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infanticide

Painting by Louis Le Nain from book cover of Death Control in the West 1500–1800: Sex Ratios at Baptism in Italy, France and England, by Gregory Hanlo.	Source: Taylor & Francis

Parents Murdered Their Children, “Routinely,” Claims New Book

A harrowing new study into the history of infanticide, child murder, in early-modern Europe, has presented a slate of horrific facts. It turns out child murder was so common in Italy, France and...
Medea of Greek mythology about to kill her children, which is what infanticide is, in a painting by Eugène Delacroix.		Source: Eugène Delacroix / Public domain

Ancient Greeks Did Not Practice Infanticide Widely, Says Latest Study

“Repeat a lie often enough and it becomes the truth,” is a law of propaganda often attributed to the Nazi Joseph Goebbels. One such lie has been the notion that Ancient Greeks regularly practiced...
Statue of Romulus and Remus suckling on a she wolf. Their famous story was one of attempted Roman infanticide but were saved by the she wolf, now a major symbol of the Roman Empire. 						Source: borzywoj / Adobe Stock

Does Roman Infanticide Explain the Mass Infant Burial Discovered in England?

Between 43 AD and 410 AD, huge swathes of Britain were under the control of the Roman Empire and funerary practices were mostly Christian, but also included the practice of Roman infanticide...
Roman Baby Burial Challenges “Unceremonious Disposal” Dogma

Roman Baby Burial Challenges “Unceremonious Disposal” Dogma

Archeologists digging at France’s Clermont-Ferrand Airport have discovered the remains of a 2,000-year-old, upper-class, Roman baby and his pet dog. This rare Roman baby burial discovery further...
The animal trials were common in the Middle Ages. (The Trail of Bill Burns by P. Mathews, 1838)  Source: דוג'רית / Public Domain

Strange But Serious Medieval Animal Trials Were No Kangaroo Court!

One of the more unusual aspects of the Medieval world was that animals could be put on trial like human beings. Yes, there was such a thing as legal animal trials! While the veracity of many Medieval...
Anne Greene was condemned to death by hanging.

Anne Greene, The Accused Baby Killer Who Refused to Die

Anne Greene was a woman who lived in England during the 17th century. She is notable for having survived her own execution . This was hailed as an act of God and Anne was pardoned. After her failed...
François Joseph Navez, The Massacre of the Innocents, 1824

The Chilling Ancient Practice of Infanticide Was Once Accepted as Normal

Today, the thought of infanticide – the intentional killing of infants – fills us with horror, but in many ancient societies, not only was this practice permitted, it was considered a regular fact of...
Roman soldiers and their general.

Ruthless Rulers Did Dark Deeds Right From the Founding of Rome

According to history, the city of Rome was founded by Romulus in 753 BC. From then till the end of the 6 th century BC, Rome was ruled by kings after which it was transformed into a republic. In 27...
Accounts of Roman Infanticide and Sacrifice All Just Myth and Legend?

Accounts of Roman Infanticide and Sacrifice All Just Myth and Legend?

It has long been taken as fact that ancient Romans brutally murdered, abandoned or sacrificed countless infants as piles of baby bones have been found at numerous Roman sites. However, a new study...
Old well at Monopolata village of Kefalonia island in Greece.

Hundreds of babies found in mass grave in ancient Athenian well were not victims of infanticide

A team of researchers using the latest technologies have come to startling new conclusions about the discovery of 450 dead babies and 150 dogs in an ancient Greek well. The discovery of the baby’s...
Infant skeleton found beneath Roman bathhouse in Ashkelon, Israel

The discovery of a mass baby grave under Roman bathhouse in Ashkelon, Israel

Along the shores of Israel's Mediterranean coast, in the ancient seaport of Ashkelon, archaeologist Ross Voss made a gruesome find. While exploring one of the city’s sewers, he discovered a large...
Ancient Roman infanticide

Ancient Roman infanticide did not favour boys

A team of scientists who have been trying to unravel why ancient Romans committed infanticide have discovered that equal numbers of boys and girls were killed . This challenges the assumption that...
Carthaginian infanticide

Carthaginian infanticide not just Roman propaganda

Recent research revealed that the Carthaginians really did kill their own infant children , a practice once dismissed as just ancient Greek and Roman propaganda. Ancient Carthage was a Semitic...