The Jesus’ crucifixion in the framework of violences in the ancient world:

the insertion of the cross in its original context

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7213/2175-1838.15.003.DS01

Abstract

This paper studies the crucifixion within the context of violence in the Ancient World. In view of the crucifixion of Jesus, the character who brought the image of the cross to the West, the place in which Christianity spread, the main question studied is: “In what context can crucifixion be framed?” Should it be seen as an isolated act in which God sacrificed his Son? Or, on the contrary, was crucifixion the main form of violent killing in the Ancient World, chosen by the Romans as propaganda for state terror and as a warning against criminals? The points studied are: 1) the origin of crucifixion; 2) the words referring to crucifixion; 3) the scourges as part of crucifixion; 4) the titulus crucis; 5) crucifixion as a violent way of killing; 6) crucifixion as entertainment; 7) crucifixion as a demeaning death. The main results are: crucifixion was a common way of killing in the Ancient World, and was chosen by the Romans as a warning to criminals; scourges were part of the crucifixion process; a title containing the offender's crime affixed to the cross or the condemned was part of the crucifixion picture; Crucifixion became so common that it was even staged in ancient theatres, and finally, crucifixion was a repulsive and ignominious death, whose main purpose was to exterminate the corpses, and then, the exposure of the crucified body served as a warning to the population, as a propaganda of terror and state violence. Crucifixion, contrary to what is thought today, did not have the primary purpose of killing, but of exterminating the corpse. The crucified person was not removed from the cross, and his body would remain there, hanging, until it rotted and fell from the crossbeam, being devoured by vultures and wild animals. The crucifixion could be of the living or of the dead.

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Author Biographies

Clovis Torquato Junior, PUCPR

Bacharel em Teologia, Licenciatura Plena em Letras, Mestre em Teologia, Doutorando em Teologia  PUCPR, autor de Livros: A autenticidade do nome Jesus; Ed. Prismas; Teologia do batismo no Espírito, Ed. Prismas. Autor de artigos e capítulos de livros.

Vicente Artuso, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Paraná

Doutor em Teologia (Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro) e Mestre em Exegese Bíblica (Pontifício Instituto Bíblico). Professor do Programa de Pós-Graduação em Teologia da Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Paraná, Curitiba, Brasil. Contato: [email protected]

Published

2023-12-06

How to Cite

Torquato Junior, C., & Artuso, V. (2023). The Jesus’ crucifixion in the framework of violences in the ancient world: : the insertion of the cross in its original context. Pistis Praxis, 15(3). https://doi.org/10.7213/2175-1838.15.003.DS01