3,257
edits
Changes
→Ancient Origin
In ancient Greece, prisons and punishment were also harsh, where punishment often included various means of torture, stoning, burning, and other very harsh treatments. However, from Plato, it is evident that some philosophers began to see that prisons and punishment should be used to reform individuals. Plato noted that punishment mostly made someone suffer, while it provided relatively little benefit to anyone. Plato discusses the idea that reform or rehabilitating a prisoner could be a focus of punishment.
For the Romans, it seems most prisons were temporary places where people were kept before the final punishment was delivered. For instance, hard labor was a form of Roman punishment, but keeping someone in prison, unlike Mesopotamia, was not often a final sentence. Wealthy or high status individuals could be incarcerated, but they were often kept in a form of house arrest. In effect, another wealthy person or citizen may be in charge of a wealthy or well known person. The best known Roman prison was the Tullianum, where people believe Christians, including Apostles, were kept there before they were given their final punishment, in many cases being death.
==Medieval Prisons==
