Imagine being tightly hold and surrounded by an tempestuous group of people in 16th - hundred Ecuador . The crowd portion as a man walks toward you with a crucible of molten atomic number 79 . He force your mouth unresolved as you shin as hard as you may , but to no avail . stewing , bubbling , glowing liquefied atomic number 79 is poured into your undefendable mouth , killing you within s . terrific , right ? That ’s is exactlywhat happened to a Spanish governorin the colonial settlement of Logroño in 1599 .
It turns out that the regulator of the Amazonian town had been cheat the indigenous Jivaro tribe ( also known as Shuar ) in theirgold craft , which ensue in a violent revolt . The Jivaro snipe the Logroño settlement , and during the result slaughter of up to 25,000 Spaniards , executed the governor by pour the object of his covetousness down his throat . TheJivarothen burned the remaining settlement to the land .
And it was n’t actually the heat from molten metal that killed the dupe , according toa 2003 studypublished in the Journal of Clinical Pathology , or the fact that the lead the scientist used solidified within 10 seconds — it was the steam it raise when stream into a body cavity . The scientist who looked into the drill used molten alloy and a cow ’s voice box hold from a slaughterhouse to test the operation . As unsettling as this account is , the use of raging metals and other liquids for torture or execution was not restrain to South America . While there was no shortage oftorture methodsacross the Atlantic , the practice ofpouring disappear metaldown a victim ’s throat is also say to have been used in Europe by the Spanishduring the Inquisition , as well as the Romans before them .
When in Rome …
Marcus Licinius Crassus ( 115 - 53 B.C.E. ) was a Roman politico , wise man of Julius Caesar , and quite maybe one of the moneyed men in papistical history . Crassusamassed a personal fortune primarily by usurp the asset — including property , slaves and riches — of those announce enemy of the DoS . A calculating and well - like loss leader , Crassus was successful in both the political and military scene of action .
Two of his most notable triumph included the defeat of theSpartacusslave rebellion and formation of the First Triumvirate , a three - way alliance between Crassus , Julius Caesar and Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus , better known as Pompey the Great .
An ongoing feud with Pompey in the end essay to be the ruin of Crassus . Driven by this score , Cassus ship on his final military crusade Parthia , a part in modern - daylight Iran . Crassus and his horde were shoot down by the Parthian King Orodes II . Crassus was taken alive and , according to legend , executed by having molten gold pour down his throat as literal reference to his quenchless thirst for wealth .
On Screens Everywhere
" This second is so iconic because it represents the height of poetical justice in the series , " says Luke Watson , founder of pop - civilisation siteEssential TVand host of weekly live recaps of " Game of Thrones " episode . " Viserys ' entire persona and every decision he make is built upon a groundwork of entitlement , in combination with a chip on his shoulder from being denied his patrimony . He makes life history abject for everyone around him in pursuit of the top , which reveals everything about how he would govern if he ever won it . "
Although Viserys ' account arc is the first to be in full realize in the show , it sets the tone for the serial publication , Watson says .
" [ ' Game of Thrones ' Lord ] George R.R. Martin does n’t just have a talent for slay grapheme , but for doing so in a elbow room that reinforces the broad radical of his story , which also speaks to fault that are inherently human , " Watson say . Martin has taken inspiration from literal - life history for much of his fantasy , and though there ’s no record of him specifically drawing from thisgruesome executionmethod of the past , it ’s not too much of a stretch to remember he might be aware of it . " With so many role to vote out , I ’m sure he has hire distinction of many memorable murder - methods , " Watson say .
