Design3 min(s) read
A simulation has shown exactly what victims of an ancient Greek torture method reportedly endured after being locked inside a bronze structure.
The brazen bull, which is also known as the bull of Sicily, has been described as one of the "worst ways to die" because victims were trapped inside while a fire burned beneath them.
The method is associated with Phalaris, a tyrant who ruled the Greek colony then known as Akragas in Sicily, Italy, between 570 and 554 BC.
An expert has explained what would have happened to someone from the moment the device began heating up.
The brazen bull was reportedly designed by Phalaris' sculptor, Perilaus, and took the form of a hollow bronze bull large enough for a person to be placed inside.
Once the victim was trapped, a fire would be lit underneath the structure.
The flames would gradually heat the bronze and effectively turn the enclosed space into an oven, exposing the person inside to increasingly extreme temperatures.
Unlike someone caught in a typical fire who might quickly lose consciousness from smoke, a person sealed inside the metal structure could remain conscious as the temperature rose.
A simulation featured on the 2008 show Machines of Malice explored the process, with neurobiologist Michele Boyd explaining that panic would likely begin before the heat itself became fatal.
According to Boyd, simply realizing there was no way to escape would spark an immediate physical response.
"Instinctually, if you are locked in any kind of dark space, you are trapped, and you know you are not going to get out, panic is going to set in," they said. "You are going to have an acute stress response; your heart rate is going to increase. You are going to breathe a lot faster."
"Essentially, you are going to start panicking as soon as the bull starts heating up."
Victims would therefore experience an acute stress response as the bronze structure became progressively hotter, before eventually dying from the heat.
However, the device reportedly contained another disturbing feature designed around the sounds coming from inside.
The head of the statue reportedly contained a system of tubes and pipes designed to transform the screams of the person inside into sounds resembling an infuriated bull.
Per historical accounts, Phalaris wanted to test whether the design actually worked and ordered Perilaus to climb inside and show how a victim's screams would sound.
But rather than simply listening to the demonstration, Phalaris was said to have locked the sculptor inside and ordered a fire to be lit beneath the bull.
Perilaus subsequently became a victim of the device he had reportedly designed, demonstrating that the system could make screams from inside resemble the sound of a raging bull.
Phalaris' rule eventually ended when he was overthrown by a new leader named Telemachus in 554 BC.
It is believed that the brazen bull played a final role in the former ruler's story.
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