Instances Of Cannibalism In The Prehistoric And Ancient Worlds

Instances Of Cannibalism In The Prehistoric And Ancient Worlds

During the siege of Jerusalem, one woman killed her son, ate half of him and save the for later. When her act was discovered, she explained why she'd done it. Her justification sent chills down our spines Flavius Josephus was a Jewish priest and historian during the 1st century CE. His written works include The Jewish War, published around the year 75 CE, which is the main historical source used when assessing the First Roman-Jewish War (66-73 CE). Josephus was a witness to many events of the conflict, having first been on the side of the Jews before switching allegiance to Rome. 0 In Book VI of The Jewish War, he tells the story of Mary of Bethezob.SHOP NOW ON AMAZON The Jewish War According to Josephus, Mary waqsqq stuck inside a besieged Jerusalem and, as famine and misery gripped the city, resorted to eating her own infant: she slew her son, and then roasted him, and eat the one half of him, and kept the other half by her concealed. Upon this the seditious came in presently, and smelling the horrid scent of this food, they threatened her that they would cut her throat immediately if she did not show them what food she had gotten ready. Mary said she had saved them some and showed them the flesh of her son. When the men looked at her in horror, she explained: This is mine own son, and what hath been done was mine own doing! Come, eat of this food; for I have eaten of it myself! Do not you pretend to be either more tender than a woman, or more compassionate than a mother; but if you be so scrupulous, and do abominate this my sacrifice, as I have eaten the one half, let the rest be reserved for me also. The men didn't take the meat, but everyone else in the city found out, as did the Romans. Much like other authors during the time period, Josephus may have been referencing cannibalism as commentary about the “depravations of siege warfare.”

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