Scaphism

Scaphism, also termed "the boats," was a frightfully cruel method by which Persians slowly tortured their prisoners to death. A pair of small rowboats were hollowed and outfitted with holes such that, when one was inverted and laid atop the other, a seamless container was formed within which the naked prisoner could be secured, his head, hands, and feet protruding from his floating prison. The victim was force-fed an overly generous meal of milk and honey, and additional honey was liberally smeared all over his protruding head and appendages. The whole contrivance was then floated out on a stagnant pond, causing multitudes of insects to settle on the exposed appendages of the sufferer. The diarrhea that accumulated within the enclosure as a result of the prisoner's last meal induced yet more insects to work their way into the inside and afflict his anus and genitals. Historical records indicate that Mithridates, who was sentenced to death by scaphism for having incurred some minor insult against the king, took seventeen days or so to die.