17 March 2023 , 10:19
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An inventor who created the "most painful torture machine in history" was also its first victim.
The Brazen Bull, a hollowed out bronze sculpture of a bull in which a person was locked, was invented in Greece in 6BC.
During an execution or instance of torture, the executioner would open a trapdoor in the bull, which would allow them to place the accused inside.
Once in the bowels of the beast, a fire would be lit beneath the bronze belly, cooking the victim alive.
Pipes close to the sculpture's face would transform the agonising screams into sounds that likened the bellowing of a bull.
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It's widely thought to be one of the most-horrible ways to die.
Though its inventor was its first victim, the cruel tyrant who owned it became one of the first to die inside the belly of the bull (Corbis via Getty Images)The creation of the device has been attributed to Perilaus of Athens, who presented it to Phalaris, the vicious ruler of the state of Akragas in modern day Sicily.
Almost as vile as the device was Phalaris's reputation, who was renowned for his horrific cruelty, including claims of him cannibalising newborn babies.
However, some accounts say that Phalaris didn't commission the contraption, and that Perilaus actually had the sick idea and gifted it to the tyrant to earn his favour.
Ignoring Phalaris's potentially volatile nature, Perilaus handed one of the world's most barbaric rulers a device that could inflict unimaginable cruelty.
According to ancient accounts, Phalaris asked the inventor to demonstrate the machine, telling him to get inside so he could hear the bellowing bull sounds.
But once he was locked inside, the evil leader locked the door and lit the fire.
Though he is considered its first victim, he didn't die inside the bull. Phalaris ordered he be removed before being totally cooked alive.
The decision is somewhat bizarre as Phalaris then ordered his guards to take him to the top of a hill and throw him off it.
While Perilaus fell out of favour, the bull became his favourite toy and Phalaris threw anyone who displeased him inside. He even had the bones of his victims made into jewellery.
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The agonising death of being cooked alive was merciless, and some would remain alive for up to 10 minutes fully conscious while being roasted inside the bronze shell.
By 554BC, the tyrant was overthrown and thrown inside the belly of the Brazen Bull.
The device then circulated among a number of ancient civilisations, including the Carthaginians and the Romans.