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Tomb raiders and treasure hunters
The Mediterranean in Antiquity – a short review
Life in Classical times
Burial customs simplified
Coffins and sarcophagi in many shapes and sizes
Life after death
Burying the dead
The Roman way of death
Houses for the dead
Remembering the dead
Cultural crossroads – the Roman provinces of Syria and Judaea 
A Roman Province
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BURYING THE DEAD

HOW THE GREEKS BURIED THEIR DEAD

We will never know exactly how burial rites were practiced in ancient Greece and practices undoubtedly varied. Certain common features, however, can be established using archaeological and written evidence.

After death, the eyes and mouth were closed and the body was washed, anointed and wrapped in a shroud.  It was then placed on a bier, usually a couch (kline´) with its feet to the door. The corpse lay on a bed of vine, myrtle and laurel leaves. Ointment flasks (lekythoi) were placed by the bier and ribbons and wreaths of laurel and celery decorated both the body and the surrounding walls.

Those who visited the corpse purified themselves afterwards with water. Women sang and lamented, while men mourned at the bier.

The procession to the grave usually took place on the third day after death. The body, still resting on the kliné, was either carried, or drawn on a cart. Men walked in front of the body, women behind it, and the procession could be accompanied by flute players.

At the grave, the body was either burnt on a pyre or buried . After cremation, the bones and ashes were collected and placed in an urn. Grave goods could be burnt along with the body and were sometimes deliberately broken. These were placed in or on the grave or in special trenches nearby. Offerings were made by the mourners, accompanied with prayers. Offerings could be extensive, and included milk, honey, celery, water, wine and fruit. The ground was soaked with the blood of sacrificed animals - sheep, lambs, goats, fowl and sometimes bulls, in order to appease the dead.

Purification rituals followed the burial, and a banquet, the perideipnon, was held in the home of the deceased. Offering rites were held at the grave on the third and ninth day after death (or burial) and again on the thirtieth day . This marked the end of the official period of mourning. The family also made offerings on the anniversary of the death and at the annual festival for the dead, the genesia.

GREEK NECROPOLISES

Necropolis literally means “city of the dead,” but is used as a general term for burial sites in both Ancient Egypt and the ancient Mediterranean world before the introduction of Christianity.

Originally Greeks buried their dead near their houses, but as towns developed, cemeteries were moved outside the city walls where they extended along the major roads leading out of the city. The necropolises of Athens, such as the well-known Kerameikos, consisted of small compartments for use by a family or burial collegium. Relief- and inscription slabs, marble vases and small columns were erected to honour the dead. Other regions followed other traditions. In eastern Greek Asia Minor (today’s western Turkey) for example, rock-hewn tombs used for multiple burials were very common.

Actual tomb monuments were less common in the Greek world before the Roman era. Yet the giant temple-like tomb of King Mausollos, in Halikarnassos (Bodrum), was considered one of the wonders of the ancient world and gave its name to the term mausoleum.

Necropolises were not only used for burials and burial rites, such as cremation, but were also the scene of remembrance ceremonies and offerings. In fact, necropolises may have been very lively places during certain festivals, such as the genesia.

GREEK GRAVE MONUMENTS

Grave relief slabs and stelae were the most common types of grave markers in Greek necropolises between the 6th century BC and Roman times. They could be standing stones, so-called stelae, comparable to modern tombstones, or grave markers attached to some sort of a frame or construction. In some parts of the Greek world, reliefs were carved directly into the rock face at the site of the tomb. The grave reliefs of classical Athens were considered the ideal and were copied and imitated all over the Greek world. The grave reliefs in our exhibition all date to the Hellenistic period.

Grave reliefs often depict banquet scenes showing the deceased dining in splendor in his opulent home, thus providing the opportunity to display the family’s wealth. These banquet scenes were very common in Asia Minor and imitate classical “hero cult motifs“ from Athens. The deceased is often seen feasting on a couch with his family and servants gathered around him.

Another typical motif shows two people holding hands. These have been interpreted as departure scenes where the deceased bids farewell to a friend or relative before the journey to the underworld.

Gatherings of the deceased and his relatives can involve a large group of people if a whole family is depicted.

Photo: Lill-Ann Chepstow-Lusty © Museum of Cultural History

THE HERO CULT

The Greeks had a long tradition of worshipping mythological warriors or city founders at their actual or legendary graves. In time, the hero cult was extended to include political and military leaders, and other celebrities. While the cult of the ancestors was a private family affair, the hero cult had a more public and official character. Worshippers brought votive offerings, usually food and drink, to the sanctuaries. Many of the surviving votive reliefs show one or more heroes at a banquet, feasting on the everlasting gifts of the worshippers.

Photo: Lill-Ann Chepstow-Lusty © Museum of Cultural History

NEXT: THE ROMAN WAY OF DEATH