Dark History of the Roman Emperors (Dark Histories) by Michael Kerrigan

Author:Michael Kerrigan [Kerrigan, Michael]
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw
Publisher: Amber Books Ltd
Published: 2012-10-23T21:00:00+00:00

TORTURE AND TRUTH

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Today, if torture is frowned upon, it is not only on humanitarian grounds, but also because we distrust the kind of information it supplies. Under extreme duress, a suspect is likely to blurt out whatever he or she thinks the torturer wants to hear, just to bring the ordeal to an end.

In ancient times, however, it wasn’t looked at that way. Torture was seen as the only guarantee of truth. Only in agonizing pain, it was assumed, would the instinct to lie be bypassed, allowing the interrogator to get to the real story. This was especially the case with slaves, thought to be naturally sleazy and dishonest. Slaves’ evidence was only accepted in courts if it had been obtained by torture. Many Roman patricians convicted of crimes were found guilty on the evidence of household slaves ‘persuaded’ to inform against their masters.

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