Why Did Ancient Romans Cut Off Their Thumbs?

Conny Waters – AncientPages.com – Can you come up with a reason why you would deliberately remove your healthy thumbs? Ancient Roman males believed they had had a good cause to cut off their thumbs.

To understand their motivation for damaging their hands one must first realize that life in the ancient Roman Empire could be very difficult not just for children and women, but also for men regardless of status.

Credit: Public Domain

A rich and powerful Roman male could enjoy delicious food, parties, a variety of entertaining activities, and everything good life had to offer, but his comfortable living could easily turn into a nightmare if he decided to cut off his thumbs.

So, why would anyone want to deliberately want to damage his hands? Inquiring one’s body on purpose sounds crazy, but Roman males knew they were forced to damage their fingers to avoid military service.

The Roman Empire was vast and powerful, but to achieve glory and greatness it depended on its strong military machinery to defend its borders and conquer new lands.

Being a soldier in the Roman Empire was a challenge. Not only was military training very demanding, but you could also expect to be away from your home and loved ones for long periods. Men who wanted to avoid being recruited to the Roman Army cut off their thumbs because then they wouldn’t be able to hold and use a sword.

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