Crux simplex

[Naraku]

At the moment I'm writing this there are 12 users online. I've never seen that many!...and the number of members is growing.
Melissa

Current membership is 4,637. Does anyone know how that compares to the number before the "incident"? I know we lost some people, like Connie it seems, so I was wondering how close we are to recovery.

 

[malins]

number of members means nothing. many do register, but never write something. or they visit the website only for once.

old members, who never came back, do not become deleted.

Go to members page and click "posts" two times. from over 4600 members only 90 have made a post 10 times or more. and some of these members are now "lost". otherwise the members list is an endless sea of "zero's" - 90 % of members have never made a posting.

there was a big discussion about all these inactive members on the Dark Spot, that forum costs more to be kept running because it allows any size of image and even videos and animations to be uploaded.

so in reality, all the active members together here can sit into a coffee-shop probably...

i have the impression ,that the number of active members is a bit smaller perhaps, but the individual people are more active. it has changed some, and is less with technical discussion.

 

[Naraku]

number of members means nothing. many do register, but never write something. or they visit the website only for once.

old members, who never came back, do not become deleted.

Go to members page and click "posts" two times. from over 4600 members only 90 have made a post 10 times or more. and some of these members are now "lost". otherwise the members list is an endless sea of "zero's" - 90 % of members have never made a posting.

there was a big discussion about all these inactive members on the Dark Spot, that forum costs more to be kept running because it allows any size of image and even videos and animations to be uploaded.

so in reality, all the active members together here can sit into a coffee-shop probably...

i have the impression ,that the number of active members is a bit smaller perhaps, but the individual people are more active. it has changed some, and is less with technical discussion.

We could probably all sit at one table in a coffee shop, since there seem to be only about a dozen of us.
My guess is this site, and the Foundation, are always going to have a small number of active members, especially compared to The Dark Spot, since this is a "niche" topic. Oh, well, I hope we're keeping the lurkers entertained.

 

[ERIN the Brave]

The versions below I posted before, but were probably lost in the site wipe.

Revzeke, thank you for stirring me to action. Since said site wipe I've kind of lost heart, and have been neglecting When In Rome.

The first is a higher res version of Timothy and Maura, the second is a somewhat softcore version, ropes only. The third is one of Maura only.

Enjoy, folks.

These are some stuning pics,did the Romans ever really crucify two people on one cross?

 

[zekesgraphics]

[cmeinsen » Sat Nov 14, 2009 7:40 pm These are some stuning pics,did the Romans ever really crucify two people on one cross?]...

... The account of Timothy & Maura is pretty well documented in a number of historic archives --- it WAS a Roman execution, tho it took place (as stated) in Roman-occupied Libya... I cited a number of provisions of practical Roman law in the write-up provided... Often, when entire families were involved, the children were hung by bound wrists or ankles from the ends of the cross-beam (patibulem)... It's a clear demonstration of stark Roman efficiency, if nothing else...

 

[Naraku]

[cmeinsen » Sat Nov 14, 2009 7:40 pm These are some stuning pics,did the Romans ever really crucify two people on one cross?]...

... The account of Timothy & Maura is pretty well documented in a number of historic archives --- it WAS a Roman execution, tho it took place (as stated) in Roman-occupied Libya... I cited a number of provisions of practical Roman law in the write-up provided... Often, when entire families were involved, the children were hung by bound wrists or ankles from the ends of the cross-beam (patibulem)... It's a clear demonstration of stark Roman efficiency, if nothing else...

Not to mention sending a message: "Don't fuck with us or else".

 

[Ed-M]

After thinking hard about that issue, there are some tiny but important problems left. On cruxdreams you can see the 'dance' of the crucified woman in a very impressive way. All depends on tight roping or nailing, otherwise the victim will move her body to all positions imaginable. The cornu would not make any sense: she simply fail to sit down on it, properly. The instrument must be rather long, up to about 50 cm so as to prevent her thighs from slipping away druing her dance in pure agony. Otherwise her legs have to be fixed stretched out, preventing her erotic belly dance.

Suzanna, I was thinking about the cornu as well. Both men and women would be doing the erotic "dance" on the cross due to the human body's involuntary response to being penetrated (and for some people like me, just from being racked and suspended). The cornu probably was a long instrument, in my opinion at least 40 cm and up to 50 cm, to keep the crucifer (condemned person) from clearing its top when he or she stood on the nails. Those Rome deemed to be more dangerous criminals were treated to the longer models in my estimation (can't prove it though). Being a long instrument, the cornu would by necessity have had a rounded end to prevent internal damage (which would prematurely end the "show").

And I don't think the condemned had to stand up to breathe, either: judging by how long people survived on the crux the Romans placed the cornu on the stipes to prevent asphyxiation (but not to prevent a racking of the body). The Romans, believe it or not, disliked asphyxiating people; they thought trapping the air inside a person who died or was killed trapped their soul within.

 

[Ed-M]

for a short while it is perhaps even acceptable to sit upon. of course it must be made so that it is not possible, to gain support without accepting penetration - if the victim feels too much relaxed like this of course, the torturer can intervene:

perhaps the thing consists of two halves and can be gradually parted with a screw so that it becomes larger and more painful. but the pain of the feet and the wrists also will get worse. what now, crucified one?

perhaps the cornu is made of metal and can be heated.

or a painful ointment is rubbed upon it (a strong chili paste will already give a lot of screaming!)

malins, for a guy sitting on a cornu, once he was relaxed it wouldn't be long before he becomes aroused to the point of having continuous full-body orgasms. The executioners and the crowds would have welcomed this since Roman society was mysogynist and considered a man to be 'effeminate' and looked down on him if he showed too much passion or emotion! Maintenance of one's rationality was key. So for a man on a crux, having a continuous orgasm was 'torture' in and of itself. Even more so, when you consider that when a man is aroused, he's erect and will want to jack off! But if he's secured to the crux, there is no way he can ejaculate except by slapping his penis against his abdomen. And doing that will cause him to 'dance' up and down on the cornu. Sometimes that didn't work, either: instead he would have gone into another full-body orgasm, and wind up becoming even harder (the phenomonon is called vasocongestion).

 

[Ed-M]

The versions below I posted before, but were probably lost in the site wipe.

Revzeke, thank you for stirring me to action. Since said site wipe I've kind of lost heart, and have been neglecting When In Rome.

The first is a higher res version of Timothy and Maura, the second is a somewhat softcore version, ropes only. The third is one of Maura only.

Enjoy, folks.

I truly enjoy your photoshop pics! It's seldom a gay man like me could see a pic of a hot man like that affixed to a crux.

I hate to be picayune, apostate but I think your photoshop is missing one thing that should be visible: Timothy's cornu. Tertullian (160-220 CE) and Origen (?) (185-254 CE) were still talking of crucified persons having to sit or be imposed upon "projecting seats," "pales" "stakes" and "thorns;" Tertullian inferred by analogy that those stakes could be hidden! Considering that the church martyrdom account had Timothy and Maura living for up to nine days crucified, wouldn't they have been seated on some type of support and restraint at or near crotch level so they wouldn't exhaust themselves, as well as tied up to ensure a maximum length of time of suffering? Correct me if I'm wrong but IMO the Romans didn't stop using the cornu until Constantine I or Theodosius I stopped crucifixion altogether.

I have found out something about the physics of crucifxion and have come to the conclusion that someone crucified in the position you show Timothy in would not stay there for long: soon he would sway forward like an archery bow! Then he'd have to stand up to relieve the pain in his wrists (and also to exhale, probably) and flex his abs to keep from swaying forward again. Of course, he'd tire and sway forward again and the cycle starts all over again.... The same is true for Maura.

My comments within the quote below in blue.

Frederick T. Zugibe, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Medical Examiner in Rockland County, N.Y. and Adjunct Associate Professor of Pathology Columbia University College of Physician’s and Surgeons, N.Y. "crucified" both fresh cadavers (or body parts) and living students (using only straps) to test and study the practice of crucifixion.

Zugibe found that his students "crucified" (with straps) in [the traditional Christian] manner began having serious difficulties almost immediately. When they lurched forward, as in Zugibe’s lab photo [at link], their chests, shoulders, and arms began cramping in ten to twenty minutes. Only his strongest student was able to stand it for forty-five minutes. Death would come quickly crucified like this, if you didn’t pull free and fall off first! That’s the problem. Roman records indicate that people survived for days on the cross. These victims must have been in a different position, a more comfortable position (relatively speaking), in order to survive that long.

The peg (or seat) solves a lot of logistical problems. Sitting on the peg makes you more comfortable, so you will suffer longer. That was, after all, the point of crucifixion: prolong death so as to suffer for as long as possible. Roman records refer to a man who was taken off the cross after three days and recuperated. Another man lasted a full week before he died—seven days alive and suffering on the cross. Using a peg for the victim to sit on would make these scenarios possible. And another thing: sitting on a peg would prevent you from lurching forward. [I did my own simple experiments and concluded a horizontal restraint was also required - hence the cornu.] The seat would enable you to rest your weight on it, killing gravity’s pull forward away from the cross.

http://bertgary.blogspot.com/2009/01/wa ... wn-in.html

Thanks!

PS I would love to see Timothy hanging by himself from his crux, just before Maura was lifted up. Thanks.