Timothy Paul Jones has an excellent article here on the Roman practice of crucifixion.

“Christians worship a God who was crucified.

It is difficult to fathom how shocking such a claim seemed to ancient Romans.

Crucifixion was a death reserved for traitors, rebels, and slaves. Cognates of “crucified” functioned as vulgarities in the first century, spoken sparingly in polite company. “The very word ‘cross’ should be far removed not only from the person of a Roman citizen but from his thoughts, his eyes and his ears,” according to Cicero (“Pro Rabirio perduellionis reo ad quirites oratio,” 16). The Jewish historian Josephus referred to the cross as “that most wretched of deaths” (Bellum Judaicum, 7.203).

. . . And yet, the church grew.

Despite making the distasteful claim that a crucified Jew was also the risen Lord of all creation, the Christian movement multiplied.“