"The idealized vision that past centuries left of Greece has for a long time forestalled the admission that torture and torments [(la torture et les supplices)] had their place, as much in the collective imaginary as in ancient juridical institutions. Yet they played a role [(participaient)] in the everyday world of the citizens [of Greece], coming to the surface in their cultural life, at the theater and in recitations [(l’écoute)] of the myths, taking their place in social life, in corporal punishment [(la pénalté en vigueur)], and in judicial investigations. One could even, out by chance on a walk, [or] when rounding a rampart [(au hazard d’une promenade, au detour d’un rampart)], be suddenly confronted with the horrific spectacle of torments."
Monique Halm-Tisserant, Réalités et imaginaire des supplices en Grèce ancienne, Études Anciennes (Paris: Les Belles Lettres, 1998), Introduction (I have read no more).
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