Unusual Deaths: Part I
Death is a part of life. However, there have been many recorded deaths in history that are considered to be very unusual. Here are some:
1. Empedocles – In 430 BC, this philosopher jumped into an active volcano (Mt. Etna). Many believe that this was to convince the people that he had been taken up by the gods on Olympus.
2. Pyrrhus of Epirus – In 272 BC, this conqueror was said to of been hit with a roof tile by an old woman, allowing an Argive soldier to kill him.
3. Philitas of Cos - In 270 BC, this Greek intellectual died by studying false arguments and erroneous word-usage that he had wasted away and starved to death.
4. Chrysippus – This Greek stoic philosopher in 207 BC is believed to have died from laughter as a result of watching his drunk donkey attempt to eat figs.
5. Eleazar Maccabeus – In 162 BC, Eleazar was crushed to death by a War elephant as he thrust a spear into its body and fell dead on top of him at the Battle of Beth-zechariah.
6. Herod the Great – In 4 BC, Herod the Great suffered from intense rashes, fever, foot drop, colon pains, abdomen inflammation, putrefaction of the genitals which produced worms, difficulty breathing, and convulsions before he finally had died.
7. Saint Peter – From 64-67, it believed that St. Peter was executed by the Romans on an inverted cross, saying that he was not worthy enough to be crucified in the same way as Jesus Christ.
8. Saint Antipas – In 98, this Bishop of Pergamum was roasted to death in a brazen bull, which is an execution/torture device that was used in Ancient Greece.
9. Valerian - In 260, the Roman emperor, after being defeated in battle and captured by the Persians, is said to of been used as a footstool by King Shapur I. After an extended period of humiliation and torture, it is said that Shapur had Valerian skinned alive and had his skin stuffed with straw or dung and be made as a trophy, although many question the reliability of this claim.
10. Hypatia of Alexandria – In 415, this Greek mathematician and philosopher, had her skin ripped off by sharp sea-shells by a mob. Other sources claim that it was in fact tiles or pottery-shards that were used.
Works Cited/Further Reading
Wikipedia.org’s article “List of unusual deaths”
