Condemnation to the mines
Condemnation to the mines (Latin: Ad metalla, "to the mines") was a punishment that was most notably applied to senior Christian figures in the early Christian period in the Roman Empire, when it was called "Damnatio ad metalla".[1] It was also applied to slaves, war captives and criminals.[2] Both Tertullian and Cyprian described it as a type of prolonged killing.[3]
Notable figures who were punished with condemnation to the mines
- Pope Pontian (Saint) died in 235, condemned to mines in Sardinia[4]
- Silvanus of Gaza (Bishop of Gaza) condemned to the copper mines of Phaeno[5]
- Saints Peleus and Nilus, condemned to the copper mines of Phaeno[6]
References
- ↑ "Crime and Punishment". Carolashby.com.
- ↑ Najjar, Mohammad. "Condemned to the Mines". Library.biblicalarchaeology.org.
- ↑ Beggio, Tommaso (2017). "Note in tema di condanna 'ad tempus' nelle 'damnationes ad metalla'" (PDF). Annali del Seminario Giuridico (in Italian). LX. Turin: G. Giappichelli Editore: 26. ISSN 1972-8441. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
Tertullian […] describes the state of desperation in which these men found themselves […] equally intense and crude are Cyprian's depictions […] The testimonies of these two authors, moreover, confirm how damnatio ad metalla represented the typical punishment imposed on Christians […] damnatio ad metalla was equated with prolonged death
- ↑ "CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Pope St. Pontian". Newadvent.org.
- ↑ "Hieromartyr Silvanus of Gaza". Oca.org.
- ↑ "E00384: Eusebius' Martyrs of Palestine includes the story of *Peleus, Neilos, Patermouthios and Elias (martyrs of Palestine, S00197). Written in 311 in Caesarea (Palestine); written in Greek, but parts of the text survive only in Syriac". Portal.sds.ox.ac.uk. Retrieved 2026-07-27.