Funeral Ceremonies

1. Greek. The expre ions τὰ δίκαια, νομιζόμενα, or προσήκοντα, the just and lawful rites, are expre ive of the Greek idea that the proper burial of the dead was a most sacred duty to them. The first act was to place in the mouth of the corpse an obolus, with which the spirit would pay the ferryman in Hades. This coin was then called danaké. The body was then washed and anointed, the head crowned with flowers, and the handsomest robes put on. All this was done by the women of the family. By the side of the bed upon which the corpse was then laid ( πρόθεσις ) were placed painted earthen ve els ( lecuthoi; see Lecythus ), which were afterwards buried with the corpse. (These vases are frequently disinterred in modern excavations.) A honey cake ( mel it to uta ) to throw to the dog Cerberus was laid on the bed. Before the door a ve el of water ( ostracon or ardalion ) was set, to be used, like the holy water of Catholic times, by persons leaving the house, for purification. On the third day after death, the ecphora, or carrying out for burial, took place in the morning before sunrise. The men walked before the corpse, and the women behind. Hired mourners ( threnodoi ) accompanied the proce ion, playing mournful tunes on the flute. The bodies were either buried or burned, until cremation gave way to a Christian prejudice. The body was placed for burning on the top of a pyre (Gr. πῦρ, fire); and, in remote ages, animals, prisoners, or slaves were burned with it. Oils and perfumes were thrown into the flames. Finally, the smouldering ashes were quenched with wine, and relatives and friends collected what remained of the bones. The bones were then washed with wine and oil, and placed in urns, often golden. 2. Roman. Funera just a conveys the same idea as the Greek dicaia of the right and title of the dead to a proper observance. With the Romans, the washing, anointing, . of the body was done by slaves ( poll inc to res ) of the undertakers, who were called libitinarii , because they dwelt near the temple of Venus Lib it in a, in which all things requisite for funerals were sold and a mortuary register was kept. The coin having been duly placed in the mouth, the body was laid out in the vestibule dre ed, of ordinary citizens in a white toga, and of magistrates in their official robes, and the couch was strewn with flowers, and a branch of cypre was placed at the door of the house. All funerals were, in ancient times, performed at night, but afterwards only those of the poor. At a great funeral the corpse was carried out on the eighth day, preceded by musicians ( corni cines , .) and mourning women ( præficæ ), who chanted a funeral hymn ( nænia ); players and buffoons ( his triones , scurræ ) followed, and a proce ion of the freed slaves wearing the cap of liberty ( pileati ). Images of the deceased and of his ancestors were borne before the corpse, which was carried on a litter ( feretrum ). The common bier of the poor was called sand a pila , and its bearers vespillones , because they bore it forth in the evening ( vespere ). The couches of the rich were of ivory, richly ornamented with gold and purple. The relations walked behind in mourning, sons with the head veiled, and daughters with dishevelled hair. At the forum a funeral oration ( laudatio ) was delivered, and thence the proce ion went to the place of burial or cremation. Those who were buried (as all were subsequently to the 4th century A. D. ) were placed in a coffin ( arc a or loculus ), often of stone. The A ian stone, from A os in Troas, was said to consume all the body, with the exception of the teeth, in forty days, whence it was called sarcophagus (q.v.). For cremation the pyre, or rogus , was built like an altar, and the corpse in its splendid couch being placed on the top, the nearest relation, with averted face, fired a corner of the pile. Perfumes were forbidden by the Twelve Tables. Sometimes animals were slaughtered, and in ancient times, captives and slaves, but afterwards gladiators were hired to fight round the blazing pile. (Compare Bustum .) When the pyre was burnt down, the embers were soaked with wine, and the bones and ashes collected into urns. (See Urna .) The solemnities continued for nine days after the funeral, at the end of which time a sacrifice was performed called the novemdiale . Men wore black for mourning, and women white; but at all banquets given in honour of the dead the guests were clothed in white. IMG:6949005855195395773_fig_340.jpg: Fig. 340. Covered urn of red pottery. Ohojepore.