Brazen Bull Roast by Ludovico

[size=14pt]Perillos of Athens, a brass-founder, proposed to Phalaris, the tyrant of Akragas, Sicily, the invention of a new means for executing criminals; accordingly, he cast a bull, made entirely of brass, hollow, with a door in the side. The condemned were shut in the bull and a fire was set under it, heating the metal until it became “yellow hot” and causing the person inside to roast to death. So that ‘nothing unseemly might spoil his feasting’, Phalaris commanded that the bull be designed in such a way that its smoke rose in spicy clouds of incense. The head of the ox was designed with a complex system of tubes and stops so that the prisoner’s screams were converted into sounds like the bellowing of an infuriated bull. It is also said that when the bull was reopened, the scorched bones of the remains shone like jewels and were made into bracelets.

In time, a new way of using the device was found. A tender and choice maiden would be selected to be roasted in the device, but it was modified so her tender flesh could be feasted upon by the citizens of Athens. Her aroma would waft throughout the city as she slowly cooked. Over time, it turned into a Great Tradition, and being the maiden chosen to be roasted and eaten at the ceremony was a great honor. [/size]

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[quote author=warlady21 link=topic=1099.msg4162#msg4162 date=1239077938] this is good. kinda wanted to see the bull put to use, but very good. [/quote]

Thanks - maybe a manip artist can further the story.