition. The method of Scaphism is the Victim would be trapped between the two boats in a way that left their head, feet, and hands outside. It kind of made a floating coffin.
Then a mixture of milk and honey forcefully feed them and covered their head, feet, and hands with that same mixture. Then the Victim was left there with the hot sun shining on his face. His body was baking inside the floating tomb. Soon victim’s face was covered with flies that were feasting on him and the honey.
The victim has been force-fed more and more milk and honey mixture every day until it leads to diarrhea. The Victim was started shitting himself in that boat and bugs and bees start coming in and they infest him and they go inside of him and eat him from the inside slowly-slowly victim died.
Punishment in the Persian Empire
In terms of justice, the ancient Persian Empire could be said to have been tough, but fair. The criminal code included the principle of “lex talionis”, an eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth, misdeed usually warranted fines, you might be branded for infamy, and for the worst crimes you would get the death penalty. On occasions there was a two strikes rule, meaning someone wouldn’t be executed for his or her first offense.
So, there you’re in ancient Persia, two strikes down.
There are a few examples of the death penalty in the Persian empire you may suffocate by ashes perhaps, or maybe having molten gold poured down your throat as what might have happened to the Roman emperor Valerian. It’s hard to say which punishment is the worst but the Persian punishment was the most brutal of them all. Take a few examples.
The death of a Persian judge called Sisamnes. It’s said that he was corrupt and King Cambyses II of Persia who ruled from 530 B.C to 522 B.C wanted to set an example out of him as a warning to others who might think about corrupting the courts. It’s said the judge was flayed from head to toe they make human leather and then his skin was used to make a chair.
As the tale goes, anyone appointed from then on as a judge would need to spend some time sitting in that chair so they would know what would happen if they were corrupt. You can see this horrific spectacle within the paintings “The Arrest of Sisamnes” and “Flaying of Sisamens.”
Then another horrible punishment is forcing people to eat their children. A median general named harpist went through the worst punishment possible for the lightest offense. Pingas Taiji’s had a dream that his grandson would overthrow him so he ordered har Fergus to take the infant out into the wilderness and leave him to die.
Harpagus instead gave the baby to a shepherd who raised the kid as his own. It took 10 years forest Ang’s to find out he’d been disobeyed but when he did he was vicious He cut Harpagus as his son’s throat chopped him from limb to limb roasted his flesh and served him to harper gas at a banquet.
At first, Harpagus didn’t know what he was eating or even that his son was dead a sty jeez, however, made his servants put the dead boy’s head on the table in front of him and taunted him saying do you know what beasts meat you have eaten Harpagus just knew what would happen to him if he tried to take revenge
he couldn’t even dare to cry ahead of the king who had murdered and fed him his own son. Then Harpagus was forced to say and all that the king does is pleasing he complimented us Taiji’s on the dish and asked to take the rest with him then he carried what they’d let him take back to his home and bury the last remains of his son.
When Does The First Scaphism
The most famous victim of Scaphism was a young Persian soldier called Mithridates. He was dead around 401 B.C. The King was sentenced to die he accidentally killed Cyrus the Younger, the rebel who was intending to kill his older brother Arsaces so he could inherit the throne.
Thousands of men were behind Cyrus and this culminated within the Battle of Cunaxa. Cyrus’ army got the upper hand after Invasion Artaxerxes’ army, all was going well, the throne was in his sights. Cyrus then went to attack his brother’s personal bodyguard and then, unfortunately, mithridates arrow hit Cyrus and killed him on the spot.
This was a giant setback for the rebels and they all retreated. Their future king was dead, it was over. The king wants to give the worst punishment to mithridates because of his treason. And that’s where scaphism comes in Mithridates trapped between the two boats in a way that left their head, feet, and hands outside. It kind of made a floating coffin.
Then a mixture of milk and honey forcefully feed them and covered their head, feet, and hands with that same mixture. Then Mithridates was left there with the hot sun shining on his face. His body was baking inside the floating tomb.
Soon Mithridates face was covered with flies that were feasting on him and the honey. The victim has been force-fed more and more milk and honey mixture every day until it leads to diarrhea. Mithridates was started shitting himself in that boat and bugs and bees start coming in and they infest him and they go inside of him and eat him from the inside it’s said lasted 17 days.
At that time, poor, young Mithridates with the bad arrow shot was eaten alive. But if you think that it, just a single case of scaphism throughout ancient history? Well, you were wrong but it looks like the single case everyone talks about is the one we just Mentioned, although most sources call scaphism an ancient form of punishment as if it happened time and again.
If you read a book called “The History of Christian Martyrdom.” In that book, it’s written that a bishop called “Marcus” in 363 A.D destroyed a pagan temple and then build a church. This didn’t go down well with Roman Emperor Julian the Apostate.
It’s written that as punishment he took Marcus and hung him up in a basket and left him under the sun to be feasted on by insects. But this seems like a case of death in the hot sun rather than hardcore scaphism.
Scaphism Described By Joannes Zonaras
Scaphism was described by a 12th-century Byzantine chronicler called Joannes Zonaras. He explains the scaphism method “The Persians outvie all other barbarians within the fierce cruelty of their punishments, employing tortures that are oddly terrible and long-drawn, namely the boats and sewing men up in rawhides.
But what is meant by the boats? So two boats are joint together one on top of the opposite, with holes cut in them in such how that the victim’s head, feet, and hands-only are left outside.” “Within these boats, the people to be punished is placed lying on his back, and thus the boats then nailed together with bolts.
Next, they put a mixture of honey and milk into the wretched man’s mouth until he’s filled to the purpose of nausea. Then Flies, and bees, attracted by the sweetness, settle on the victim’s face and all such parts of his left outside the boats, and badly torment and sting the wretched man.
Moreover, his belly, distended as it is with honey and milk, throws off liquid excrements, and these putrefying breed swarms of worms, intestinal and of all sorts. Thus the victim lying between two boats, his flesh rotting away in his own filth and devoured by worms, dies a sluggish and horrible death.”