In ancient Greece, death was not just an ending, but an event. Funerals were multi-day affairs, consisting of, “the prosthesis (laying out of the body (54.11.5)), the ekphora (funeral procession), and the interment of the body…” (Death, Burial, and the Afterlife in Ancient Greece) The prosthesis oftenlasted for up to three days, while the ekphora was traditionally followed by a procession of all of the deceased loved ones, with the women (sometimes hired actresses) crying out and tearing at their hair and clothes to symbolize their sorrow. The body was interred in graves, with larger graves showing more power, and revisited on several occasions throughout the years after death. The ancient Greeks believed that a proper, ceremonial burial was necessary to show respect, or what was called “esubia”. Today, esubia is simply translated as “piety”, but it used to represent, “one's duty to oneself, others and the gods” (Mark, The After-Life In Ancient Greece). A shoddy burial not only shamed the family, but also degraded the gods, the dead, and the longstanding traditions of ancient Greece. The ancient Greeks held a great respect for the …show more content…
“They believed the gods insisted on proper funerals and would be offended by anything less…” (Brown, The Importance of Funeral Rites in Ancient Greece), showing the fear of retribution shared by the ancient Greeks in matters of life and death. They also believed that those given an improper burial would be doomed to a life of wandering the Earth, never able to pass on to the Underworld, “…the souls of the dead were thought to be stranded, unable to reach the underworld without proper burial.” (Mendelsohn, Unburied: TamerlanTsarnaev and the Lessons of Greek Tragedy). The gods and the retributions that they were known to enact were a large part in the burial customs of Ancient Greece, leading to burials as ceremonious as deemed
This is apparent in, “Elpenor, of our company, who lay unburied still on the wide earth as we had left him,” (Homer’s The Odyssey, lines 578-580) as Odysseus regrets not having a proper funeral for him before leaving Aeaea, and clearly
In Ancient Greece, people took it for granted that when they died, they would be buried. But in Sophocles’ Oedipus plays, some characters were left unburied and no one was allowed to bury them on pain of death. The treatment of the dead in Sophocles’ Oedipus plays corresponded and contradicted the treatment of the dead in Ancient Thebes in three ways. The first way was belief on unburied, next was the respect shown for the dead, and finally the burial ceremony.
Greek Life is a very complex part of college campuses. While many schools have a strong Greek Life presence, others play a very small part on their campus. The same can be said when it comes to whether or not fraternities and sororities have a positive reputation or a negative reputation on campus and in their local media.
One of the oldest examples of this can be found in the story of Antigone over 400 years before the time of Christ. Antigone is a Greek tragedy written by Sophocles. Antigone was the niece of Creon, who had just became King of Thebes after both of Antigone's brothers died while fighting over the throne. Creon decreed that one of Antigone's brothers would receive an honorable burial, but that the other brother, Polyneices, would not be buried but instead be left for the birds and other animals to scavenge. Furthermore, he said that anyone caught burying would be stoned to death in public. But in Greek culture, the burial of the dead was considered a sacred ritual established by the gods. Greeks believed that if a person did not receive a proper burial that they were doomed to wander for eternity by the River Styx and were forbidden to enter the Underworld, thereby preventing their soul from ever being at rest. Another fact about Greek culture is that women were looked at as second class citizens and were expected to stay home in special women's quarters almost all the time. One of the few duties outside the home that a woman had was burying dead relatives. So when Creon forbade the burial of Polyneices, he not only was denying him a final rite that had been decreed by the gods, but he was also taking away one of her rights and privileges as a woman to pay her last respects to her brother and provide rest for his soul by providing has entrance into the
Throughout my exploratory essay, I found that there are many different perspectives when it comes to Greek life. I as a member of Greek life myself, feel that the positive aspects outweigh the negative. There are many positive advantages that come from being a part of Greek life. There are an abundance of networking opportunities that come from Greek life along with all of the incredible friends that you make throughout the recruitment experience. One may also gain leadership skills from being a member of the executive council and having to lead their chapter on a day to day basis. Being a member of Greek life also pushes you to be more involved on campus as well as in the community. Each Greek organization has a philanthropy that they support
“Greek and Roman Perceptions of the Afterlife in Homers Iliad and Odyssey and Virgil’s Aeneid. McNair’s Scholars Journal 11.1 (2007): 5-13. Print.
The Etruscans believed that death was the journey to the afterlife. They took death and crossing over to another life seriously, because they feared that the neglected dead may become vindictive; therefore their tombs were developed with precise care, strength, and luxuriousness (Kozlowski, 2004). After an Etruscan pass on, they took pleasure in their last dwelling enjoying the afterlife, and they chose not to harass the living. The Etruscan also desired to take care of the dead. They honored the dead by creating beautiful tombs. To the Etruscan the afterlife was far more important than life itself. The Etruscan was obsessed with religion as well, and by them being so obsessed with religion, it led them to honor the dead by inspiring elaborate
The temples, pyramids, tombs, and religious artifacts left behind all tell us that the Ancient Egyptians believed in the resurrection of the dead. Their belief in immortality was the fundamental driving force behind their religion. “The formulae which were declared to have been recited during the performance of ceremonies were written down and copied for scores of generations, and every pious, well-to-do Egyptian made arrangements that what had been done and said on behalf of Osiris should be done and said for him outside and inside his tomb after his death.” (Liturgy of Funeral Offerings, pg.2) This illustrates just how important the ceremony and the process was to the Egyptians. Their belief in the afterlife and the importance of the ceremonial steps taken to get them there caused them great concern with their own funerals. Today, everyone has an idea of what they would like to do for their own funeral as well. We may follow in the same patterns as our family heritage has done for generations with either a traditional funeral or cremation, or we may have a newer alternative in mind for our self. Even though we may not be preparing for an afterlife, we still have an
Ancient Egypt and Ancient Greece both believed in life after death, though the process in which they follow that belief differ greatly. The Greeks believed that at the moment of death the spirit leaves the body in the form of a little gust of wind or a puff of breath. The Greeks believed in proper burial rights that were performed in three parts, and the relatives mostly women are the ones that conduct these rituals for the deceased. Much like the modern world these rituals consist of the first step; laying out the body to be dressed, the second funeral procession, and the third step was the cremation of the body. Unlike the Greeks the Egyptians developed a process in which they prepared and preserved the dead for the afterlife, known as mummification. This process is believed to have been the purpose of the Egyptians famous pyramids, believed to be the stairs that would lead the Pharaohs to their kingdom in the afterlife. Artifacts are buried in their tombs such as gold, wine, and sculptures to accompany the dead in life after death.
The ancient Greeks were known for many reasons; developing and creating a democracy, scientific and philosophic thought, and their humanistic point of view. The Greeks had a combination of beliefs and “cults of gods and goddesses.” Although they did not have any prophets or scriptures, many Greeks created a place for their religious emotions in “the sacred ceremonies of mystic cults.” Unlike other civilizations, the Greeks did not have a formal priest that lead religious or political content. In place of a formal priest, their religious rituals were directed by citizens that were selected to perform as priests. As a part of their belief system, they attempted to satisfy the gods and asked oracles to “divine the future” through prayers, offerings, and ritual purification. The view of after death differed from Mesopotamians and Egyptians. Their view of after death was the belief that if the person was ran by their own physical aspirations, “the soul would be liberated after death.”
The ancient Romans believed that the dead belonged to a collective body of gods or spirits, called manes (spirits of the dead). To the Romans it was essential to be given a proper funeral and a tomb, which would serve as a home for the spirit of the deceased. The Romans believed that if the soul was not laid to rest properly, it would become restless and will haunt its home due to its discomfort. The term “justa facere”, meaning “to do the right things”, commonly refers to the respect for the rites of the dead. Ancient Roman funerary practices are considered very systematic and it was regulated that every roman citizen had the right to a respectful funeral despite their social standing. Roman funerary practices included two different types of religious rituals, either burial or cremation, both of which were considered apart of ancient roman tradition. Roman cemeteries were located outside of the “Pomerium”, a sacred open space located inside the walls surrounding the Esquiline Hill, Palatine Hill, Capitoline Hill and Quirinal Hill in the early ancient city. As it was illegal to bury the deceased within the “Pomerium” within the city walls, The Appian Way, the oldest highway, is lined with numerous tombs of the most aristocratic families,
Funeral ceremonies were extremely elaborate, especially for upper class citizens. Funerals had five parts in Ancient Rome; the procession, the cremation and burial, the eulogy, the feast, and the commemoration. Ceremonies began closely after death, as soon as all necessary preparations were made. At the home, the deceased’s body would be washed with warm water and then anointed. If the deceased person had held office, a wax impression of his features would be taken. Next, the body would be dressed in in a toga with all the regalia of the rank he was allowed to wear. Incense would be burned and pine woul dbe places outside the door to signify death in the house. In early and late times, when burial was more popular than cremation, a coing would be placed in between the teeth of the deceased, as payment for Charon, the ferryman of the underworld. These rites were simplified in poorer funerals, as well as done by a family member. However, for the rich, an undertaker, or designator, would do so().
The importance of burial plays a great part during the time period of The Ancient Romans as they had a strong emotional attachment to the ceremonial burial of the deceased and considered it such an honourable achievement to partake in such a religious ritual such as the funeral and burial. The Romans also wanted to demonstrate iusta facere towards the dead - the great deal of respect they had as well as the rights they had as the departed.
In ancient Egypt, food offerings were made to the dead. In ancient Greece, pictures of feasts and their favorite things along with food were offered. The overall funeral between the two cultures was very similar in the way things were conducted, however grievers were different. In ancient Greece, people wore black robes and women cut their cheeks and hair to show their grief. In ancient Egypt, people showed their grief through the floral collars they wore . While the beliefs of the afterlife and funerals don’t differ tremendously between the two places, the way they handled the actual body did. In ancient Greece, they buried the dead so the dead who had good hearts would be ensured to make it to the good parts of the afterlife. In ancient Egypt, they used their advanced technologies to preserve bodies through mummification, so the dead could come out of the dead to accept offerings and essentially live forever. Sometimes, afterlife religious practices involved sacrifices which were found in different parts of life leading to the next idea.
The introduction of Misenus into the beginning Book VI of the Aeneid demonstrates the Roman belief that a dead body brings pollution: both physically and spiritually. In order to combat this Aeneas is instructed to “carry him to his place of rest and lay him in a tomb. Then you must bring black cattle to begin purification”. This purification ritual exemplifies the notion that a dead body brings pollution to the community it is found within. The in-depth funeral rites described in Book VI in regards to Misenus exemplify the modern Roman belief and rituals regarding death. First they lit a large pyre with Misenus’ armour placed on top. Secondly they heated water cauldrons to wash and anointed his body and then placed him in his familial purple robes: further exemplifying the importance of body purification. Then there are descriptions of lighting the pyre and offerings being burnt: incense, sacrificial food, and bowls filled with oil. The ashes are then cooled with wine and placed in a bronze casket that is then carried around the comrades thrice. Finally, in this description, a mound is made and – in this case – called Mount Misenus: a lasting memory. The funeral rites of Misenus demonstrate important, modern, roman qualities. In the Bronze Age, when the myth of Aeneas is set, traditions toward burial and death were different. The fact that Virgil depicts this ancient, mythological funeral in an Augustan Rome manner exemplifies the importance of this burial, thus