22 October 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

The Worst Torture Device in History “Brazen Bull”

Agrigentum Tyranny today is in the provincial borders of Agrigento in the Sicily Autonomous Region in the southwest of Sicily.

Phalaris (570-549 BC) is the most famous tyrant of the city of Agrigentum. It strengthened its army with mercenaries and expanded it was bordered to include the city of Himera.

It is thought that he made the construction plans of the city and that he constructed the most spectacular city of his time. It is said that the tyrants who came after him follow his path.

Perilaus (Perillos), an Athenian brass casting and palace sculptor bring his new work to Phalaris in to show it.

This is a shiny brass replica of a bull, but much more than just an ordinary statue ..! This hollow bull, made without a face, has a cover on its side. The victim being placed inside this bull and scorched with the heat of the metal until the bull turned red from the burning fire below. In the head of the bull, various pipes designed by Perilaus (Perillos) and some complex tools such as whistles were placed. Thanks to these instruments, the voice of the victim turned into a voice resembling the bellowing of an angry bull.



📣 Our WhatsApp channel is now LIVE! Stay up-to-date with the latest news and updates, just click here to follow us on WhatsApp and never miss a thing!!



Brazen bull

The historian Diodorus Siculus wrote that Perilaus said:

“O Phalaris, if you want to punish a man, close him between the bull and light a fire under him, his moans will be thought of the bull’s bellowing, and his cries of pain will give you pleasure as he passes through the pipes in his nostrils. ”

Phalaris must have been very impressed by this narrative of the sculptor, and asks him to show this sound system. When the Perilaus enters the bull, it closes the lid and lights the fire. Thus, he learned the sound system of the invention from its real master.

Fortunately, the great tyrant gets Perilaus out of the bull before he dies. He throws Perilaus, who thinks he will probably get a reward, its jump off the cliff.

Although the number of people Tiran Phalaris killed with this bull is not recorded in historical records, it is obvious that the same invention was very popular in the Roman period.

According to rumors, Phalaris, whose crown was taken away by Telemachus, died by burning in this bull that he ordered.

Herodotus mentions that in ancient Greece, to be fried inside a bull was a well-known torture method. It is understood that torture is used as a form of execution rather than questioning within.

In Christian legends, people who were killed in this way are mentioned.

Related Articles

Human Presence in Malta Earlier Than Previously Thought: Hunter-Gatherers Navigated 100 km by Sea 1,000 Years Before Farmers

14 April 2025

14 April 2025

Recent archaeological findings have dramatically reshaped our understanding of human history in the Mediterranean, revealing that hunter-gatherers were capable of...

Analysis of 13,000-Year-Old Bones Reveals Violent Raids in Prehistoric ‘Jebel Sahaba’

28 May 2021

28 May 2021

Since its discovery in the 1960s, the 13-millennium-old Jebel Sahaba cemetery (Nile Valley, Sudan) has been regarded as one of...

Shetland Discoveries Seem Close to Uncovering Ancient Viking Capital

4 July 2021

4 July 2021

Important discoveries were made on the last day of excavations to find the ancient Viking capital of Shetland, through the...

First of Its Kind: 1,400-year-old Silla Crown Adorned with Jewel Beetle Wings Unearthed in South Korea

24 May 2025

24 May 2025

In a dazzling discovery blending nature and royalty, archaeologists in South Korea have unearthed a 1,400-year-old crown adorned with jewel...

Scientists have developed a new tool that enables them to identify prehistoric and historic individuals’ relatives up to the sixth-degree

24 December 2023

24 December 2023

A new method of genetic analysis makes it possible to determine family relationships of prehistoric and historical individuals up to...

The Anahita Temple in western Iran is Being Restored

11 June 2021

11 June 2021

A restoration project has been commenced on the ancient temple of Anahita, which is located in the city of Kangavar,...

Oman has recovered an exceptional collection of silver jewelry from a prehistoric grave

7 November 2022

7 November 2022

From a prehistoric grave dating to the 3rd millennium BC in Dahwa, North Batinah, a team of international archaeologists working...

The Colossal Nordic Bronze Age Hall Unearthed in Germany May Be the Legendary King Hinz Meeting Hall

5 November 2023

5 November 2023 1

A colossal hall from the Bronze Age was discovered during excavations near the “royal grave” of Seddin (Prignitz district) northwest...

Archaeologists found a medieval skeleton with a prosthetic hand in Freising, Germany

28 October 2023

28 October 2023

Archaeologists in the city of Freising in Bavaria, Germany, unearthed containing a skeleton with a prosthetic hand. The metal part...

Whispers of Time: Exploring the Enigmatic Bronze Age Towers of Oman

24 February 2025

24 February 2025

The ancient Bronze Age towers scattered across Oman, dating back nearly 5,000 years, have long been a subject of curiosity...

Salt May Have Been Used as Money in Exchanges

24 March 2021

24 March 2021

Salt has always been a precious metal. Salt was needed in many areas, from the preservation of food to the...

The oldest evidence of human cannibalism as a funerary practice in Europe

7 October 2023

7 October 2023

According to a new study, cannibalism was a common funerary practice in northern Europe around 15,000 years ago, with people...

Iron Age Warriors Bend the Swords of Their Defeated Enemies

22 April 2021

22 April 2021

Archaeologists from the Westphalia-Lippe Regional Association (LWL) announced that a metal detector has discovered “one of the largest Iron Age...

3.300-year-old Hittite Inscription was Used in Gate Construction

10 May 2021

10 May 2021

Our cultural assets become victims of ignorance one by one. The works that will illuminate the darkness of history continue...

4750-year-old Megalithic Stone Plaza Discovered in the High Andes of Peru

15 February 2024

15 February 2024

Two anthropology professors from the University of Wyoming have discovered a prehistoric plaza high in the Andes, known as Callacpuma...