10 Bizarre Methods of Capital Punishment
Damnatio ad bestias:
Damnatio ad bestias was a form of capital punishment in which the condemned were mutilated on the circus arena or thrown to a cage with animals, usually lions. This form of capital punishment was brought to ancient Rome around the 2nd century BC from Asia. In fact in Rome, this was used as entertainment and was part of the inaugural games of the Flavian Amphitheatre. In the first to third centuries AD, this penalty was mainly applied to the worst criminals and early Christians (Christians to the lions). But it was abolished later, in 681 AD.
