4. The Persians used milk and honey as a means of execution over many days
In the Christian bible, the Promised Land is described as a “land flowing with milk and honey” (Exodus) which has been interpreted as referring to the fertility of the land to which the Israelites would be led. For the ancient Persians, milk and honey were used in a much different manner. A convict sentenced to death by that manner was force-fed a mixture of milk and honey and then placed in a vat or boat, with a second vat or boat covering his torso, with the head and limbs exposed. These were then slathered with the same mixture of milk and honey and the vessel was then floated into a pond or other body of stagnant water.
The ingested milk and honey caused diarrhea, which in turn led to dehydration, while the exposed limbs and face attracted flies and other pests. The victim would be slowly eaten alive by the biting insects, which also bred maggots in the flesh, and the body actually entered into the early stages of decomposition before death arrived to end the victim’s suffering. The presence of urine and excrement in which the victim lay added to the skin’s vulnerability to attack from parasites which the victim was helpless to resist. Today the process is called scaphism. Although reported by some contemporaneous sources, modern scholars have expressed doubt that the manner of execution was actually used, which if it did cause death from septic shock.
