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LP99 t1_j37g196 wrote

Reply to comment by Ulgeguug in TIL of execution by Breaking Wheel that would start with tying the body to a wheel, breaking the bones of the limbs, braiding the broken limbs through the spokes and leaving the body to be eaten by scavenging animals and birds. by muadib1974

> In the second act, the body was braided into another wooden spoked wheel, which was possible through the broken limbs, or tied to the wheel. The wheel was then erected on a mast or pole, like a crucifixion.

The history of mankind is very, very depraved.

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Africa_versus_NASA t1_j37r2i6 wrote

The elevated breaking wheel is prominently featured in Breughel's "The Triumph of Death"

https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Brueghel_the_Elder,Pieter-_Triumph_of_Death,detail-_c._1562-1563.jpg

He likely saw it himself, and felt the same way about it as you do now.

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Khelthuzaad t1_j37ord7 wrote

In retrospect the countries with the worst kind of torture were the ones with the most civil unrest or elites fearing the normal people.They were uncanny cruel not because they hated the person,but because they didn't wanted the people to mimic their actions.There were also double standards,with men getting lesser punishment for the death of abuse of women.

China for example has a very very long history of battling itself rather than other regions

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Skythewood t1_j37qjdc wrote

China is too vast during ancient times for most of it's population to fight anyone other then each other.

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ShortOldFatGuy t1_j39aa0e wrote

Amazing how external threats (those wonderful Mongols, et. al.) always manage to bring about brotherly love between fueding families. It can even inspire family projects - like a wall around the middle kingdom. As a footnote, Machevelli counseled rulers in The Prince that if they feared internal foes most - then build walls. If external foes were the greatest danger, then do not build them. (Wonder if Trump was basing his Mexican wall plan on this counsel?)

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Jjex22 t1_j38qtwd wrote

At least this one didn’t require a particularly sick train of thought to come up with I guess? We invented cart wheels, people got run over by them and their bones broke, then when we wanted to torture someone we were like ‘hey remember when Timmy got run over by that cart? That fucking hurt… grab a wheel!’

But yeah, from a modern lens it’s quite hard to really envisage just how horrific we were to each other in the past

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ZerglingBBQ t1_j3ageqr wrote

We're still just as bad if not worse. Saw a video of Mexican cartel flaying a dude and then cutting his heart out of his chest while he was still conscious.

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RedTheDopeKing t1_j382s5i wrote

I mean we’re still depraved it’s not like we’re enlightened in modern times.

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Ulgeguug t1_j39bezm wrote

While this is true, I think that humanity has developed quite a lot.

The idea, for instance, that you should publicly gruesomely execute people, while it still exists in places, has declined dramatically over the past couple centuries. It was only a few decades ago that firebombing civilian populations and burning entire cities alive was just one of those things you do in war.

There's a terrifying race going on between our advancement as human beings and our advancement in the capacity of barbarity.

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RedTheDopeKing t1_j39duz8 wrote

That’s still one of the things you do in war, we just have less war now. It’s not gone forever I promise you. Russia is using rockets to destroy infrastructure in Ukraine, taking their power offline, trying to freeze people in winter.

I think people are the same as we always have been, deep down, and always will be. I don’t think we’re striving towards one day having some utopia, people like to ignore the ugly side of humanity but it’s there.

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Zamasu19 t1_j39il4k wrote

Yeah. Like if the world fell apart tonight, we’re going back to wing fucked up to each other

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