Death penalty in Rome:damnatio ad bestias (mosaic)
The death penalty in Ancient Rome it was applied with unprecedented ferocity and with absolute regularity:those who violated state or divine laws could hardly find escape.
The sample book of torture expected in case of serious crimes was stuff to make your skin crawl just thinking about it:fire, water or stones, every means was legitimate to inflict the offender the just punishment, among which one of the most harrowing and cruel of all was the so-called damnatio ad bestias , which consisted in making the unfortunate devour alive by wild beasts.
Introduced in the 2nd century BC, the damnatio ad bestias was considered one of the most spectacular and beautiful penalties to behold, so much so that it always managed to interest a large audience, that in order not to miss the spectacle flocked to the amphitheater, where the condemned, shortly thereafter, would have been horribly massacred by lions and tigers.
This was the form of death sentence for rebel slaves , who often surrendered to a lightning heart attack due to terror, even before being torn apart by animals.