Ancient Greek funeral and burial practices
Ancient Greek funerary practices are attested widely in
Mycenaean Period
The
Mycenaean cemeteries were located near population centers, with single graves for people of modest means and chamber tombs for elite families. The tholos is characteristic of Mycenaean elite tomb construction. The royal burials uncovered by Heinrich Schliemann in 1874 remain the most famous of the Mycenaean tombs. With grave goods indicating they were in use from about 1550 to 1500 BC, these were enclosed by walls almost two and a half centuries later—an indication that these ancestral dead continued to be honored. An exemplary stele depicting a man driving a chariot suggests the esteem in which physical prowess was held in this culture.
Later Greeks thought of the Mycenaean period as an
Archaic and Classical Greece
After 1100 BC, Greeks began to bury their dead in individual graves rather than group tombs.
Funeral rites
A dying person might prepare by arranging future care for the children, praying, sending all valuables to close family, and assembling family members for a farewell.[5] Many funerary steles show the deceased, usually sitting or sometimes standing, clasping the hand of a standing survivor, often the spouse. When a third onlooker is present, the figure may be their adult child.
Women played a major role in funeral rites. They were in charge of preparing the body, which was washed,
Priest or priestess were not allowed to enter the house of the deceased or to take part in the funerary rites, as death was seen as a cause of spiritual impurity or pollution.[7] This is in line with the Greek idea that even the gods could be polluted by death, and hence anything related to the sacred had to be kept away from death and dead bodies. Hence, many inscriptions in Greek temples banned those who had recent contact with dead bodies.[8]
After the body was prepared, it was laid out for viewing on the second day. Kinswomen, wrapped in dark robes, stood round the bier, the chief mourner, either mother or wife, was at the head, and others behind.[9] This part of the funeral rites was called the prothesis. Women led the mourning by chanting dirges, tearing at their hair and clothing, and striking their torso, particularly their breasts.[6] The Prothesis may have previously been an outdoor ceremony, but a law later passed by Solon decreed that the ceremony take place indoors.[10] Before dawn on the third day, the funeral procession (ekphora) formed to carry the body to its resting place.[11] Depending on the wealth of the family of the deceased, they would often hire people to mourn the dead during these processions.
At the time of the funeral, offerings were made to the deceased by only a relative and lover. The choai, or libation, and the haimacouria, or blood propitiation were two types of offerings. The choai dates back to Minoan times.[8] Since there is a complete absence of any references of animal sacrifices on Attic lêkythoi, this provides the grounds for inferring that the practice as conducted on behalf of ordinary dead was at least very rare. [8] The mourner first dedicated a lock of hair, along with choai, which were libations of honey, milk, water, wine, perfumes, and oils mixed in varying amounts. Choai were usually poured at the grave, either on to the steps supporting the stêlê, or possibly over the shaft.[8] A prayer then followed these libations. Then came the enagismata, which were offerings to the dead that included milk, honey, water, wine, celery, pelanon (a mixture of meal, honey, and oil), and kollyba (the first fruits of the crops and dried fresh fruits).[9] Once the burial was complete, the house and household objects were thoroughly cleansed with seawater and hyssop, and the women most closely related to the dead took part in the ritual washing in clean water. Afterwards, there was a funeral feast called the peridinin. The dead man was the host, and this feast was a sign of gratitude towards those who took part in burying him. The family would then be tasked with visiting the grave at set intervals up to a year to continue libations and rituals. Mainly the women in the family were expected to visit the grave. After the first year, annual visits would be expected. During this year, families would have a laurel or other plant-based indicator that their family was unclean. Only after the first year would the family be fully re-accepted into society and considered free of pollution.
Scenes from funerary steles
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Mother handing infant into a nurse's care (425–400 BC)
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With horse (370s BC)
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Farewell handshake (350–325 BC)
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Presentation of wreaths (Bithynian, 150–100 BC)
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Military theme (late 4th century BC)
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Child holding doll and bird, with goose (310 BC)
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Athenian shoemaker (430–420 BC)
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Funerary Stela of Demokleides (circa 394 BC)
Commemoration and afterlife
Although the Greeks developed an elaborate mythology of the underworld, its topography and inhabitants, they and the Romans were unusual in lacking
Performing the correct rituals for the dead was essential, however, for assuring their successful passage into the afterlife, and unhappy
See also
- Ancient Greek funerary vases
- Funeral oration (ancient Greece)
- Kerameikos, site of an extensive cemetery at Athens
- Lekythos, a type of vessel holding oils or liquids often used in connection with death rites
- Seikilos epitaph
- Sit tibi terra levis
References
- ^ Peter Toohey, "Death and Burial in the Ancient World," in The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece and Rome (Oxford University Press, 2010), vol. 1, p. 364.
- ^ Unless otherwise indicated, information in this section comes from Linda Maria Gigante, entry on "Funerary Art," in The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece and Rome, vol. 1, p. 245.
- ^ Toohey, "Death and Burial in the Ancient World," in p. 365.
- ^ a b c Toohey, "Death and Burial in the Ancient World," p. 365.
- ^ Robert Garland, "Death in Greek Literature," in The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece and Rome, vol. 1, p. 371.
- ^ a b Toohey, "Death and Burial in the Ancient World," p. 363.
- )
- ^ )
- ^ a b Alexiou,"The Ritual Lament In Greek Tradition," pp. 6–7.
- ^ Johnston, "Restless Dead: Encounters Between the Living and the Dead in Ancient Greece," p. 40.
- ^ Toohey, "Death and Burial in the Ancient World," p. 364.
- ^ Toohey, "Death and Burial in the Ancient World," p. 367.
- ^ a b Toohey, "Death and Burial in the Ancient World," p. 368.