Funeral Customs of the Ancient Greeks

1
Funeral Customs of the Ancient Greeks

• Golden age-1600 B.C. to 529 A.D.

• Death Beliefs

-Greeks were the first to believe in a
bodily existence under the earth.
-Concept of a shadowy afterlife -To the Greeks
death was always conceived as one of the harsher
lots of mankind. -After life was peopled by
disembodied souls.
2
Funeral Customs of the Ancient Greeks

• Cremation

-Cremation first appeared during the bronze
age.
-A belief in disembodied existence accounts for
the introduction of cremation.
-It was believed that the flame set the
soul free.
3
Funeral Customs of the Ancient Greeks

• Cremation

-Cremationthe disposition of human remains by
exposing them to direct flame or burning them.
4
Funeral Customs of the Ancient Greeks

• Cremation

This process reduces the body to core
elements-Calcium and Carbon.
5
Modern Cremation Practice

• Crematory

-Place where the cremation process in performed.

• Retort

-Machine that facilitates the cremation process.

• Urn

-A decorative or functional container that can
contain the cremated human remains for handling
or interment.
6
(No Transcript)
7
(No Transcript)
8
(No Transcript)
9
(No Transcript)
10
-Modern Day Cremation Practices
11
(No Transcript)
12
Greek Death Beliefs Cont.
-First to believe in an immortal life. Cult of
Dionysius(god of wine)
-Elysian Fields-where the union of the soul
lived with the cult god
-Generally death was considered bad, evil, and
possibly terrifying as only a few made it to the
Elysian Fields.
-Although the afterlife was considered bad the
Greeks reverenced the dead.
13
Greek Death Beliefs Cont.
-Neglect of the dead was condemned and was a
disqualifying factor when running for offices.
-Burial or Disposition became very important for
the Greeks, so important that
In battle the Athenians would erect pyres on the
battlefields and cremate the bodies of the dead
and then return to family to entomb them.
14
Greek Death Beliefs Cont.
-Passage to the Elysian Fields required crossing
the river Styx, and an Obel(coin) was left in the
mouth of the dead to pay Cheron (the ferryman)
for transporting you to the afterlife.
15
Greek Death Beliefs Cont.

• -On the other side of the River Styx lies the
  entrance to the Elysian Fields/Hades, guarded by
  Cerberus, a giant three headed dog. Past Cerberus
  are the Elysian Fields, where the majority of the
  dead lead a dull existence. Cerberus would allow
  souls to enter, but not to exit. With his huge
  jaws and serpent tail, he was an image that was
  fearsome.
• He was the son of the mother of many monsters,
  Echidna,
• and her giant husband Typhon.
•  Charon was the aged ferryman who conveyed all
  dead souls from the land of the living to the
  land of the dead. Charon waited with his boat at
  the edge of the river Styx. Since he was quite
  stingy, Charon had to be paid for his services
  with the toll (Obel).

16
Greek Journey to The Elysian Fields/Hades
17
Greek Burial Practices

• Preparation of the body

-Made by female members of the family.
-Washed the body with warm water in order
to try to revive it.
-Laid out and dressed the body.
-Anointed the body with oil, perfumes, and
spices.
-No serious attempt at embalming was made.
-Flowers were woven into wreaths.
18
Burial Practices Cont.
-A honey cake was prepared for Cerberus, the
three headed guardian dog of the lower region.
-Mourning was indicated by dark colors , but the
dead were dressed in white.
19
Greek Burial Practices

• First known Sumptuary Laws

-Laws passed that prohibited people from being
overly extravagant. Passed by Solon.
-The law decreed that the dead were only to be
dressed in three burial robes.
-Covering for the funeral bed. -Corpse
shroud -An outer covering.
-Do you think the sumptuary laws were had a
positive or negative impact?
20
Greek Funeral Procession

• Started out an hour before dawn after the body
  had been viewed the night before.

• The body was carried on a bier by the family,
  friends, or hired corpse bearers.

• Any man could go to the graveside, but only women
  over 60 or blood relatives over 16 could go to
  the grave.

21
Greek Burial Coffins

• Coffins were made of wood, stone, and baked clay.

-Cypress wood was used often.
-Stone was bar far the most popular when burial
was performed.
-Because of the weight of the stone the body was
transported to the grave on a bier where it was
placed in a coffin and then in the tomb.
22
Greek Tombs

• Stelae or Shafts.

• Kiones or Columns.

• Trapaze of Square-cut.

• Naidia or Temple like Structures.

23
Greek Tombs

• Stelae-

Upright slabs of stone, and other tombs, were
often covered with figures carved in bas-relief,
finished with painting.
24
Greek Celebrations of Death

• Funeral Feasts broke the fast that the bereaved
  had been keeping.

• Sacrifices-blood sacrifices at the sepulcher
  (tomb), then later turned to sacrifices of food
  and wine and various labintational mixtures.

• Suttee-Self inflicted cremation of a Hindu widow
  in India.

25
Greek Celebrations of Death

• Sacrifices sometimes included slaves and horses
  to provide servants in the hereafter.

• Sacrifices-later substituted with symbols.

-Think of the Egyptians and the Scarab Beetles.

• As facts grow difficult, symbols tend to replace
  them.

26
Greek Celebrations of Death

• Suttee-Self inflicted cremation of a Hindu widow
  in India.

Now Lets Look At The Ancient Romans