Reply to Thread

Message:: [QUOTE="Ocatarinetabellatchitchix, post: 4363500, member: 99554"]This thread contains informations that some members may find disturbing. Readers discretion advised. "they saw them, torn by the whips, to the point where you could see the innermost veins and arteries, and the innards and the most hidden parts of the body appeared..."     Eusebius Historica Ecclesiastica book IV, 15. <img src="https://www.conservapedia.com/images/2/22/Flagrum.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /> 20 centuries ago, If you were a lictor suffering from a "sadistic personality disorder", the flagrum would certainly be your favorite working tool. It was what we call today a whip or a scourge. But what is its origins and its link with the Roman coinage ? Let's explore the answers together. The historyThe ancient historian Eusebius (and close friend of Constantine I) drew a horribly realistic picture of the torture of Christians in his times (see excerpt above). But Romans were not the first to use it. In Egyptian Antiquity, a symbolic whip, the nekhehk, was part of the pharaoh's regalia. Evocative of its use against cattle and beasts of burden trained in the agricultural setting, it simultaneously symbolized the values of fertility and domination over the land and the people of Egypt . But some drawings on ancient Egypt's walls showed some sort of braided thread which was probably used to whip the slaves. <img src="http://www.touregypt.net/images/stories/crooksandflails2.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" />Osiris(?) holding a whip <img src="http://www.touregypt.net/images/stories/crooksandflails10.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" />A painted scene in Tutankhamun's tomb For the Greeks, the feeling of human dignity was too highly developed to accommodate the same treatment as animals and barbarian peoples. The punishment of the whip was reserved for bad slaves; the master could scourge the slave to the skin of the back by having him tied to a pole. In ancient Rome, the law prohibited whipping any Roman citizen. The Lex Valeria and the Lex Porcia, promulgated on different dates between 509 BC and 195 BC, exempted Roman citizens from the scourge. This kind of punishment was often use on slaves, criminals and non-Romans people. <img src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4d/Ercolano_terme_femminili_mos.JPG" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" />At 2 o'clock, a putto with a whip. Herculanum. So hideous was the use of a flagrum as a form of correction that the victim usually fainted and sometimes died before the actual execution could be carried out. Although the word flagellum is a diminutive of flagrum, this whip was actually much harder. It consisted of a handle into which was fixed several cords or leather thongs.  These straps were weighted with jagged pieces of bone or metal to make the blows more painful and effective. Sometimes the Roman scourge contained a hook at the end and was given the terrifying name "scorpion". [ATTACH=full]1102935[/ATTACH]Chariot rider with a whip. Pompei fresco. The Journal of the American Medical Association describes the Roman practice of scourging:“The usual instrument was a short whip (flagrum or flagellum) with several simple or braided leather thongs of variable lengths, in which small iron balls or sharp pieces of sheep bones were tied at intervals. . . . As the Roman soldiers repeatedly struck the victim's back with full force, the iron balls would cause deep contusions, and the leather thongs and sheep bones would cut into the skin and subcutaneous tissues. Then, as the flogging continued, the lacerations would tear into the underlying skeletal muscles and produce quivering ribbons of bleeding flesh. " [ATTACH=full]1102936[/ATTACH]Cybele's bas relief. Notice the full detailed handle of the flagrum at her left. The coinage Now let's talk about the famous flagrum on coins. There are many examples on Roman Republican coinage of horsemen or chariot's riders holding a whip. Octavian is also depicted with a whip leading a pair of oxen. One of the nicest specimen I've ever seen was posted lately by [USER=89970]@Fugio1[/USER]. It's a denarius of T.Didius (114-113 BC) featuring two gladiators fighting, one attacking with a whip. [ATTACH=full]1102946[/ATTACH]Courtesy of Steve Brinkman collection. On Imperial coinage, I believe that 99% of all coins depicting a scourge promote the Roman god Sol. By showing the "sun god" with a whip in his hand, these emperors surely wished to emphasize the dominance and invincibility of this deity. On provincial coins, Helios, Nemesis, Zeus, Pelops, Eros, Abrasax, Strymon, Nike, Serapis, Mars and Baal are some of the deities described holding a whip. I'm posting two of my Imperial ones with a flagrum - no surprise, it's Sol on the reverse. Please show us your examples with any kind of whip on them ! Gallienus[ATTACH=full]1102947[/ATTACH] Severus Alexander[ATTACH=full]1102948[/ATTACH] [/QUOTE]

Create my FREE Account!

Log in or Sign up

Reply to Thread

Useful Searches