Hamstringing
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Hamstringing is a method of crippling a person so he cannot walk properly, by cutting the tendons in the back of the leg. A victim of this cannot run, or walk fast, once the hamstring tendons have been cut. It is thought to have been applied to non-agricultural slaves because it hinders escape without destroying their usefulness. It is thought to be used in the Sudan to punish slaves for running away. In Greek mythology the God Hephaestus is represented as being lame which may be related to a Greek tradition of hamstringing enslaved craftsmen. It was also used as a form of capital punishment in traditional Mongol society. A criminal who was sentenced to death would have their hamstrings cut and be left to die of exposure on the steppe. This had the added benefit of not actually killing the condemned directly which was considered important in a Buddhist society.
See:
