festival for the dead. Fift h-century Athenian vase paintings
depict women tending graves by decorating the tombstones
with ribbons or bringing off erings such as food or vases that
held oil or perfume.
In addition to family-run f unera ls t he cit y of At hens in t he
Classical Period (480–323 b.c.e.) commemorated those who
died in battle each year with annual public funerals. A promi-
nent politician gave a speech honoring the sacrifi ce of the fallen
soldiers, and their bones were buried together by tribe.
Th e Greeks believed that the mythical boatman Charon
ferried the deceased to the aft erlife. Th e god Hermes, in his
capacity as guide of souls, could also play a role in leading the
dead. Several diff erent views of the aft erlife circulated in the
Greek world. Th e earliest description is found in Homer’s epic
poem the Odyssey (eighth century b.c.e.). Here the dead dwell
in Hades, a dark realm beneath the earth ruled by the god
Hades and his bride Persephone. Th e dead are shadowy be-
ings leading a tedious existence without the physical strength
or mental acuity they had on earth. Everyone, whether good
or evil in life, shares the same fate in Hades.
Some prescribed rites with secret components, so-called
mystery religions, seem to have off ered the possibility of a
happier aft erlife to anyone who completed the initiation. Tak-
ing place in Eleusis, near Athens, the Eleusinian mysteries for
Demeter, the goddess of grain, and Kore, Demeter’s daughter,
attracted people from all over the Greek-speaking world from
at least the sixth century b.c.e. until the fourth century c.e.,
when the sanctuary closed. Th ese rites were open to anyone
who spoke Greek and was not a murderer.
Mythical fi gures might arrive at other destinations in the
aft erlife. Menelaus, the king of Sparta in the Odyssey, found
a pleasant aft erlife in the Elysian Fields, and according to the
poet Hesiod (eighth century b.c.e.) the heroes went to the
Isles of the Blessed. Other myths tell of people who disobeyed
the will of Zeus, the king of the gods, and spent their aft erlife
in perpetual torment. For example, the hungry and thirsty
Tantalos stands in a pool of water with fruit overhead, but
both food and drink move out of his reach whenever he tries
for them. Th e Greeks do not seem to have ascribed such fates,
good or bad, to ordinary mortals.
Another common belief was that the dead were present at
their graves. As part of their ritual grave visits, family mem-
bers might bring off erings of food and drink. Some people
even placed lead curse tablets into the graves of strangers to
communicate with the underworld. Th ese tablets asked the
dead to carry the message to deities of the aft erlife to magi-
cally harm the person designated on the tablet.
ROME
BY TOM STREISSGUTH
During the early years of the Roman Republic, established
around 509 b.c.e., Romans generally buried their dead. Cre-
mation became more common in the late republic. By the
third century c.e. funeral customs were again changing from
cremation to burial. Th e spread of Christianity and the belief
in an aft erlife played an important role in this change, which
was complete by the fi ft h century and the fall of the Western
Roman Empire.
In ancient Rome many religious and social traditions
were attached to the funeral ceremony, though much also de-
pended on the status and wealth of the deceased’s family. All
Roman families served as guardians of their dead, dressing
and otherwise preparing the body for the last rites. Personal
belongings of the dead were collected for burning or burial
with their owner. It was also traditional to place a coin in the
mouth of the deceased in order to pay Charon, the mythi-
cal ferryman who brought the souls of the dead to the un-
derworld. Aft er preparation, the body was displayed so that
family and friends could pay their last respects. In the case
of a prominent citizen a public viewing known as a laudatio
took place, during which a speaker recounted the deeds and
virtues of the dead.
All funeral processions ended outside the city: as the
bodies of the dead were believed to pollute the city’s sacred
precincts, cremation pyres and cemeteries always lay outside
the walls. Borne on a litter, the body was followed by the fam-
ily and other mourners, who oft en gathered at night to avoid
unruly crowds. Musicians, dancers, and professional mourn-
ers sometimes took part, while members of the family, if they
were well to do, might ride chariots or horses. It was custom-
ary for the members of important families to wear imagines,
or ancestor masks, made of wax and representing members of
the clan who had already passed away.
Th e procession ended at the cemetery and, for a crema-
tion, at the funeral pyre. Th e body was then burned, along
with gift s and off erings brought by mourners and the pos-
sessions of the dead. Aft er a eulogy was given, a member of
the immediate family gathered the ashes into an urn. Urns
ranged from simple cloth bags or ceramic vases to more elab-
orate stone caskets or wood or metal chests. Th e urn was kept
in the home, sometimes the centerpiece of a small display
maintained in remembrance of the dead.
For burials the body was protected by a shroud or en-
cased in a stone or wood coffi n. To further preserve the body,
it might be embalmed with gypsum. Proper burial was of ut-
most importance to the Romans; they believed an unburied
body would be rejected by Charon and would wander for-
ever. To allow a body to become food for birds or animals
was the ultimate punishment for a criminal or traitor. Th ose
who committed suicide by hanging themselves also sacrifi ced
their right to a proper burial, and their bodies were left ex-
posed to the elements.
Funeral societies known as collegia helped people pre-
pare for their own funeral ceremonies. Individuals made con-
tributions to their collegium, which then helped to arrange
and pay for their funerals. If burial was used, members were
entombed in a columbarium, an underground vault holding
niches for the storage of funeral urns, which were marked by
commemorative sculpture and plaques.320 death and burial practices: Rome