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Article #1
Ancient Greek Burial Rites by Fotopoulou Sophia
Directions: Answer the questions
in the margins based on your
reading. Then, highlight the
evidence in the article that backs
up your answer.
Who knows then whether Life be not Death, and what we here call Death be called
Life there below?
In ancient Greece the myth and cult of death is centered on the different beliefs
concerning the inherent nature and fate of the psyche. Although "psyche" is often
translated as "soul," that is too simplistic to be entirely correct. The psyche was the
Explain the importance and
significance of the psyche in
Greek culture.
Written Answer:
life force that combined with the body made a person human. Whenever it became
visible, it took the form of a snake. The snake appears throughout Greek mythology,
as a soul, an ancestor or a house spirit.
Almost every custom associated with death and burial that was practiced by the
average Greek shows a belief in the continuance of the soul after death.
Even, in Homeric thought, the psyche was not a person’s spirit or personality at all,
but rather a being without feeling. In Homer, the psyche becomes a shade after death,
a mere after-image of the person it once occupied. It cannot communicate with the
living, nor is it immortal. There is only one exception, in the Iliad, where sacrifices
and feasting are performed at the funeral of Patroklos, showing a glimpse of the belief
in the soul’s continuance after death.
Look up and define the word
“inhumation.” Yes, you can use
your phone for this. Who
practiced inhumation before the
Greeks?
Written Answer:
Reincarnation, a common philosophy in other cultures, does not seem to have been a
popular belief among the Greeks, but in later times it became part of the doctrines of
the Orphics and the Pythagoreans.
Although the cultures that preceded the Greeks practiced inhumation exclusively, the
Greeks eventually developed the custom of cremation (which may have been brought
from the Near East), and the two methods were used alternately over time. Some
thought that burning the body was necessary for the psyche to leave (or at least, to
leave immediately), so cremation was performed for the sake of the dead man’s soul,
and so that his ghost would not plague the surviving relatives. The ashes were then
placed in an amphora and buried in the same fashion as a body.
In the Bronze Age, adults were cremated and children were inhumed, both in chamber
tombs or pit graves. Offerings to the dead included oil flasks, cups, bowls and vases,
jewelry, and sometimes weapons. Food and drink were also left, some of it burnt.
Why did the Greeks begin
practicing cremation?
Written Answer:
By the Hellenistic Period, inhumation had become more common than cremation
again. It is in this period that the coin, ovolos, offering to Charon is first seen.
somehow to an empty grave called a cenotaph, where a stone represented the person.
Why was it important for the
Greeks to be buried in the
homeland? Connect this to the
Iliad.
Relatives tended cenotaphs in the same manner as real graves. Although women were
Written Answer:
It was very important to the Greeks to be buried in their homeland by their close
family. When a person died away from home, their soul had to be called back
a crucial element of the rituals, only women who were closely related to the deceased
or over the age of sixty were allowed to participate.
The burial rites began on the day after death. The eyes and mouth of the dead person
were closed, the body was washed and anointed, with a laurel branch used to sprinkle
substituted with a fake coin called “ghost money” which was left in the mouth, hand
Explain the purpose of the coin
being placed over the eyes of the
dead in Greek culture.
or loose in the grave). The body was then wrapped in a linen shroud and crowned with
Written Answer:
sanctified water. A coin for Charon was fixed between the teeth (though later this was
garlands, and sometimes it was laid on vine branches. Finally, the body was laid on a
bier, with its feet facing the door, in the house for a whole day; this was called
prothesis. Women lamented, and men came to pay their respects.
On the third day after death, before sunrise, the corpse was brought out in a procession
to the cemetery; this was called ekphora. The women displayed violent exhibitions of
ritual position, with their hands placed on their heads. Sometimes the mourners made
Women publicly and openly
grieved for the dead. How does
Andromache do this at the end of
Book XXII?
themselves physically unclean as an expression of their grief.
Written Answer:
grief to please the dead spirit and sang a funeral dirge; but in some places laws limited
the noise during the procession. Vase paintings show female mourners in a particular
At the cemetery, the body was lowered into the grave, and libations were made and
offerings left. Cups were common as offerings, perhaps because the dead were often
referred to as thirsty. When the dirt was put over the body, seeds were scattered upon
it, to return that patch of land to the use of the living. A gravestone of some sort was
erected on the burial mound, sometimes a phallus or a herm (a primitive idol of
Hermes, the guide of souls). In older times, trees were planted around the grave. The
graves, and even entire cemeteries, were often oriented to the West, where the land of
the dead was said to lie.
The family then returned to the home of the deceased, which was marked by a
particular kind of vessel, both as a warning to others that the house was unclean, and
for use as a receptacle for pure water (often from the sea). Water and fire from the
house were polluted, and had to be brought in from outside. The family purified
themselves and put on garlands. Then they sat down to a funeral feast, called a
perideipnon. At this feast, which in older times was held at the graveside, the dead
man was said to be present, and the diners would speak only of praise for him. This
was the last consecutive day of funeral rites for most people; the funerals of very
important men sometimes ended in athletic contests.
Explain the activities performed
during the mourning period in
Greek culture.
On the third day after the funeral, food offerings were left at the grave, and again on
Written Answer:
the ninth day, which was commonly the end of the mourning period.
However, worship of the dead and especially one’s ancestors did not end at funerals; it
was a lifelong duty, especially for a dead man’s oldest son. Centered around the grave
spot, the commemoration of a particular deceased family member took place on the
dead man or woman’s birthday, as well as the anniversary of his or her death. The
latter was a very important occasion, which included a visit to the tomb and the
offering of flowers and ribbons.
also feared, and people would pass by graves silently, so as to avoid attracting the
How did the death of a family
member affect future
generations? Do you think this
is honoring the dead or being
excessive?
attention of the soul within. This custom, as well as the prevalence of rites performed
Written Answer:
Ancestors were thought to be able to help give fertility of all kinds, and were often
sacrificed to and prayed to for good crops and fertile wombs. However, the dead were
at the graves themselves, seems to show that they believed at least some aspect of the
psyche remained in the gravesite.
Offerings to these deities, and other spirits of the dead, included pomegranates,
cooked vegetables and seeds, pigs, rams, and roosters, though only female or castrated
animals were sacrificed. Food that fell to the ground was also left for them.
Sometimes sacrifices were buried or thrown in pits or even graves, to be closer to the
underworld. And offerings were sometimes “killed” or ruined before being given,
because it was thought that everything was reversed in the underworld, and therefore a
thing must be broken for it to be whole there.
Why were sacrifices and
offerings made by the Greeks
after the death of a loved one?
What kinds of things did the
Greeks sacrifice/offer the gods?
Written Answer:
Article #2 (see next page for directions)
Not all cultures believe in burying the dead in the ground. Here are 10 unique
ceremonies from around the world.
THE MODERN DICTIONARY defines the word ‘burial’ as placing a body in the
ground.
But burying the deceased was not always the case.
Just as primitive man has long worshiped the four elements of Earth, Sky, Water, and
Fire, so too have these elements taken their place in burial practices as diverse as the
different tribes of the earth.
The way mankind deals with its dead says a great deal about those left to carry on.
Directions for Article #2: Read
Burial practices are windows to a culture that speak volumes about how it lives.
the 11 burial customs from
different cultures. Choose 5 or
As we are told in Genesis, man comes from dust, and returns to it. We have found
the 10 to highlight and write
many different ways to return. Here are 10 that I found particularly fascinating:
comments about. As you read,
Air Sacrifice – Mongolia
highlight what makes the custom
unique (what you found
Lamas direct the entire ceremony, with their number determined by the social
interesting or weird about it).
standing of the deceased. They decide the direction the entourage will travel with the
For the comments, explain (1)
body, to the specific day and time the ceremony can happen.
why it is interesting to you and
(2) how this custom is similar
Mongolians believe in the return of the soul. Therefore the lamas pray and offer food
and/or different to another
to keep evil spirits away and to protect the remaining family. They also place blue
custom either in the article, in the
stones in the dead persons bed to prevent evil spirits from entering it.
Greek burial article, or another
custom you know about from
No one but a lama is allowed to touch the corpse, and a white silk veil is placed over
the face. The naked body is flanked by men on the right side of the yurt while women
are placed on the left. Both have their respective right or left hand placed under their
heads, and are situated in the fetal position.
The family burns incense and leaves food out to feed all visiting spirits. When time
comes to remove the body, it must be passed through a window or a hole cut in the
wall to prevent evil from slipping in while the door is open.
The body is taken away from the village and laid on the open ground. A stone outline
is placed around it, and then the village dogs that have been penned up and not fed for
days are released to consume the remains. What is left goes to the local predators.
The stone outline remains as a reminder of the person. If any step of the ceremony
is left out, no matter how trivial, bad karma is believed to ensue.
Sky Burial – Tibet
This is similar to the Mongolian ceremony. The deceased is dismembered by a
rogyapa, or body breaker, and left outside away from any occupied dwellings to be
consumed by nature.
To the western mind, this may seem barbaric, as it did to the Chinese who outlawed
another culture.
the practice after taking control of the country in the 1950s. But in Buddhist Tibet, it
makes perfect sense. The ceremony represents the perfect Buddhist act, known as
Jhator. The worthless body provides sustenance to the birds of prey that are the
primary consumers of its flesh.
To a Buddhist, the body is but an empty shell, worthless after the spirit has departed.
Most of the country is surrounded by snowy peaks, and the ground is too solid for
traditional earth internment. Likewise, being mostly above the tree line, there is not
enough fuel for cremation.
Pit Burial – Pacific Northwest Haida
Before white contact, the indigenous people of the American northwest coast,
particularly the Haida, simply cast their dead into a large open pit behind the village.
Their flesh was left to the animals. But if one was a chief, shaman, or warrior, things
were quite different.
The body was crushed with clubs until it fit into a small wooden box about the size of
a piece of modern luggage. It was then fitted atop a totem pole in front of the
longhouse of the man’s tribe where the various icons of the totem acted as guardians
for the spirits’ journey to the next world.
Written history left to us by the first missionaries to the area all speak of an
unbelievable stench at most of these villages. Today, this practice is outlawed.
Viking Burial – Scandinavia
We have all seen images of a Viking funeral with the body laid out on the deck of a
dragon ship, floating into the sunset while warriors fire flaming arrows to ignite the
pyre.
While very dramatic, burning a ship is quite expensive, and not very practical.
What we do know is most Vikings, being a sea faring people, were interred in large
graves dug in the shape of a ship and lined with rocks. The person’s belongings and
food were placed beside them. Men took their weapons to the next world, while
women were laid to rest wearing their finest jewelry and accessories.
If the deceased was a nobleman or great warrior, his woman was passed from man to
man in his tribe, who all made love to her (some would say raped) before strangling
her, and placing her next to the body of her man. Thankfully this practice is now, for
the most part, extinct.
Fire Burial – Bali
On the mostly Hindu Isle of Bali, fire is the vehicle to the next life. The body or
Mayat is bathed and laid out on a table where food offerings are laid beside it for the
journey.
Lanterns line the path to the persons hut to let people know he or she has passed, and
act as a reminder of their life so they are not forgotten.
It is then interred in a mass grave with others from the same village who have passed
on until it is deemed there are a sufficient number of bodies to hold a cremation.
The bodies are unearthed, cleaned, and stacked on an elaborate float, gloriously
decorated by the entire village and adorned with flowers. The float is paraded through
the village to the central square where it is consumed by flames, and marks the
beginning of a massive feast to honor and remember the dead.
Spirit Offerings – Southeast Asia
Throughout most of Southeast Asia, people have been buried in the fields where they
lived and worked. It is common to see large stone monuments in the middle of a
pasture of cows or water buffalo.
The Vietnamese leave thick wads of counterfeit money under rocks on these
monuments so the deceased can buy whatever they need on their way to the next life
In Cambodia and Thailand, wooden “spirit houses” sit in front of almost every hut
from the poorest to the most elaborate estate. These are places where food and drink
are left periodically for the souls of departed relatives to refuel when necessary. The
offerings of both countries also ask the spirits of the relatives to watch over the lands
and the families left behind.
Predator Burial – Maasai Tribe
The Maasai of East Africa are hereditary nomads who believe in a deity known as
Enkai, but this is not a single being or entity.
It is a term that encompasses the earth, sky, and all that dwells below. It is a difficult
concept for western minds that are more used to traditional religious beliefs than those
of so-called primitive cultures.
Actual burial is reserved for chiefs as a sign of respect, while the common people are
simply left outdoors for predators to dispose of, since Maasai believe dead bodies are
harmful to the earth. To them when you are dead, you are simply gone. There is no
after life.
Skull Burial – Kiribati
On the tiny island of Kiribati the deceased is laid out in their house for no less than
three days and as long as twelve, depending on their status in the community. Friends
and relatives make a pudding from the root of a local plant as an offering.
Several months after internment the body is exhumed and the skull removed, oiled,
polished, and offered tobacco and food. After the remainder of the body is re-interred,
traditional islanders keep the skull on a shelf in their home and believe the native god
Nakaa welcomes the dead person’s spirit in the northern end of the islands.
Cave Burial – Hawaii
In the Hawaiian Islands, a traditional burial takes place in a cave where the body is
bent into a fetal position with hands and feet tied to keep it that way, then covered
with a tapa cloth made from the bark of a mulberry bush.
Sometimes the internal organs are removed and the cavity filled with salt to preserve
it. The bones are considered sacred and believed to have diving power.
Many caves in Hawaii still contain these skeletons, particularly along the coast of
Maui.
Ocean Burial
Since most of our planet is covered with water, burial at sea has long been the
accepted norm for mariners the world over.
By international law, the captain of any ship, regardless of size or nationality has the
authority to conduct an official burial service at sea.
The traditional burial shroud is a burlap bag, being cheap and plentiful, and long in
use to carry cargo. The deceased is sewn inside and is weighted with rocks or other
heavy debris to keep it from floating.
If available, the flag of their nation covers the bag while a service is conducted on
deck. The body is then slid from under the flag, and deposited in Davy Jones locker.
In olden days, the British navy mandated that the final stitch in the bag had to go
through the deceased person’s lip, just to make sure they really were dead. (If they
were still alive, having a needle passed through their skin would revive them).
It is quite possible that sea burial has been the main form of burial across the earth
since before recorded history.
The Final Frontier
Today, if one has enough money, you can be launched into space aboard a private
commercial satellite and a capsule containing your ashes will be in permanent orbit
around the earth.
Perhaps this is the ultimate burial ceremony, or maybe the beginning of a whole new
era in which man continues to find new and innovative ways to invoke spirits and
provide a safe passage to whatever awaits us at the end of this life.
After Reading Questions (on your own paper – staple to this packet when you are finished):
1) In reading about the burial customs of the Greeks and from other cultures, explain why it is so important
for Priam to go ask Achilleus for the body of his son.
2) After reading about the importance of burial customs, what does it say about Achilleus’ character that he
was unwilling to give back Hektor’s body? What character archetype does Achilleus’ actions make him
in the scene where he refuses Hektor’s final plea?
3) Do you think Achilleus should have dragged Hektor’s body after killing him? Why?
4) Do you think soldiers should honor the customs/beliefs of their enemy? Explain your opinion.