Would You Survive This Ancient Punishment? 🛶🐜 #historytok #survival

Added: 2026-05-28

[00:00:00]Scaphism was one of the most horrifying punishments ever devised, used by the ancient Persian Empire for those convicted of murder. The condemned would be tied on their backs inside a boat with their arms and legs extended through holes cut in the sides so that they were partially submerged in water.

[00:00:16]They were then force-fed large quantities of milk and honey until their stomachs were swollen and their bodies were coated with the sticky mixture.

[00:00:24]Once prepared, the boat was pushed to the middle of a lake leaving the prisoner exposed to the sun. But the heat was the least of their worries. The combination of milk and honey caused severe diarrhea which attracted rodents, insects, wasps, bees, and other creatures. These animals tormented the prisoner throughout the night often attempting to burrow into the body. Each day the victim was given another meal of milk and honey and an additional coating over their body prolonging the agony.

[00:00:52]The punishment could last for weeks.

[00:00:54]John Syrus, a writer who documented one case, described a man who survived 17 days before finally dying. During those final days the victim's face was covered with wasps, flesh rotted, parasites swarmed, and he remained coated in his own filth enduring unimaginable pain until death finally came.