Greek Death and burial

• Greek burial process part 1:

  • death was a very important issue to the greeks
  • they believed that the dead should be treated with respect and that everyone, no matter their social class or wealth, should receive a proper burial
• Greek burial process part 2:

  • once a person had died, the body had to be prepared
  • the person’s eyes and mouth were closed
  • the body would be washed, perfumed, and wrapped in a long white shroud
  • a coin would be placed on the deceased’s mouth as payment for charon, the boatman who ferried the dead from the land of the living to the underworld
• Greek burial process part 3:

  • after the body was prepared, the prothesis (laying out) took place
  • the prothesis lasted two days and gave the friends and family of the deceased a chance to come and pay their respect
  • a bowl of water was placed outside for people to wash pollution off themselves as they left
  • once respects had been paid, the women of the family would start their lament by cutting their hair, dressing in shabby black clothing and wailing beside the deceased while beating their chests and flailing their arms
• Greek burial process part 4:

  • the ekphora took place before dawn on the third day
  • the ekphora was the funeral procession from the house of the deceased to the burial ground
  • depending on the wealth of the family and distance they travelled, the deceased would either be carried on a wagon or carried by pallbearers
  • the procession included men, women, and children, as well as an aulos player
• Greek burial process part 5:

  • the body was buried outside of the city to remove the chance of religious pollution as well as the spread of disease
  • the main burial ground for athenians was in kerameikos, an area just outside the northwestern walls of the city
  • once the body reached the burial ground, it was either be buried or cremated
  • in a cremation, the body would be lit on a pyre, and the ash would be collected in an urn and given to the family to be placed in a shrine or grave
  • to assist the deceased in their journey to the underworld, the family would add burial gifts to the grave
• Greek burial process part 6:

  • depending on the wealth of the family, a stele (gravestone) may be set up for the deceased
  • it was vital to the greeks that their deceased were remembered
  • if a family neglected the deceased’s grave, they would dishonour their family memory
  • the family of the deceased would employ a sculptor to carve a relief on the stele that reflected the deceased and the family’s wealth
  • once the deceased had been buried or cremated a sacrifice would take place
  • unlike a typical sacrifice, the blood of the victim was released on the earth as an offering to hades+persephone
• Greek burial process part 7:

  • maintaining respect was very important to the greeks
  • once the deceased had been buried a period of mourning began that lasted for thirty days
  • the family was obliged to visit the deceased on the third, ninth, and thirteenth day
  • after this, the family visited the grave annually
• The Anthesteria part 1:

  • the anthesteria took place in late january and lasted three days
  • it celebrated the maturing of wine and was held in honour of dionysus
  • the first day of was believed to be a day the dead rose from the underworld and roamed the earth; wine from the previous year was opened and libations were poured to dionysus
  • on the second day, groups would gather for drinking contests and families would pour libations on the graves of their ancestors

  
• The Anthesteria part 2:

  • the final day was dedicated to the dead, and families of the dead would make offerings (eg. food) to hermes as he could travel in both the world of the living and the world of the dead; however, they were not allowed to eat any of the offerings
  • the ceremony on the third day marked the period that the dead had to leave athens and return to the underworld
• The Genesia:

  • the genesia took place in late september and lasted one day
  • during this day, athenians would decorate the graves of the deceased with ribbons and offer food and perform blood sacrifices in honour of all their dead ancestors