Professional paper
https://doi.org/10.51154/p.5.5.6
Funeral Rites and Customs in the Roman Empire
Ivana Katunarić
orcid.org/0000-0002-5251-0139
; Filozofski fakultet Sveučilišta u Splitu
Abstract
In the Roman Empire, there were several functions that were performed at
the time of the death of the deceased. It all begins with funeral preparation, a
ritual that was of particular importance to the inhabitants of the Roman Empire. The importance of funerals in all cultures comes from the human need to
be able to say goodbye to their loved ones. After the body of the deceased was
prepared, that is, washed in warm water, anointed with oils, and decorated with
flowers, it would be exposed in the atrium of the house. Afterwards, a pomp
or funeral procession starts, accompanied by musicians, mourners, and actors,
which leads the deceased to his eternal resting place where the rite of cremation
or inhumation will take place. After the funeral, it was obligatory to perform a
purification ritual because it was believed that the dead were polluted. With
the advent of Christianity, there was a slow change in tomb architecture, and
early communities of Christians and Jews began to be buried in underground
catacombs. According to the Code of Twelve Plates, burial within the city is prohibited and the cemetery is located outside the city walls. To the Romans, tombs
were an eternal home in which they lived after death. The most common tombs
of the Roman world were shapeless holes in which either vessels with ashes and
burnt bones or a skeleton were placed. It all depended on the material possibilities and tradition of the family, the appearance of graves and grave sites could
vary, and some patrician families could even have private graves. The construction of the mausoleums was also established, but they were more often built
by the ruling families. All this information related to the burials of the ancient
Romans can be read from two valuable sepulchral reliefs: the relief of the tomb
of the Haterii family and the relief of the tomb from Amiternum on which we
have depictions of funeral preparations and processions.
Keywords
Roman Empire; death; funeral ritual; funeral custom; funeral preparation; funeral procession; cremation; inhumation:
Hrčak ID:
306255
URI
Publication date:
27.2.2022.
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