Bull of Phalaris: one of the most cruel methods of execution in ancient times
The history of mankind is not only a history of discoveries and achievements. This is a story of war and torture. One of the most terrible instruments of torture invented by the ancients was the copper bull, in the belly of which its creator himself died.
The dark pages of history are literally replete with terrible methods of torture that today are shocking. From the crucifixion to the iron maiden, there is a lot of horror to be found in history. And one of the most sophisticated sadistic forms of torture was invented in Ancient Greece. It was widely used by the tyrant Phalarids.
"Copper Bull"
Phalarids, the tyrant of Akragas (modern Agrigento in Sicily), was a heartless sadist, known for his unparalleled cruelty in any situation. There were legends that the tyrant ate the meat of babies. It is a known fact that he ordered that captured enemies be thrown into the crater of Etna. One day, the Athenian coppersmith Perillus told Phalaris about his new invention - a device for torture and execution, which was supposed to instill fear in the hearts of the tyrant's enemies - the famous copper bull.
Works of Lucian of Samosata, Volume II "Phalaris".
The ancient Greeks perceived the bull as a symbol of absolute power. This explains why creatures such as the "minotaur" were so common in Greek mythology. Some Greeks believed in Moloch, a bull-headed god who demanded human sacrifices. The Brazen Bull may have been inspired by this ancient and brutal form of bull worship.
Acoustic system Perilla.
The copper bull was a device of a very simple design, but downright diabolical in design. The device was made entirely of copper in the shape and size of a real bull, and contained a hollow chamber inside. The person who was about to be executed was put in this cell and locked from the outside. A fire was then built under the belly, which heated the bull from below until the victim inside was roasted to death.
“My fellow countryman Perillus was a wonderful artist, but a very evil man, who thought that he could attract my attention by inventing a new form of torture... He opened the back of the animal, and continued: “When you want to punish someone, close it inside, insert it into pipe the nostrils of the bull and order a fire to be lit under it. The locked one will squeal and roar in continuous agony, and you will hear his screams through these pipes as the most tender melodic mooing. Your sacrifice will be punished, and you will enjoy the music."
Image of the idol of Moloch.
As if the brass bull wasn't already a cruel enough invention, it was designed so that the screams of the victim would be heard outside through a series of special pipes. This terrible acoustic device transformed desperate screams so that they sounded like an angry roar of a bull.
Execution of coppersmith Perilla.
According to legend, Perillus told Phalaris: “The screams of the victim will reach you through the pipes like the most tender melodious lowing.” Shocked by these words, the tormentor ordered the acoustic system to be tested on the creator himself and pushed Perillus inside the bull. The doomed artisan was locked inside, and a fire was lit under the bull.
Execution in the bronze bull of Pergamon.
Soon Phalarid heard terrible screams from the belly of the bull. But before Perillus died inside the bull, the tyrant opened the locked door and freed him. Perillus thought that he would be rewarded for his evil invention, but instead Phalaris threw the unfortunate master from the top of the mountain. Ironically, the tyrant Phalaris himself was roasted in a copper bull when he was overthrown by Telemachus.
Ancient Greek torture device Brazen bull.
The history of mankind is not only a history of discoveries and achievements. This is a story of war and torture. One of the most terrible instruments of torture invented by the ancients was the copper bull, in the belly of which its creator himself died.
The dark pages of history are literally replete with terrible methods of torture that today are shocking. From the crucifixion to the iron maiden, there is a lot of horror to be found in history. And one of the most sophisticated sadistic forms of torture was invented in Ancient Greece. It was widely used by the tyrant Phalarids.
Phalarids, the tyrant of Akragas (modern Agrigento in Sicily), was a heartless sadist, known for his unparalleled cruelty in any situation. There were legends that the tyrant ate the meat of babies. It is a known fact that he ordered that captured enemies be thrown into the crater of Etna. One day, the Athenian coppersmith Perillus told Phalaris about his new invention - a device for torture and execution, which was supposed to strike fear into the hearts of the tyrant's enemies - the famous copper bull.
Works of Lucian of Samosata, Volume II "Phalaris".
The ancient Greeks perceived the bull as a symbol of absolute power. This explains why creatures such as the "minotaur" were so common in Greek mythology. Some Greeks believed in Moloch, a bull-headed god who demanded human sacrifices. The Brazen Bull may have been inspired by this ancient and brutal form of bull worship.
Acoustic system Perilla.
The copper bull was a device of a very simple design, but downright diabolical in design. The device was made entirely of copper in the shape and size of a real bull, and contained a hollow chamber inside. The person who was about to be executed was put in this cell and locked from the outside. A fire was then built under the belly, which heated the bull from below until the victim inside was roasted to death.
Copper bull.
“My fellow countryman Perillus was a wonderful artist, but a very evil man, who thought that he could attract my attention by inventing a new form of torture... He opened the back of the animal, and continued: “When you want to punish someone, close it inside, insert pipes into the bull's nostrils and order a fire to be lit under him. The locked one will squeal and roar in continuous agony, and you will hear his screams through these pipes as the most tender melodic mooing. Your victim will be punished and you will enjoy the music."
Image of the idol of Moloch.
As if the brass bull wasn't already a cruel enough invention, it was designed so that the screams of the victim would be heard outside through a series of special pipes. This terrible acoustic device transformed desperate screams so that they sounded like an angry roar of a bull.
Execution of coppersmith Perilla.
According to legend, Perillus told Phalaris: “The screams of the victim will reach you through the pipes like the most tender melodious lowing.” Shocked by these words, the tormentor ordered the acoustic system to be tested on the creator himself and pushed Perillus inside the bull. The doomed artisan was locked inside, and a fire was lit under the bull.
Execution in the copper bull of Pergamum.
Soon Phalarid heard terrible screams from the belly of the bull. But before Perillus died inside the bull, the tyrant opened the locked door and freed him. Perillus thought that he would be rewarded for his evil invention, but instead Phalaris threw the unfortunate master from the top of the mountain. Ironically, the tyrant Phalaris himself was roasted in a copper bull when he was overthrown by Telemachus.
Mention of the ancient method of execution can be found on the pages of literary works. In Gogol’s story “Taras Bulba” there is a quote: “the hetman, roasted in a copper bull, lies in Warsaw, and the colonel’s hands and heads are carried around fairs for display to all the people.” To better understand this scene in the work and mentally imagine the picture described by Nikolai Gogol, the reader must have an idea of what the execution in the bull of Phalaris was like.
Also, mention of execution can be found in Umberto Eco’s novel “The Name of the Rose”, in Dante Alighieri’s poem “The Divine Comedy”, in Valentin Ivanov’s novel “Primordial Rus'”.
In the story “The System of Doctor Small and Professor Perrier,” Edgar Allan Poe uses a metaphor: “the violins screeched, the drum rumbled like the copper bulls of Phalaris.”
See also:
Chinese bamboo torture
A notorious method of terrible Chinese execution throughout the world. Perhaps a legend, because to this day not a single documentary evidence has survived that this torture was actually used.
Bamboo is one of the fastest growing plants on Earth. Some of its Chinese varieties can grow a full meter in a day. Some historians believe that the deadly bamboo torture was used not only by the ancient Chinese, but also by the Japanese military during World War II.
Bamboo grove. (pinterest.com)
How it works?
1) Sprouts of living bamboo are sharpened with a knife to form sharp “spears”;
2) The victim is suspended horizontally, with his back or stomach, over a bed of young pointed bamboo;
3) The bamboo quickly grows high, pierces the skin of the martyr and grows through his abdominal cavity, the person dies for a very long time and painfully.
Like torture with bamboo, the “iron maiden” is considered by many researchers to be a terrible legend. Perhaps these metal sarcophagi with sharp spikes inside only frightened the people under investigation, after which they confessed to anything.
"Iron Maiden"
The “Iron Maiden” was invented at the end of the 18th century, i.e. already at the end of the Catholic Inquisition.
"Iron Maiden". (pinterest.com)
How it works?
1) The victim is stuffed into the sarcophagus and the door is closed;
2) The spikes driven into the inner walls of the “iron maiden” are quite short and do not pierce the victim, but only cause pain. The investigator, as a rule, receives a confession in a matter of minutes, which the arrested person only has to sign;
3) If the prisoner shows fortitude and continues to remain silent, long nails, knives and rapiers are pushed through special holes in the sarcophagus. The pain becomes simply unbearable;
4) The victim never admits to what she had done, so she was locked in a sarcophagus for a long time, where she died from loss of blood;
5) Some Iron Maiden models had spikes at eye level to poke them out.
The name of this torture comes from the Greek “scaphium”, which means “trough”. Scaphism was popular in ancient Persia. During the torture, the victim, most often a prisoner of war, was devoured alive by various insects and their larvae who were partial to human flesh and blood.
Skafism. (pinterest.com)
How it works?
1) The prisoner is placed in a shallow trough and wrapped in chains.
2) He is force-fed large quantities of milk and honey, which causes the victim to have profuse diarrhea, which attracts insects.
3) The prisoner, having shit himself and smeared with honey, is allowed to float in a trough in a swamp, where there are many hungry creatures.
4) The insects immediately begin their meal, with the living flesh of the martyr as the main course.
Pear of suffering
This cruel tool was used to punish abortionists, liars and homosexuals. The device was inserted into the vagina for women or the anus for men. When the executioner turned the screw, the “petals” opened, tearing the flesh and bringing unbearable torture to the victims. Many then died from blood poisoning.
A pear of suffering. (pinterest.com)
How it works?
1) A tool consisting of pointed pear-shaped leaf-shaped segments is inserted into the client’s desired body hole;
2) The executioner little by little turns the screw on the top of the pear, while the “leaf” segments bloom inside the martyr, causing hellish pain;
3) After the pear is completely opened, the offender receives internal injuries incompatible with life and dies in terrible agony, if he has not already fallen into unconsciousness.
copper bull
The design of this death unit was developed by the ancient Greeks, or, to be more precise, by the coppersmith Perillus, who sold his terrible bull to the Sicilian tyrant Phalaris, who simply loved to torture and kill people in unusual ways.
A living person was pushed inside the copper statue through a special door. And then Phalaris first tested the unit on its creator - the greedy Perilla. Subsequently, Phalaris himself was roasted in a bull.
Copper bull. (pinterest.com)
How it works?
1) The victim is closed in a hollow copper statue of a bull;
2) A fire is lit under the bull’s belly;
3) The victim is roasted alive;
4) The structure of the bull is such that the cries of the martyr come from the mouth of the statue, like a bull’s roar;
5) Jewelry and amulets were made from the bones of the executed, which were sold at bazaars and were in great demand.
Torture by rats was very popular in ancient China. However, we will look at the rat punishment technique developed by the leader of the 16th century Dutch Revolution, Diedrick Sonoy.
Torture by rats. (pinterest.com)
How it works?
1) The stripped naked martyr is placed on a table and tied;
2) Large, heavy cages with hungry rats are placed on the prisoner’s stomach and chest. The bottom of the cells is opened using a special valve;
3) Hot coals are placed on top of the cages to stir up the rats;
4) Trying to escape the heat of hot coals, rats gnaw their way through the flesh of the victim.
Cradle of Judas
The Judas Cradle was one of the most torturous torture machines in the arsenal of the Suprema - the Spanish Inquisition. Victims usually died from infection, due to the fact that the pointed seat of the torture machine was never disinfected. The Cradle of Judas, as an instrument of torture, was considered “loyal” because it did not break bones or tear ligaments.
Cradle of Judas. (pinterest.com)
How it works?
1) The victim, whose hands and feet are tied, is seated on the top of a pointed pyramid;
2) The top of the pyramid is thrust into the anus or vagina;
3) Using ropes, the victim is gradually lowered lower and lower;
4) The torture continues for several hours or even days until the victim dies from powerlessness and pain, or from blood loss due to rupture of soft tissues.
Rack
Probably the most famous and unrivaled death machine of its kind called the “rack”. It was first tested around 300 AD. e. on the Christian martyr Vincent of Zaragoza.
Anyone who survived the rack could no longer use their muscles and became a helpless vegetable.
Rack. (pinterest.com)
How it works?
1. This instrument of torture is a special bed with rollers at both ends, around which ropes are wound to hold the victim’s wrists and ankles. As the rollers rotated, the ropes pulled in opposite directions, stretching the body;
2. Ligaments in the victim’s arms and legs are stretched and torn, bones pop out of their joints.
3. Another version of the rack was also used, called strappado: it consisted of 2 pillars dug into the ground and connected by a crossbar. The interrogated person's hands were tied behind his back and lifted by a rope tied to his hands. Sometimes a log or other weights were attached to his bound legs. At the same time, the arms of the person raised on the rack were turned back and often came out of their joints, so that the convict had to hang on his outstretched arms. They were on the rack from several minutes to an hour or more. This type of rack was used most often in Western Europe.
4. In Russia, a suspect raised on the rack was beaten on the back with a whip and “put to the fire,” that is, burning brooms were passed over the body.
5. In some cases, the executioner broke the ribs of a man hanging on a rack with red-hot pincers.
Shiri (camel cap)
A monstrous fate awaited those whom the Ruanzhuans (a union of nomadic Turkic-speaking peoples) took into slavery. They destroyed the slave's memory with a terrible torture - putting a shiri on the victim's head. Usually this fate befell young men captured in battle.
Shiri. (pinterest.com)
How it works?
1. First, the slaves' heads were shaved bald, and every hair was carefully scraped out at the root.
2. The executors slaughtered the camel and skinned its carcass, first of all, separating its heaviest, dense nuchal part.
3. Having divided it into pieces, it was immediately pulled in pairs over the shaved heads of the prisoners. These pieces stuck to the heads of the slaves like a plaster. This meant putting on the shiri.
4. After putting on the shiri, the neck of the doomed person was chained in a special wooden block so that the subject could not touch his head to the ground. In this form, they were taken away from crowded places so that no one would hear their heartbreaking screams, and they were thrown there in an open field, with their hands and feet tied, in the sun, without water and without food.
5. The torture lasted 5 days.
6. Only a few remained alive, and the rest died not from hunger or even from thirst, but from unbearable, inhuman torment caused by drying, shrinking rawhide camel skin on the head. Inexorably shrinking under the rays of the scorching sun, the width squeezed and squeezed the slave's shaved head like an iron hoop. Already on the second day, the shaved hair of the martyrs began to sprout. Coarse and straight Asian hair sometimes grew into the rawhide; in most cases, finding no way out, the hair curled and went back into the scalp, causing even greater suffering. Within a day the man lost his mind. Only on the fifth day did the Ruanzhuans come to check whether any of the prisoners had survived. If at least one of the tortured people was found alive, it was considered that the goal had been achieved.
7. Anyone who underwent such a procedure either died, unable to withstand the torture, or lost his memory for life, turned into a mankurt - a slave who does not remember his past.
8. The skin of one camel was enough for five or six widths.
Spanish water torture
In order to best carry out the procedure of this torture, the accused was placed on one of the types of racks or on a special large table with a rising middle part. After the victim's arms and legs were tied to the edges of the table, the executioner began work in one of several ways. One of these methods involved forcing the victim to swallow a large amount of water using a funnel, then hitting the distended and arched abdomen.
Water torture. (pinterest.com)
Another form involved placing a cloth tube down the victim's throat through which water was slowly poured, causing the victim to swell and suffocate. If this was not enough, the tube was pulled out, causing internal damage, and then inserted again and the process repeated. Sometimes cold water torture was used. In this case, the accused lay naked on a table under a stream of ice water for hours. It is interesting to note that this type of torture was considered light, and the court accepted confessions obtained in this way as voluntary and given by the defendant without the use of torture. Most often, these tortures were used by the Spanish Inquisition in order to extract confessions from heretics and witches.
Spanish armchair
This instrument of torture was widely used by the executioners of the Spanish Inquisition and was a chair made of iron, on which the prisoner was seated, and his legs were placed in stocks attached to the legs of the chair. When he found himself in such a completely helpless position, a brazier was placed under his feet; with hot coals, so that the legs began to slowly fry, and in order to prolong the suffering of the poor fellow, the legs were poured with oil from time to time.
Spanish armchair. (pinterest.com)
Another version of the Spanish chair was often used, which was a metal throne to which the victim was tied and a fire was lit under the seat, roasting the buttocks. The famous poisoner La Voisin was tortured on such a chair during the famous Poisoning Case in France.
Gridiron (grid for torture by fire)
This type of torture is often mentioned in the lives of saints - real and fictitious, but there is no evidence that the gridiron “survived” until the Middle Ages and had even a small circulation in Europe. It is usually described as an ordinary metal grate, 6 feet long and two and a half feet wide, mounted horizontally on legs to allow a fire to be built underneath.
Sometimes the gridiron was made in the form of a rack in order to be able to resort to combined torture.
Saint Lawrence was martyred on a similar grid.
This torture was used very rarely. Firstly, it was quite easy to kill the person being interrogated, and secondly, there were a lot of simpler, but no less cruel tortures.
Bloody Eagle
One of the most ancient tortures, during which the victim was tied face down and his back was opened, his ribs were broken off at the spine and spread apart like wings. Scandinavian legends claim that during such an execution, the wounds of the victim were sprinkled with salt.
Bloody eagle. (pinterest.com)
Many historians claim that this torture was used by pagans against Christians, others are sure that spouses caught in treason were punished in this way, and still others claim that the bloody eagle is just a terrible legend.
"Catherine's Wheel"
Before tying the victim to the wheel, his limbs were broken. During rotation, the legs and arms were completely broken off, bringing unbearable torment to the victim. Some died from painful shock, while others suffered for several days.
Catherine's Wheel. (pinterest.com)
Spanish donkey
A wooden log in the shape of a triangle was fixed on “legs”. The naked victim was placed on top of a sharp angle that cut straight into the crotch. To make the torture more unbearable, weights were tied to the legs.
Spanish donkey. (pinterest.com)
Spanish boot
This is a fastening on the leg with a metal plate, which, with each question and subsequent refusal to answer it, as required, was tightened more and more in order to break the bones of the person’s legs. To enhance the effect, sometimes an inquisitor was involved in the torture, who hit the fastening with a hammer. Often after such torture, all the bones of the victim below the knee were crushed, and the wounded skin looked like a bag for these bones.
Spanish boot. (pinterest.com)
Quartering by horses
The victim was tied to four horses - by the arms and legs. Then the animals were allowed to gallop. There were no options - only death.
Quartering. (pinterest.com)
The history of mankind is not only a history of discoveries and achievements. This is a story of war and torture. One of the most terrible instruments of torture invented by the ancients was the copper bull, in the belly of which its creator himself died.
The dark pages of history are literally replete with terrible methods of torture that today are shocking. From the crucifixion to the iron maiden, there is a lot of horror to be found in history. And one of the most sophisticated sadistic forms of torture was invented in Ancient Greece. It was widely used by the tyrant Phalarids.
Phalarids, the tyrant of Akragas (modern Agrigento in Sicily), was a heartless sadist, known for his unparalleled cruelty in any situation. There were legends that the tyrant ate the meat of babies. It is a known fact that he ordered that captured enemies be thrown into the crater of Etna. One day, the Athenian coppersmith Perillus told Phalaris about his new invention - a device for torture and execution, which was supposed to strike fear into the hearts of the tyrant's enemies - the famous copper bull.
Works of Lucian of Samosata, Volume II "Phalaris"
The ancient Greeks perceived the bull as a symbol of absolute power. This explains why creatures such as the "minotaur" were so common in Greek mythology. Some Greeks believed in Moloch, a bull-headed god who demanded human sacrifices. The Brazen Bull may have been inspired by this ancient and brutal form of bull worship.
Acoustic system Perilla
The copper bull was a device of a very simple design, but downright diabolical in design. The device was made entirely of copper in the shape and size of a real bull, and contained a hollow chamber inside. The person who was about to be executed was put in this cell and locked from the outside. A fire was then built under the belly, which heated the bull from below until the victim inside was roasted to death.
copper bull
“My fellow countryman Perillus was a wonderful artist, but a very evil man, who thought that he could attract my attention by inventing a new form of torture... He opened the back of the animal and continued: "When you want to punish someone, lock him inside, insert pipes into the nostrils of the bull and order a fire to be lit under him. The locked one will squeal and roar in continuous agony, and you will hear his screams through these pipes as the most tender melodious mooing. Your victim will punished, and you will enjoy the music."
Image of the idol of Moloch
As if the brass bull wasn't already a cruel enough invention, it was designed so that the screams of the victim would be heard outside through a series of special pipes. This terrible acoustic device transformed desperate screams so that they sounded like an angry roar of a bull.
Execution of coppersmith Perilla
According to legend, Perillus told Phalaris: “The screams of the victim will reach you through the pipes like the most tender melodious lowing.” Shocked by these words, the tormentor ordered the acoustic system to be tested on the creator himself and pushed Perillus inside the bull. The doomed artisan was locked inside, and a fire was lit under the bull.
Execution in the bronze bull of Pergamon
Soon Phalarid heard terrible screams from the belly of the bull. But before Perillus died inside the bull, the tyrant opened the locked door and freed him. Perillus thought that he would be rewarded for his evil invention, but instead Phalaris threw the unfortunate master from the top of the mountain. Ironically, the tyrant Phalaris himself was roasted in a copper bull when he was overthrown by Telemachus.
Well, wonderful people arrived in the regiment and the Greek tyrant Phalaris caught my attention. Just think, his reign gave birth to a new synonym for the word cruelty - Phalaris, and led to the emergence of the expression Phalaris power, which was first used by Cicero. And besides all this, he became famous as the inventor of the most terrible method of execution in the entire history of civilization - the Phalaris bull. Believe me, this man deserves a separate article.
Greek tyrant
Phalaris occupied the city of Akragant fourteen years after its foundation and this was approximately 570-554. BC. He immediately captured several neighboring cities and built two fortresses on the coast to avoid attack from the sea. All the action took place on the territory
modern Sicily.
The people called Phalaris a tyrant, but it should be noted that initially, among the ancient Greeks, this word had a completely different meaning. If a person illegally seized power, he was called a tyrant, regardless of the cruelty of his rule.
Initially, Phalaris held the position of telon, that is, an official in Akragant. It must be admitted that his method of seizing power is striking in its sophistication. He notified the community that he was going to build an unprecedentedly beautiful temple of Zeus Polyeus, and he was allocated a huge amount for construction and related expenses. Phalaris erected a fence around the construction site, supposedly to protect the site, hired many workers from other lands, and at one point, during the festival of Thesmophoria, attacked civilians. Sources report that many men were killed, and women and children were taken into slavery. Just like that, Phalaris became the sole ruler of the city. It must be admitted that years pass, and construction still remains a profitable activity for laundering public money, and the Greek tyrant was the first to prove this.
Phalaris's power
At that time, young Akragant was mainly inhabited by farmers and merchants, among whom noble families stood out. And when a lot of people without education and not endowed with intelligence appear in the state, they are ready to support any kipish, including the government
new tyrant. If only they knew how he would rule... He was also supported by mercenary foreign troops, although the sources are silent about where exactly they came from.
Phalaris, with the help of tricks, confiscated all the weapons from the citizens and thereby deprived the city of the civilian militia. And of course, to make his rule sustainable, he found a new threat to Akragant - Carthage. Everyone knows that foreign invaders quickly distract people from an unpopular regime and condemn them to hatred of their enemies.
The reign of Phalaris itself was characterized by exceptional cruelty, which was written about by Aristotle, Pindar and Cicero. His rule was so hateful and dangerous for all residents that the works of ancient historians mention the expression “The Power of Philaris” as a synonym for tyranny and fear. And Cicero went even further - he came up with a new word, “phalarism,” which he used in his letter about the coming tyranny of Julius Caesar.
Bull of Phalaris
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| Pierre Woeiriot (1532–1599) |
The essence of the story is this: a certain Perillus from Athens presented Phalaris with a huge copper bull as a gift, since he loved to watch the executions of people and eat meals. Don't trust those who
unnecessarily demonizes the tyrant, he did not eat children, did not have sex during executions, at least sources do not report this.
The bull was made life-size from pure copper and glittered in the sun. Inside there were several pipes that came out in a special way in the form of nostrils. Because of this ingenious design, during the execution steam came out of the nostrils and the screams of the unfortunate were heard, which resembled the roar of a bull. The execution took place as follows:
- A man tied by the wrists and ankles was placed inside the copper bull Phalaris.
- Below, under the belly, a fire was made.
- The man was boiled alive in his own juice.
- The ruler enjoyed imaginary justice for several hours, depending on the size of the fire. What kind of roast do you want?
It is known that the first victim was the inventor Perillus himself, whom Phalaris ordered to be executed immediately as he saw this invention. The reasons why he did this are not entirely clear: either he was horrified by the cruelty of the invention, or he was impatient to try it, or he simply didn’t like Perille.
Or maybe he found out that the latter was not the inventor of the bull at all. Surprised? Yes, it is not mentioned anywhere on the Internet, but the Carthaginians used a hollow bull statue for sacrifices to Molech in the same way. Therefore, the cunning Perill simply stole, I apologize for the expression, their idea. It is also reported that a hollow statue of the god Apollo was used, where newborn children were burned as victims, but the statue was not found, and the sources are not very reliable.
One way or another, it was Phalaris, being the second tyrant of Greece, who bestowed unprecedented fame on the copper bull by burning people he disliked there. This option became so popular that it was often used at receptions and holidays.
Death of Phalaris
If you have read that a tyrant was executed in his own pet bull, forget this nonsense. There are no sources that would indicate such a thing. He himself and at the same time his entire family were killed by the rebels of the city. Yes, it was not even the Carthaginians who did this, but the citizens themselves, tired of the stuffy and cruel regime. Haraklides of Pontus reports this and there is no reason not to trust him. It is noteworthy that after the overthrow of Phalaris, the wearing of blue cloaks was banned in Akragant, since this was the color preferred by the retinue of the slain tyrant. Needless to say, he left his mark on history.
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