Tombs

• The Romans believed that the dead continued to populate the world in the afterlife. They remained nearby, and had the same wants/needs. If the needs were satisfied, they would help the living. If not, they would wreck evil upon them
• The dead were supplied with the things they used in life (tools, clothing, jewels, etc) and they continued to participate in family banquets. Their greatest desire was to live on in the memory of the living
• If the living interacted with the dead, they would still have some form of life. They wanted to impact Roman society so as to be felt after death
• Romans used statues, monuments, buildings, poems, and tombs to remember the dead
• Roman tombs were designed to give comfort and remembrance to the dead. They were a home to the dead, and a monument for the living to interact with
• Romans placed tombs on roadways outside the city walls. It was a religious law that bodies could not be buried within the city
• Triclinium Tombs: Banquets were held for the anniversary of death; there was a triclinia attached and relatives would dine
• Alter Tombs: the most common type of tomb; designed to dominate so visitors cannot help but read the inscriptions
• Niche/Exedra Tombs: gave visitors a place to sit and relax, while reflecting upon the dead's life
• Epitaphs asked visitors to remember the death directly