A Brief History of Censorship (Since the Ancient World)
Language is power, and the ultimate expression of this power is to control what can and cannot be said. From the beginning of organized society, those in power have sought to control the words spoken by their citizens and subjects. Whether this was done for moral, political, religious, or some other purpose, censorship has played a major role in shaping the course of civilization and history. From ancient scrolls to modern-day social media, control over words and narratives plays a pivotal part in society.Damnatio MemoriaeTorso of Akhenaten, New Kingdom Egypt, c. 1353-1336 BCE. Source: Metropolitan Museum of ArtCensorship, in its broadest term, is the suppression or prohibition of certain information or expression, and is applied to a wide range of media, including historical records, novels, films, works of art, or religious texts. It has been practiced by virtually every civilization throughout history for several reasons. Some of the earliest forms of censorship date back to ancient Egypt. During the reigns of the pharaohs, certain rulers were erased from memory due to their perceived transgressions in an act known as damnatio memoriae, from Latin meaning condemning memory.One of the most famous examples was the pharaoh Akhenaten, a ruler who shifted Egyptian beliefs from a polytheistic pantheon to one of the earliest examples of monotheism. During his reign, he began a policy of erasing the names and references to any god other than his chosen deity, Aten, the sun disk. There is still debate over how extensively this policy was enforced, although it was clear that some of the names of other gods were chiseled off monuments and other artifacts.The same fate would eventually befall Akhenaten. After his death, mentions of the pharaoh were removed from statues and monuments, and his large building projects were dismantled. Images and statues of the pharaoh were defaced. Other pharaohs suffered the same treatment, their names struck from the historical record, such as Tutankhamen and Hatsheput.Marble Head of the Emperor Commodus, Roman, c. 185-190 CE. Source: British MuseumThis process of erasing the names of leaders and other individuals was also practiced in other parts of the ancient world, including among the Hittites, the Greeks, and the Romans. More often than not, these were leaders who were disgraced or overthrown, their memories damned as a form of propaganda to justify the new regime. In ancient Rome, the emperors Caligula, Nero, Domitian, and Commodus, though their names are still remembered, so with dubious success.Nikolai Yezhov with Josef Stalin and Vyacheslav Molotov, before and after Damnatio Memoriae, 1937. Source: Wikimedia CommonsRemoving individuals from the historical record continued throughout the Middle Ages and into the modern day. Probably the most famous example comes from the reign of Soviet leader Josef Stalin, who famously would have photographs altered to eliminate the presence of undesirable individuals. The most well-known example is Nikolai Yezhov, the head of the NKVD, who was executed in 1940. Any photograph bearing his image was retouched to eliminate his existence. This has also been done in Nazi Germany, communist China, and North Korea among others.The Ancient WorldThe Death of Socrates, by Jacques-Louis David, 1787. Source: Metropolitan Museum of ArtAncient Greece was a collection of warring city-states, each with its own distinct culture and politics. These ranged from the rigid Spartans to the much more liberal Athenians, and everything else in between. Each polity placed restrictions on what its citizens would say, based on their individual cultures. No Spartan, for example, would dare to question the militant regime they lived under. Speech was much more open in Athens; however, one of the first censorship trials in history occurred in Athens. The philosopher Socrates was placed on trial not for his actions, but for his words. He was accused of corrupting the youth and was forced to drink poisonous hemlock after being found guilty. His crime was not one of action, but of thought, and his words risked undermining the stability of society.At the other end of the Eurasian continent, in 213 BCE, Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of a unified China, ordered the burning of vast numbers of scrolls and books. The only exceptions were works on agriculture, astronomy, medicine, divination, and certain approved histories. This was done as a way to reset the clock, so to speak, making sure that history would begin with the Qin dynasty. Owning a book of poetry or one of Confucian philosophy was severely punished. There were also reports that he executed Confucian scholars by burying them alive, though this may be either an exaggeration if not a complete fabrication.Portrait of Qin Shi Huang, 19th-century copy of a 1609 Chinese portrait. Source: Wikimedia CommonsIn ancient Rome, the Republic created a Senatorial position known as the censor. Derived from the word meaning to judge, the censor had a number of duties, including conducting the census, or accounting of Roman citizens and their property, as well as maintaining lists of those who qualified for the equestrian and patrician classes. They also played a role in maintaining public works. Their most prestigious role, however, was the upkeep of public morals. Since they had the duty to determine who was eligible for the Senatorial class, they could also revoke this status if necessary. Though they technically had power over all citizens, they mostly focused on the equestrian and Patrician classes.Crimes that the censors could punish citizens for included, but were not limited to, improper divorces, unnecessary luxury, allowing ones fields to fall into improper cultivation, excessive cruelty to ones clients or slaves, or other improper actions that undermined Roman codes of morals. For public officials, the list of crimes that could be punished by the censor included bribery, perjury, disobedience or cowardice by soldiers, or general neglect of ones civic duties. The punishments included the removal of the individual from the Senatorial or Equestrian lists, essentially demoting them from their social status. It is from this position that we get the modern words censor and censorship.Religious CensorshipAn 18th-century edition of the Index Librorum Prohibitorum. Source: Bridwell Libraries Special CollectionFollowing the fall of the Western Roman Empire, Europe underwent profound political and cultural transformations. With the Roman government no longer able to fulfill its duties, the slack was taken up by the burgeoning Catholic Church. Even after stability was restored, Christian doctrine colored the nature of censorship and literary suppression. The most famous example was the forbidding of translations of the Bible. There is a misconception that all translations of the Bible were forbidden by the Church, with Latin being the only approved language; however, this is not the case. In certain circumstances, certain translations were approved, but these were limited in number and scope. This was mostly done to avoid faulty translations, which could lead to misinterpretations and possible heresy.The Church also attempted to ban and suppress other works, which were codified into a list known as the Index Librorum Prohibitorum. Books and writings found on the list were deemed heretical and threatening to the faith and were prohibited. The penalty for possessing a banned book could include excommunication from the Catholic Church. The Index included a wide range of texts, such as political and social theory and philosophy, religious treatises, and even secular love stories. Famous thinkers whose books found their way onto the list included Thomas Hobbes, David Hume, John Milton, Daniel Defoe, Voltaire, and Jean-Paul Sartre. The list was enforced, on paper if not in practice, until 1966, when it was removed from official Church canon. Today it is only used as a moral guideline and a historical document.Salman Rushdie in 1992. Source: The Los Angeles TimesIn the Islamic world, there are a plethora of laws and decrees that are meant to combat blasphemy. The religion has a prohibition on the visual depiction of a living or sentient creature, although the exact interpretation of this law is subject to considerable debate. Blasphemy, such as heretical teachings, insults against Allah or the Prophet Mohammad, or desecration of the Quran or other holy works, has been, and in some cases still is, severely punished. This has become much more extreme in scale and scope in the 20th century with the rise of numerous fundamentalist Islamic regimes. Perhaps the most famous act of censorship in the Islamic world is a fatwa, or legal ruling by the Ayatollah Khomeini of Iran against author Salman Rushdie for his book The Satanic Verses, which has led to several assassination attempts against Rushdies life.The Land of the (Sometimes) FreeAnthony Comstock, US Postal Inspector and architect of the Comstock Acts, 1913. Source: Wikimedia CommonsCensorship is common in virtually every country in the world to one degree or another, including the United States. The First Amendment of the Constitution enshrines the rights of freedom of speech, religion, and the press. By and large, this principle has been upheld, at least on a national level; however, restrictions and censorship have been imposed at the state and local levels, sparking considerable controversy. Still, there have been instances where Americans were unable to express themselves fully.One of the first challenges to the First Amendment was the Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798. Among other things, these made it illegal to publish false, scandalous, or malicious tracts against the federal government. These acts were wildly unpopular and were either repealed or allowed to expire after a few years. In 1873, the United States passed one of the first sweeping obscenity laws, the Comstock Law, which made the distribution of pornography, birth control, sex toys, or any information about them illegal through the US Postal Service. Incidentally, the law was never repealed and remains technically on the books, although its scope has been significantly reduced and is almost never enforced, except in certain specific situations.During the Cold War, fears of communism were rampant, and anything that even suggested advocating for communism was suppressed as a threat to national security. Hundreds were arrested for their writings or their beliefs, which continued well into the time of the Vietnam War. Today, one of the most significant debates surrounding censorship centers on books in public schools. Many books, especially those with LGBT subjects, have been removed from school libraries. Opponents of these measures state that this is discrimination and suppression based on sexual orientation, while proponents state that many of these materials are sexually explicit and inappropriate for young children. These bans, however, are primarily at the state and local levels.Censorship in the Modern AgePropaganda Poster urging self-censorship during World War II, 1941-1943. Source: National ArchivesIn the 20th and 21st centuries, censorship has become a heated topic of debate. Most nations have some degree of censorship, even in countries that value freedom of speech and expression. Obscenity laws prevent the viewing or distribution of certain materials in specific settings, such as banning explicit pornography in school systems or around minors in general. Pieces of media, such as films or music that contain profanity, nudity, or extreme violence, are also either outright banned on the airwaves or heavily modified for the exact same reason.Another common type of censorship limits public access to government secrets. Soldiers, government agents, and, of course, spies and intelligence agents are closely monitored to ensure they do not divulge sensitive information that could compromise national security. This is especially true in wartime, when soldiers mail is openly read and censored by superior officers to prevent the leaking of intelligence, even if done inadvertently.Political censorship remains a contentious issue in the modern era. In many countries, certain political views and parties, whether far right or far left, are banned from public discourse on the grounds that these ideologies are deemed dangerous to society at large. In certain nations, especially those with authoritarian or totalitarian governments, any criticism of the ruling regime, real or imagined, is harshly punished.Arab Spring Protesters in Tunis, 2011. Source: NPRThe rise of the internet and social media has added a new dimension to the long history of censorship. Never before have so many individuals worldwide been able to communicate on such a large scale. While this is a new frontier, attempts to censor online material have already been made. Some of these are implemented by individual companies, with terms of service that forbid certain content, and there are more subtle approaches, such as shadow banning, which restricts content without directly censoring it.National governments can also overtly control social media. China is infamous for banning numerous popular social media sites, including X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, YouTube, and Pinterest, among others. North Korea has an almost total ban on the internet, with only select individuals having online access. Social media is also highly restricted in many countries in the Middle East, especially after it was used to facilitate the Arab Spring uprisings in 2010. Iran, Saudi Arabia, and others restrict certain websites for political, religious, and moral reasons, though many citizens of these countries continue to skirt these regulations through the use of VPNs.As the internet continues to shape society at large, it represents another front in the ongoing battle between control and freedom, a conflict that has endured for ages and will persist well into the future.
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