Holy Lance
The name of the soldier who pierced Christ's side with a "lonchē" is not given in the Gospel of John, but in the oldest known references to the legend, the apocryphal Gospel of Nicodemus appended to late manuscripts of the 4th century "Acts of Pilate", the soldier is identified as a centurion and called Longinus (making the spear's Latin name "Lancea Longini").
Crucifixion in the arts
Numerous movies have been produced which depict the crucifixion of Jesus. Some of these movies depict the crucifixion in its traditional sectarian form, while others intend to show a more historically accurate account. For example, "Ben-Hur" (1959), was probably the first movie to depict the nails being driven through Jesus' wrists, rather than his palms. Mel Gibson's controversial "The Passion of the Christ" (2004) depicted an extreme level of violence, but showed the nails being driven into Jesus' palms, as is traditional, with ropes supporting the wrists.