Horrorscope: The Gallery of Tortures in Late Antiquity

In this monograph the author examines the variety of torture methods that were available to those in power and the apparatuses that were used in Late Antiquity. The research discusses how the sovereign in the Late Antiquity dealt with torture and violence and how criminal offenders were treated in the new world after the spread of Christianity. The operation of the judicial system, the function of the prison, the conditions of imprisonment and the kind of torture and punishment imposed on offenders, according to their social status, are also presented. Emphasis is given to torture’s impact on the human being, as far as its body and psyche are concerned and, on the other hand, to tortures inflicted on two particular social groups: Christians, whose population was growing in the Mediterranean; and women, who suffered systematic violence outside and inside the family. Finally, two kinds of violence hitherto not often appearing in discussions of torture are taken into consideration and presented: domestic violence and rape. The author has exploited a wide range of sources: literary texts, inscriptions and archaeological findings, concentrating mainly on texts written between the second and the sixth century, most of which by Christian authors.

Reviewer: Prof. Mario Capasso