This paper, An eye for a tooth: philosophical aspects of punishment, aims to dissect the institution of punishment through significant philosophical expressions, which shape and ignite even today a seemingly immortal debate about the human inclination towards punishment. The first part explores issues such as, what is punishment? Why do we use it and how do we manifest it? What goals do we want to meet? Furthermore, the most historically intense theories of punishment are clarified. Are we driven by a desire for retaliation or by the idea of a safer existence? Can these theories be combined or are they doomed to eternal conflict? The last part focuses entirely on capital punishment, a socio-political phenomenon that tirelessly follows every developmenal step of human history and reciprocates with its own transformation. From its history and arguments for and against its implementation, this work concludes with an analysis of the performativity of the dramaturgical performance which is the spectacle of public execution.