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Jul 6, 2009
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Dictionary of Phrase and Fable—P

Perillos and the Brazen Bull

Perillos of Athens made a brazen bull for Phalaris, Tyrant of Agrigentum, intended for the execution of criminals. They were shut up in the bull, and, fires being lighted below the belly, the metal was made “red hot.” The cries of the victims, reverberating, sounded like the lowing of the bull. Phalaris admired the invention, but tested it on Perillos himself. (See Inventors.)

Source: Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, E. Cobham Brewer, 1894
Perilous Castle
Perillo Swords
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