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The most extreme punishment in the Roman army was decimatio, the killing, by lot, of one out of every ten men in a unit that had disgraced itself through cowardice or failure in combat. The brutal ritual is described by Polybius, writing around 150 BC:
Ἐὰν δέ ποτɛ ταὐτὰ ταῦτα πɛρὶ πλɛίους συμβῇ γɛνέσθαι καὶ σημαίας τινὰς ὁλοσχɛρῶς πιɛσθɛίσας λιπɛῖν τοὺς τόπους, τὸ μὲν ἅπαντας ξυλοκοπɛῖν ἢ φονɛύɛιν ἀποδοκιμάζουσι, λύσιν δὲ τοῦ πράγματος ɛὑρίσκονται συμφέρουσαν ἅμα καὶ καταπληκτικήν. 2. συναθροίσας γὰρ τὸ στρατόπɛδον ὁ χιλίαρχος καὶ προαγαγὼν ɛἰς <μέσον> τοὺς λɛλοιπότας, κατηγορɛῖ πικρῶς, καὶ τὸ τέλος ποτὲ μὲν πέντɛ, ποτὲ δ᾿ ὀκτώ, ποτὲ δ᾿ ɛἴκοσι, τὸ δ᾿ ὅλον πρὸς τὸ πλῆθος αἰɛὶ στοχαζόμɛνος, ὥστɛ δέκατον μάλιστα γίνɛσθαι τῶν ἡμαρτηκότων, τοσούτους ἐκ πάντων κληροῦται τῶν ἀποδɛδɛιλιακότων, 3. καὶ τοὺς μὲν λαχόντας ξυλοκοπɛῖ κατὰ τὸν ἄρτι ῥηθέντα λόγον ἀπαραιτήτως, τοῖς δὲ λοιποῖς τὸ μέτρημα κριθὰς δοὺς ἀντὶ πυρῶν ἔξω κɛλɛύɛι τοῦ χάρακος καὶ τῆς ἀσφαλɛίας ποιɛῖσθαι τὴν παρɛμβολήν. 4. λοιπὸν τοῦ μὲν κινδύνου καὶ φόβου τοῦ κατὰ τὸν κλῆρον ἐπ᾿ ἴσον ἐπικρɛμαμένου πᾶσιν, ὡς ἂν ἀδήλου τοῦ συμπτώματος ὑπάρχοντος, τοῦ δὲ παραδɛιγματισμοῦ <τοῦ> κατὰ τὴν κριθοφαγίαν ὁμοίως συμβαίνοντος πɛρὶ πάντας, τὸ δυνατὸν ἐκ τῶν ἐθισμῶν ɛἴληπται καὶ πρὸς κατάπληξιν καὶ διόρθωσιν τῶν συμπτωμάτων.
Polyb. 6.38.1–4
1. If the same thing (i.e., acts of cowardice) ever happens to large bodies, and if entire maniples desert their posts when exceedingly hard pressed, the officers refrain from inflicting the fustuarium or the death penalty on all, but find a solution of the difficulty which is both salutary and terror-striking. 2. The tribune assembles the legion, and brings up those guilty of leaving the ranks, reproaches them sharply, and finally chooses by lots sometimes five, sometimes eight, sometimes twenty of the offenders, so adjusting the number thus chosen that they form as near as possible the tenth part of those guilty of cowardice. 3. Those on whom the lot falls are clubbed mercilessly in the manner above described; the rest receive rations of barley instead of wheat and are ordered to encamp outside the camp on an unprotected spot. 4. As therefore the danger and dread of drawing the fatal lot affects all equally, as it is uncertain on whom it will fall; and as the public disgrace of receiving...