Scaphism (from

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

, meaning "boat"), also known as the boats, is reported by

Plutarch Plutarch (; , ''Ploútarchos'', ; – 120s) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo (Delphi), Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''Parallel Lives'', ...

in his ''Life of Artaxerxes'' as an ancient Persian method of

execution Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in ...

. He describes the victim being trapped between two small boats, one inverted on top of the other, with limbs and head sticking out, feeding them and smearing them with milk and honey, and allowing them to fester and be devoured by insects and other

vermin Vermin (colloquially varmint(s) or varmit(s)) are pests or nuisance animals that spread diseases and destroy crops, livestock, and property. Since the term is defined in relation to human activities, which species are included vary by regi ...

over time. Plutarch's report originates from a source considered dubious.

Historical descriptions

The first mention of scaphism is Plutarch's description of the execution of the soldier Mithridates, given as punishment by king

Artaxerxes II Arses (; 445 – 359/8 BC), known by his regnal name Artaxerxes II ( ; ), was King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire from 405/4 BC to 358 BC. He was the son and successor of Darius II () and his mother was Parysatis. Soon after his accession, Ar ...

for taking the king’s valor and claiming to be the one who killed his brother

Cyrus the Younger Cyrus the Younger ( ''Kūruš''; ; died 401 BC) was an Achaemenid prince and general. He ruled as satrap of Lydia and Ionia from 408 to 401 BC. Son of Darius II and Parysatis, he died in 401 BC in battle during a failed attempt to oust his ...

, who had rebelled in an attempt to claim the throne of the

Achaemenid Empire The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire, also known as the Persian Empire or First Persian Empire (; , , ), was an Iranian peoples, Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great of the Achaemenid dynasty in 550 BC. Based in modern-day Iran, i ...

: The 12th-century Byzantine chronicler Joannes Zonaras later described the punishment, based on Plutarch: It is believed that Plutarch's account of Scaphism came from

Ctesias Ctesias ( ; ; ), also known as Ctesias of Cnidus, was a Greek physician and historian from the town of Cnidus in Caria, then part of the Achaemenid Empire. Historical events Ctesias, who lived in the fifth century BC, was physician to the Acha ...

, a Greek physician and historian. However, Ctesias's credibility is questionable due to his reputation for fanciful and exaggerated narratives. His uncorroborated accounts have stirred debates about the veracity of his work.

In fiction

* In Shakespeare's ''

The Winter's Tale ''The Winter's Tale'' is a play by William Shakespeare originally published in the First Folio of 1623. Although it was grouped among the comedies, many modern editors have relabelled the play as one of Shakespeare's late romances. Some criti ...

'', the rogue Autolycus falsely tells the shepherd and his son that because Perdita has fallen in love with the prince, her adoptive father will be stoned, while her adoptive brother will be subjected to the following punishment: * In H. Rider Haggard's '' The Ancient Allan'' the protagonist Allan Quatermain experiences a vision of one of his past lives, in which he was a great Egyptian hunter named Shabaka. At one time he is condemned to "death by the boat" by the "

King of kings King of Kings, ''Mepet mepe''; , group="n" was a ruling title employed primarily by monarchs based in the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent. Commonly associated with History of Iran, Iran (historically known as name of Iran, Persia ...

" because of a hunting bet they had made. When Shabaka asks what is to happen to him, he is told by a eunuch: * In '' The Venture Bros.'' episode "The Bellicose Proxy" a variation of this torture is described with tubs in place of boats. * In ''

Instinct Instinct is the inherent inclination of a living organism towards a particular complex behaviour, containing innate (inborn) elements. The simplest example of an instinctive behaviour is a fixed action pattern (FAP), in which a very short to me ...

'', Season 2 Episode 5 "Ancient History", a victim of this torture is shown. * In '' Your Pretty Face is Going to Hells Season 4 episode "Milk and Honey" this torture (and a demon in the business of selling the boats used for it) is prominent. * Blindboy Boatclub's short story "Scaphism" describes a murder committed using this method. * In ''

Inside No. 9 ''Inside No. 9'' is a British black comedy Anthology series, anthology television programme written and created by Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith. It aired on BBC Two from 5 February 2014 to 12 June 2024, running for 9 series and 55 episo ...

s Season 8 episode "The Last Weekend", this torture is used as a method of revenge. * In Xav Rixx's novel "Kace: A Magical Memoir" scaphism is described explicitly as a torture in a mythical inferno as a means of punishing a child rapist.

References

External links

Traité des instruments de martyre et des divers modes de supplice employés par les paiens contre les chrétiens

(Late Latin/some Greek)

{{Capital punishment Capital punishment Execution methods Ancient instruments of torture Asian instruments of torture

Historical descriptions

In fiction

See also

References

External links