The Ancient Romans were very serious about discouraging patricide, murder of a father. If a son (or daughter) killed his pater familias, he was subject to poena cullei – “punishment of the sack”. First, the murderer was beaten with blood-colored clubs while their head was covered by a wolf-hide bag. Then he was placed in an ox-hide bag. In the bag with him were placed a snake, a rooster, a dog, and a monkey. The bag was sewn shut. It was then beaten to agitate the creatures. As though that was not unpleasant enough for the convicted, the bag was thrown in the Tiber River. That bag must have been a very unpleasant place to be as it sank to the bottom. One can imagine that this punishment was a deterrent to patricide in Ancient Rome.
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