TORTURE BY SNAKES The legends of ancient India mention the hero Prahlada, who survived after snake bites due to the strength of his spirit. The biblical character Joseph drove off poisonous reptiles with the help of prayer. But these are best case scenarios. Most often, a person would be left in a tight space with hungry and angry snakes. They would die from venomous bites. Depending on the strength of the poison and the number of bites, agony can last from minutes to several days. To interrogate the prisoner, he would be tied up and slowly lowered into a snake pit on a rope, and if he gave out the necessary information - they raised him back. When a person had to be intimidated or tested, the torturers used non-venomous snakes. Execution by snakes was widespread not only in Antiquity and the Middle Ages, but also during World War II, when the Japanese military tortured similarly captured prisoners from South Asia.