Tlie upright post to which alone the name properly belongs, was usually a piece of some strong, cheap wood, olive or oak, of such length that wlien firmly planted in tlie ground the top was from 71 to ii ft. high. Most modern illustra- tions err in making the upright much too high.
•• Copvriohl. 1S9S, bi/
It was erected on some spot outside the city, con- venient for the execution, and remained tliere as a permanent fixture, only the cross-bar or pat- ibulum being carried to the spot, usually by tlie person who was to suffer death. This consisted sometimes of a single piece of wood, more often of two parallel bars joined at one end, between which the head of the victim passed, and to the ends of which his hands were fastened. The cross which Jesus carried was doubtless simply the cross-bar in one of these two forms. Keim argues in favour of the simpler, partly because Jesus is represented as clothed, which would hardly have been tlie case had He carried the double patibulum ; partly be- cause of the carrying of it by Simon, which he regards rather as a rude joke of the soldiers than as rendered necessary by the weight of the cross- bar, which could in no case have been very heavy (JesK voii Sazara, iii. 398, Eng. tr. vi. 125). Be- sides the patibulum, the cross was fm-nished with a support for tlie body called the sedile. This was a small piece of wood projecting at right angles from the upright, upon which the victim sat as upon a saddle. It was designed to bear part of the weight of the body, which would otherwise have been too great to be supported by the hands alone. Whether there was also a support for the feet, the so-called iwoTriSiov, is still in dispute.
The origin of crucifixion must be sought in the E., probably among the Phoen., from whom it passed to the Greeks and" Romans. The long list of peoples givpii by Winer {R'tVS i. CSO), and often copied, includes aany cases which prove no more than impaling (so the Persians, Egyptians, Indians). For the practice among the Phoenicians, Cartha- ginians, and Numidians we have good authority. We hear of Alexander on one occasion crucifying as many as 2000 T>'rians. Among the Romans this was a very common punishment. At first they confined it to slaves and seditious persons, but gradually extended its use, especially in the provinces, here following I'uuic examples. In Sicily, Verres crucified even Roman citizens. The same was done by Galba in Spain. But these were rare exceptions, and excited universal indignation. In Judaea the pmiishment was frequently used. Thus Varus crucified 2000 rioters after the death of Herod the Great (.Jos. Ant. xvil. x. 10). Under Claudius and Nero, various governors, Tiberius Alexander, Quadratus, Felix, Flonis, crucified robbers and rioters of political and religious character, includ- ing two sons of Judas Galilasus (^Ant. XX. v. 2 ; BJ II. xii. 6, U. xiii. 2), and even respectable citizens and Roman knights (SJ U. xiv. 9). Titus cruci- fied so many after the destruction of Jerus. that there was neither wood for the crosses nor place to set them up (BJ v. xi. 1). Especially under Tiberius, who held that simple death was escape, was this method of punishment frequent.
Tlie .lews did not practise the crucifixion of living persons. The case of Janua?us, referred to by Jos. (BJ I. iv. 6), was an exception which called forth universal reprobation. But tlie hanging up of dead bodies meets us frequently in OT. See Jos 10* (the five kings), 2 S 4i- (the murderers of Ish- bosheth), 1 S 3iw (the Philistines and Saul, cf. 2 S 21'-), Ezr 0" (the decree of Darius), and is distinctly authorized in the law (Dt 21-, cf. Nu 25-', where J" commands this punishment in the case of the men who have led the people away to Baal-peor). In such cases the dead body became accursed, and must be buried before nightfall, that the land might not suffer pollution (l)t21-''). Those wlio suffered crucifixion came under this curse, and hence the passage in Dt is applied to Jesus not only in the 'I'alm., but also by NT writers. This explains the frequent reference to the cro.ss in XT as the tree (JuXor), iliat being the LXX tr. of the Charles Scribner^s Sons
CROSS
CROWN
529
Htb. yZ. (Cf. Ac 6«» 1(F» IS'-"", 1 P 2-S and csp. Gal 3" ' Christ redeemed us from tlie curse of the law, liavinij become a curse for us ; for it is written, Cui-Sfd is every one ihat haniieth on a tree.')
The method of crucilixion is clearly described in NT. After condemnation, the victim was scourged with the jlagellum, a punishment so terrible that men often died under it. In Jesus' case the scourging seems to have taken place before rather than after, possibly to excite pity (.Jn 19'). The cross-bar was then bound on the victim's back, or his head in- serted in the patihidum, and he was led thront;h the city accompanied by the centurion and four soldiers det<iiled to conduct the execution. The title, a piece of wood covered with while gypsum on whicli the nature of his offence was set forth in letters of black, w;i.s usually carried before the con- demned person, so that all might know the reason for which he was to die. This custom of carrying the cross gave rise to ' the proverb alpeiv or Xom- jiipeLV or fiaardj^uv riv CTavpbv auToi which was wont to be used of those who on behalf of tiod's cause do not hesitate cheerfully and manfully to bear persecutions, troubles, distresses, thus recalling the fate of Christ, and the spirit in which lie en- countered it' (Thayer, Lex. p. 586). In this sense it is used by Jesus Himself in the well-known -saying, ' If any man would come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow me '" (.Mt 10-*, Mk 8", Lk !i^ ; cf. Mt 10'-, Lk U^'). Arrived at the place of execution, the prisoner was stripped, his garments falling to the soldiers as their booty, lie was then bound to the patibulum, and both were raised on ladders until the cross-bar rested on the notch prepared to receive it. This was the more common custom. In a few cases the (TOSS piece wa.s fastened to the upright lying on the ground, and the whole then raised together. .\fter the paliltnlnm was firmly fastened, the hands were nailed to its extremities, and possibly the feet to the upright, although this was less frequent. Aftfrwards the title was fastened to the head of the cro.ss, and the victim Wiis left to the slow agonies of a death which might endure many hours, and even days.