Socials Daily Life: Death

Ancient Greece

Ancient Greece has many ways to deal with burial systems. Burial systems were very important for their culture. During the Mycenaean period to honor the dead, the living would put jewels and food around the body, around the floor of the tomb.This is why pieces of food and broken cups are often found at ancient tombs. A tomb from somewhere called Marathon contained the remains of horses that may have been given to the dead. Mycenaean cemeteries were often located near the population centers, with single graves for modest people, and chamber tombs for the richer families.

Ancient Greece (continued)

After 1100 BC, the Ancient Greeks started to bury the dead in individual graves instead of group tombs. Athens did this differently. The people of Athens normally burned their dead and placed their ashes in an urn or large vase. In the early Archaic period, Greek cemeteries became bigger, but the number of pieces of food and jewelery decreased. Women were an important part in funeral rites. They were in charge of preparing the body, which had to be washed, placed with a wreath. Without them, the death reituals would have been very different.

Ancient Egypt

Ancient Egypt death rituals included mummifying the body, casting magic spells, and burying the body with grave goods thought to be needed in the Egyptian afterlife. No one really knows any writing that survived from predynastic Egypt, but many scholars believe that the Egyptians cared for the importance of the body and its preservation.This theory would also explain why people back then did not burn the body, but buried the dead. Some scholars also believe that the Egypians feared the bodies would rise again if mistreated after death. In the Early times, bodies were buried in simple oval pits, with a few burial ingredients. Sometimes even people and animals were placed in the same grave. The graves became even more complicated as time passed.

Ancient Egypt (continued)

The more complicatedgraves contained burials goods like jewelry and pieces of sharpened splint. Human sacrifices were found in early royal tombs. Eventually, different pieces of art such as paintings and sculptures began to replace human victims. Some of these things may have been created to resemble certain people.

Ancient Rome

If a person died at home, family members and friends gathered around the death bed. The closest relative sealed the passing of the dead spirit from the body with a last kiss, and closed the eyes. The relatives will then begin praying for the spirit to rest in peace and other. Often when a person died, he/she would be washed and laid out on a couch, dressed in finest clothes. A coin would be placed on his/her mouth, under the tongue, or on the eyes so he/she could pay the ferryman to send him/her to the land of the dead. After being laid for eight days, that person would be taken out for burial.

Ancient Rome (continued)

Funerals were very expensive back then, so the poor people but not indigent Romans, including slaves, contributed to a burial society which gave the poor dead a proper burial (or funeral) in columbaria, which allowed many of the poor to be buried together in a small space, rather than dumping their bodies in holes or pits, where their remains would rot.

Bibliography

Works Cited Afterlife in Ancient Greece. N.d. tomb. This is a photograph of an ancient tomb in ancient Greece."Ancient Egyptian Burial Customs." Wikipedia. 2014. N. pag. Print. This article on Wikipedia was very helpful, although it only helped me find out about Ancient Egyptian death rituals. It wasn't at a perfect grade seven level though."Ancient Greek Funeral and Burial Practices." Wikipedia. N. pag. Print. This article was very interesting and had a lot of info on the Ancient Greek deaths and funerals."Ancient Roman Death." The Monolith. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 May 2014. . This photo shows the ancient Romans dragging a dead body inside a temple. I think this picture is very interesting. Ancient Rome Tomb. N.d. Ancient Rome Tomb. This is a photograph of an ancient tomb in Rome. Death of Pericles (Ancient Greek Ruler). N.d. Oil on Canvas. This is a painting called the death of Pericles.

Bibliography

In the Mountain Valleys. N.d. Work of visual art. This is a painting/carving of ancient Greek death rituals. "Roman Burial Practices." Roman Burial Practices. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 May 2014. . This website helped me a lot about ancient Rome. "Roman Funerals and Burial." Wikipedia. 2014. N. pag. Print. This website was very helpful for me to find out more about Roman deaths, but it wasn't at a grade seven level, but it was easy enough to understand."Sarcophagus's Death." Wikipedia. Wikipedia, n.d. Web. 8 May 2014. . This image is a statue of someone named Sarcophagus (of Rome) dying. There are many people surrounding him, crying and being depressed. This shows how people react when people die in Rome. This image was very helpful. Tombs of Eternity. N.d. Egypt Tomb. This is not exactly a sculpture, but made by a talented person in ancient Egypt. It is an ancient tomb.

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