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funeral customs of the ancient greeks
- death beliefs
- preparation of the body
- burial customs
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death beliefs
- *that of resignation & fear & not of anticipation of glorious afterlife
- *they belived in hades or the Elysian fields like Netherworld
- *ceremonies of deceased must make journey across the River Styx to the land eternity
- *a coin placed i the mouth to pay the toll to the ferryman, Charon, who protected the River Styx. (without payment, the soul was doomed to wander the shores of the River Styx for a hundred years)
- * A honey cake placed beside the deceased to appease Cerberus, the 3 headed dog which guarded the entrance of Hades
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preparation of the body
- was made by family memebers
- Greeks feared premature burial. 3 day delay before burial could take place & was custom
- Embalming was not practiced by Ancient Greeks
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Preperation of the bodyies customary Procedures:
*body would be washed first w/ warm water
- (sanitary purpose also helped determine if they were dead or not, since it awaken those in comas)
- (washing was performed by female relatives, as were most of the body preperation procedures)
- (then the body would be anointed with oils, spices & perfumes for the disembodied soul)
*body would be clothed in white
(dark & subdued colors were symbolic of grief & mourning & worn by the living)
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burial customs:
- early method was earth burial
- 1,000 B.C. creamation started
- (liberation of the soul, Greeks are the first culture to practice cremation)
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Burial Customary procedure:
- a day after death, the body-washed, anoitned, dressed & ready for burial-was laid out in state.
- * relatives & friends then viewed the body
- * to quarantee against premature burial
- *ritualistic wailing, by hired female mourners
- *funeral procession was formed
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To avoid contamination of the daylight, the procession would set out a good hour before?
dawn
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The processional order was:
- deceased on a bier carried by relatives or friends or hired "Corpse bearers"
- * fraternity members
- *Immediate Family
- *Hired Female Mourners
- *Hired Dirge Singers
- *Distant Relatives & Friends
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Any male wishing to join the procession along the way was
allowed to do so.
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Females were not allowed to join the procession unless
they had passed their 60th year or were connected w/ the deceased by blood & over sixteen.
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Greeks were the first to set the standard at funerals and graves by
the use of Flowers
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The final steps included:
- *a funeral feast which broke the bereaved's fast
- *offering of sacrifices at the sepulcher on a specific day
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Greeks can be credited w/ establishing the use of
- urn-like containers
- (they were larger then today's urns styles)
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When earth burial & entombment were practiced:
- *baked clay coffins were the first type of burial receptacles used
- *Chest of Cypress wood, "Eternal Wood" were later developed
- *the most popular type was the heavy stone coffins
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Types of tombs:
- "Stelae" or shafts
- "Kones" or columns
- "Trapezae" or square cut tombs
- "Nardia" or temple like structures
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Heavy stone coffins were only used and at the grave or tomb but never
carried in procession
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