Bizarre Ancient Lie Detector – The Mouth Of Truth – Bocca della Verità

A. Sutherland - AncientPages.com - Bocca della Verità is an ancient stone mask that once served as a tool to determine if a person was lying or telling the truth. The name means "the Mouth of Truth" in English, and the superstition that the stone face can judge a person's honesty is still alive among some people.

Detail of the Oceanus mosaic, a depiction of the sea-god Oceanus, 3rd century AD, Römerhalle, Bad Kreuznach, Germany.

Located just outside the doors of the Paleochristian church of Santa Maria in Cosmedin, at the foot of the Aventine Hills, Italy, the ancient carving has become famous over the years.

Its fame is primarily due to the macabre legend associated with the mask. According to ancient beliefs, "the Mouth of Truth" bites the hands of liars.

Unknown Origin Of The "Mouth Of Truth"

The massive marble mask weighs about 1300 kg and has a diameter of 1.75 meters. It probably depicts the face of the sea god, Oceanus. The eyes, nostrils, and mouth are open.

Historians are uncertain of the original purpose of the disc.

The ancient stone mask served as an ancient lie detector. Image credit: visitlazio.com

It was possibly used as a drain cover in the nearby Temple of Hercules Invictus. It had an oculus - a round open space in the middle of the roof.  During the Roman age, this mysterious mask was just a sewer cover. For this reason, many historians have associated it to the water (river) divinities, drinking the rain, letting the water flow to the sea.

The Legend Of The "Mouth of Truth"

Starting from the Middle Ages, it was believed that if one told a lie with one's hand in the mouth of the sculpture, it would be bitten off. There was also a medieval legend about a wealthy wife of a Roman noble who was accused of adultery.

The woman denied the accusations. However, her husband wanted to test her by putting her hand inside the stone mouth. Knowing perfectly well that she was lying, the woman used a very clever strategy. In front of a group of curious witnesses who had gathered around the Mouth of Truth, the man who was her lover embraced her and kissed her.

The Mouth of Truth is known to English-speaking audiences mostly from its appearance in the 1953 film Roman Holiday. The film also uses the Mouth of Truth as a storytelling device since both Hepburn's and Peck's characters are not initially truthful with each other. 

She pretended she didn't know him, accused him of being a madman, and the crowd chased him away. When she put her hand into the mouth, the woman declared that she had never kissed any other man apart from her husband and the poor madman who had just kissed her. In this way, she was confident that she hadn't lied and her hand was saved.

The betrayed husband saved her honor, but the Mouth of Truth lost its credibility, and it is said that since that day, it no longer carried out its function as a right and unappeasable judge.

This is just one of the many legends that mention this famous sculpture. In other stories, the mouth of the mask was  the top of the holy spring situated in front of Mercury temple, where the Roman merchants used to swear their honesty during their trades.

Ancient Stone Mask Remains Popular In Modern Days

This ancient mask has never lost its popularity. Even today, it is the cause of queues of tourists who line up outside the beautiful Paleochristian church of Santa Maria in Cosmedin. Many are eager to put their hands in this mouth, but some hesitate at the last minute.

Curiously, there is a similar sculpture of a lion in Mahabalipuram, Tamil Nadu, India, that, according to local lore, bites off one's hand if a lie is told.

It seems that these quite bizarre lie detectors were popular in ancient times.

Written by – A. Sutherland  - AncientPages.com Senior Staff Writer

Updated on November 26, 2022

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