• iconNews
  • videos
  • entertainment
  • Home
  • News
    • UK News
    • US News
    • Australia
    • Ireland
    • World News
    • Weird News
    • Viral News
    • Sport
    • Technology
    • Science
    • True Crime
    • Travel
  • Entertainment
    • Celebrity
    • TV & Film
    • Netflix
    • Music
    • Gaming
    • TikTok
  • LAD Originals
    • Say Maaate to a Mate
    • Daily Ladness
    • Lad Files
    • UOKM8?
    • FreeToBe
    • Extinct
    • Citizen Reef
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • UNILAD
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
Snapchat
TikTok
YouTube

LAD Entertainment

YouTube

LAD Stories

Submit Your Content
Brutal history behind 'most painful torture device ever' that was even used on the person who created it

Home> Community

Published 14:13 14 Dec 2024 GMT

Brutal history behind 'most painful torture device ever' that was even used on the person who created it

It even ended up being featured in a horror film

Jess Battison

Jess Battison

The ‘most painful torture device ever’ had a brutal history behind it, if that’s at all surprising. But what might be a little more shocking is that it was even used on the very person who created it.

Going back through history, plenty of civilisations didn’t hold back when it came to crime and punishment with various methods invented to painfully kill as a way of teaching a lesson.

Way, way, way back in approximately 500-560 BCE, the ‘Brazen Bull’ was created in ancient Greece by inventor Perilaus of Athens. Appearing in numerous ancient texts (and even popping up in a horror film), it is also referred to as the bronze bull, Sicilian bull or bull of Phalaris.

This bizarre invention was basically a big sculpture of a bull made out of bronze, with a hatch in the belly and a series of pipes in the bull's mouth.

Basically, someone would have climbed in before a fire was lit, literally cooking up the unfortunate occupant while their screams were transformed into the noise of a bull.

Advert

And here’s where the really brutal bit of the history comes in.

Of course, such an evil torture device needs a suitably evil owner and Perilaus decided that it should belong to Phalaris, the tyrant of the Sicilian state of Akragas.

It’s been claimed that this bloke was actually a cannibal who ate newborn babies. So he either truly was a monstrous person or he really p**sed off some people enough that they said he ate babies.

Created for a cannibal, apparently (Discovery)
Created for a cannibal, apparently (Discovery)

Anyhow, it's not clear whether Phalaris commissioned Perilaus to make the Brazen Bull or whether the inventor decided he knew just the evil b*****d who'd fully appreciate a thing like that, but the inventor certainly knew what the tyrant would enjoy.

Advert

But just because you make a cruel tyrant a new torture device doesn’t mean you’re going to be best mates.

Phalaris asked the inventor to get inside the Brazen Bull to demonstrate what those harrowing noises would sound like, and to make it more realistic the tyrant locked Perilaus inside and set a fire under the bull. Yep, brutal.

"I very much regret making this." (LADbible/AI)
"I very much regret making this." (LADbible/AI)

It would have been agony for Periluas, being cooked alive in his own invention, but the tyrant did end up letting him out before he died. So that’s considerate, I guess.

Phalaris did end up supposedly having the inventor thrown off a hill to his death though. And that’s despite his delight with the Brazen Bull as it’s said he used it until his own downfall.

Featured Image Credit: YouTube/The Infographic Show

Topics: History, Weird

Jess Battison
Jess Battison

Jess is a Senior Journalist with a love of all things pop culture. Her main interests include asking everyone in the office what they're having for tea, waiting for a new series of The Traitors and losing her voice at a Beyoncé concert. She graduated with a first in Journalism from City, University of London in 2021.

X

@jessbattison_

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

17 hours ago
a day ago
  • 17 hours ago

    Uber driver shares true reality of how much money he makes in one week

    Rob worked over 60 hours on the app around Yorkshire

    Community
  • 17 hours ago

    Former cruise ship musician reveals dark side of the job most people don't know about

    Jeff was living in his own 'Groundhog Day' in his 20s

    Community
  • a day ago

    Daughter of former secret service agent shares ‘most important’ piece of safety advice he gave her

    Ashley has shared tips from a man who made his living protecting important people

    Community
  • a day ago

    Tragic backstory behind 'most terrifying photo ever' of woman lying on her bed

    Blanche Monnier's family shared a sickening lie that the 27-year-old had travelled abroad for her studies

    Community
  • Experts reveal 'truth' behind horrific device thought to be 'most painful torture method' of all time
  • Man who invented ‘most painful torture device’ with gruesome design became victim of it
  • Brutal torture device involved having metal cage round your head and walked through streets
  • Simulation shows unthinkable reality of one of 'history's most gruesome torture methods' which was used in Britain