passion of christ - whipping

[tali122]

is the film passion of the christ exaggeratted in relation to the whipping and torture of christ?- okay i know he is special but he bleeds like the rest of us -im no medical expert but surely that extreme level of torture depicted would have killed jesus long before the crucifixion?

[gary baldy]

I'm no theologian but ive got a strong feeling the story of Jesus has ....shall we say .... been embelished over the years. I dont want to offend anyone out there but i think there might be some artistic license in the bible stories and down the passage of time some of the details have changed . Also, the Passion of the Christ wasn't a documentary and good old Mel has added his interpretation of events.

[reportmonkey]

I kept thinking of the Life of Brian...

Welease Bawabus...sorry Wodger!

Blasphemy! Blasphemy!

Crucifixion? Good..line on the left one cross each...

[Haggisdj]

When people were flogged in the Middle Ages i this country they were sometimes whipped so hard on their bellies that they split, leaving the victim to die a slow, painful death.

[Octavius]

Romans didn't set limits when it came to flogging. In fact it would have been quite possible for a Roman executioner to kill a person with fewer than 40 lashes with the flagrum. The flagrum was a long handled whip with 3 to 12 strands of stiffened oxen hide embedded with lead wieghts, bone, and or iron/brass hooks. The flagrum was designed to tear skin, muscle, and bone right off the body to bring about a slow very painful death.

In the Roman Empire, flagellation was often used as a prelude to crucifixion, and in this context is sometimes referred to as scourging. In addition to causing severe pain, the victim would be made to approach a state of hypovolemic shock, due to loss of blood.

The Romans reserved this torture to non-citizens, as stated in the lex Porcia and lex Sempronia, dating from 195 and 123 BC. Typically, the one to be punished was bound to a low pillar so that he could bend over it. Two lictors (some reports indicate scourgings with 4 or 6 lictors) alternated blows. There was no limit to the number of blows inflicted - this was left to the lictors to decide, though they were normally not supposed to kill the victim. Nonetheless, Livy, Suetonius and Josephus report cases of flagellation victims who died while still bound to the post. Flagellation was referred to as "half death" by some authors, and apparently, many died shortly thereafter. Cicero reports in In Verrem, "pro mortuo sublatus brevi postea mortuus" (taken away for a dead man, shortly thereafter he was dead). Often the victim was turned over to allow flagellation on the chest, though this proceeded with caution, as the possibility of inflicting a fatal blow was much greater.

Contd/...

[Octavius]

....

In the Bible, the soldiers set out to drive him insane with pain, and break his spirit. They "flogged" him, the Bible says laconically. Roman flogging tore the flesh from the back so the ribs and sinews were exposed. They "beat" him, another euphemism for torture. The Bible doesn't go into details, but .... it is a long night. Before it is over, Jesus is shrieking and sobbing like any man who has been crushed beyond the limits of human endurance. The next morning he is already half dead from loss of blood. They take him outside of town and nail him up.

No doubt the film is Hollywoodised (I haven't seen it) but the Romans had a habit of not being very nice.

[gary baldy]

Careful Octavius - someone might accuse you anti-Romanism!

[Octavius]

The die is cast.

You have found me out, I am of course a fully paid up member of the Peoples Front of Judea. Romanes eunt domus? Honestly, bloody Romans, what have they ever done for us?

[Octavius]

It was a sign of the times ZebUK, it wasn't just the Romans but many tribes across the world were equally brutal in meting out punishment or simply raiding farming settlements to pillage goods, gold, women and slaves. The tribal britons, after the romans had left were quite brutal to each other and the Saxons. Many people, incl women and children were captured and sacrificed to some god or other, and often thrown into death pits by druid priests. Remember in those times, death by sword etc was common even warriors had no qualms about killing babies and children in tribal raids. Also, look at what went on in the roman forums & colliseums of the times. It is therefore very likely that the film may have even tamed down the sheer hatred that romans had for non-citizens, especially someone who had the gaul to stand up to them. Look at what happened to Versingetorex and Boudicca.