Greek burial pratices

""En Filipo II y el Arte de la Guerra tendremos la oportunidad de conocer en profundidad a uno de los más grandes reyes de la antigua Macedonia. Gracias a su habilidad como estratega, diplomático, político y soldado, heredó un reino pobre, débil y acosado por innumerables enemigos y lo transformó en el más poderoso de toda Grecia.

A lo largo de sus páginas podremos conocer la historia del reino Macedonio, desde sus orígenes míticos hasta la formación de un imperio, de la mano del que, a la postre, se convertiría en el padre del mítico Alejandro Magno y en el forjador de un nuevo ejército que cambiaria el devenir de la guerra en la Antigüedad. Filipo II fue el creador de la falange macedonia, formación que se demostraría como inigualable en el campo de batalla y que reportaría incontables victorias sobre poderosos enemigos, como los ilirios, los tesalios, los tracios, los beocios o los atenienses. Pero no sólo eso, logró integrar en el campo de batalla a la infantería y a la caballería para emplearlos en nuevas formaciones tácticas: armó a sus soldados con las míticas sarissas y apreció como pocos las posibilidades militares que la maquinaria de guerra podía proporcionarle, siendo el mecenas de numerosos avances en este campo. Soñó con conquistar el Imperio persa, cuando ya había logrado lo que nadie antes fue capaz: el control de Grecia.

Sólo la muerte le arrebató esa hazaña, pero sentó las bases de lo que más tarde conseguiría su propio hijo. Su figura levantó tanto odios como pasiones; se le conocía como mujeriego y bebedor, pero también por su habilidad para la oratoria, por sus astucia, determinación y valor. Siempre luchó en primera línea junto a sus soldados y nunca permitió que éstos le llamaran rey, sino solo "General".

Ancient philosophers took an early interest in foetal development as they sought to determine the main stages during which the unborn child gradually acquires abilities that will make him a complete human being. The profusion of texts on this matter, as well as the controversies they have caused, sometimes fierce, underlines the interest of the ancient Greeks for a subject that goes beyond philosophical considerations. In a society where a single drop of blood can cause impurity, these debates also reflect practical issues: a miscarriage, involuntary or voluntary, does not follow the same ritual prescriptions if the foetus is declared formed or not formed. This differential management of pollution implies a certain acknowledgement of the human being before birth that also manifests itself through specific funerary rites and practices. Graves of foetus and infants deceased during the perinatal period have been uncovered, depending on contexts and on bone preservation conditions. The care brought to them (use of a container, presence of grave goods) and their integration in varied funerary complexes (mixed necropolis, location reserved for children or for family groups) attest the particular status, sometimes symbolic, that these deceased could have for their family, but also for the whole society.
Le développement fœtal a très tôt suscité la curiosité des philosophes antiques qui ont cherché à en déterminer de principales étapes au cours desquelles l’enfant à venir acquiert progressivement les capacités qui feront de lui un être complet. La profusion d’écrits sur cette question, ainsi que les controverses parfois très vives qu’elles ont provoquées, souligne l’intérêt des Grecs de l’Antiquité pour un sujet qui dépasse les seules considérations philosophiques. Dans un environnement où tout écoulement de sang peut être une source d’impureté, ces débats sont aussi le reflet de difficultés pratiques : une fausse-couche, volontaire comme involontaire, n’est pas soumise aux mêmes prescriptions rituelles si le fœtus est déclaré formé ou non-formé. Cette gestion différentielle de la souillure implique une certaine reconnaissance de l’être avant la naissance, qui se traduit aussi par des pratiques funéraires spécifiques. Selon les contextes et les conditions de préservation des ossements, des sépultures de fœtus et d’enfants décédés en période périnatale ont ainsi été mises au jour. Le soin dont elles ont pu faire l’objet (utilisation de contenant, dépôt de matériel) et leur intégration dans des ensembles funéraires variés (nécropoles mixtes, réservée aux enfants ou encore aux groupes familiaux) témoignent du statut particulier, parfois symbolique, que pouvaient revêtir ces défunts pour leur famille, mais également pour le reste de la société.

I discuss various issues centered around the notion of soul and death in Homer: the extent to which the homeric texts and archeological artefacts like tombs etc. may be regarded as evidence for certain beliefs; the concept of a plurality of souls and their different functions; I defend the idea that there is a homeric concept of an afterlife for the psyche; I discuss the sense of the burial rituals described in the epics and question their implications for religious beliefs.

1. The Getty: A. Beyond the Nile: Egypt and the Classical World
                    B. Symposium: Egypt-Greece-Rome: Cross-Cultural Encounters in Antiquity (Lecture: Corpus Hermeticum in the Villa of Herodes Atticus by G. Spyropoulos).

2. Glimpses of the Invisible Dead: A Seventh-Century B.C.E. Cemetery
in Northern Piraeus (20 min)
Nathan T. Arrington, Princeton University (first author), Georgios Spyropoulos, Ephorate of Corinth-La Sapienza, and Demetrios J. Brellas,
Framingham State University

Mycenae culture became due to its own merits, the most important one in continental Greece for more than four centuries all along the II Millennium B.C. Its commercial importance due to the fact they took advantage of the minoans exchange routes and their own economic interests made them reach far regions even in Central Mediterranean and the Near East. But all of that must’ve been difficult if they hadn’t encountered a powerful army who support their colonial and commercial adventures. Numerous Lineal B writings, pictorial and archaeological remains are witness to the importance the military world provides to those former Mycenaean. Therefore, in this article we will try to show the diverse aspects related to the Mycenaean army who supported its power in continental Greece in spite of this, neither the reforms taken in 13th century B.C. got that mycenaeans culture survival, when their settlements were destroyed.

Burial customs were essential to the ancient Greeks but, usually, inspired by the classical literature, many researchers considered that the death of infants involved succinct rituals. The recent archaeological discoveries (Astypalaia for example) force us to qualify this idea and to think about the infancy in general. Also by studying the number and the nature of the goods deposited in the baby’s graves, this article aims to reflect on real place of the infant in the Greek society (in the family and in the polis).

The book is devoted to the publication and the study and gold jewelry from the excavations, chance finds and purchases from Phanagoria. The work is based on materials acquired by  the Institute of Archaeology of Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow, as well as museums in Moscow (State Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts), Krasnodar and Taman from 1928 to 2011. Chronological framework of work: from the second half of the 4th century BC to late antiquity (the latest finds are dated to the first half of the 5th century AD). A characteristic feature of the work is a complex approach to the study. Artifacts from Phanagoria considered as elements of the funeral inventory (78 burial complexes). Typological and stylistic analysis of objects (277 catalogue numbers) is supplemented by special numismatic and epigraphic observations. Particular attention is paid to the investigations of gold objects using the methods of the natural sciences.
Книга посвящена публикации и исследованию золотых изделий из раскопок, случайных находок и покупок из Фанагории. Работа основана на материалах, которые поступили в собрания Института археологии РАН в Москве, а также музеев Москвы (ГМИИ им. А. С. Пушкина), Краснодара и Тамани с 1928 по 2011 гг. Хронологические рамки работы: от второй половины 4 в. до н.э. до позднеантичного времени (самые поздние находки относятся к первой половине 5 в. н.э.). Особенностью работы является комплексный подход к исследованию. Артефакты из Фанагории рассматриваются как элементы погребального инвентаря (78 погребальных комплексов). Типологический и стилистический анализ предметов (277 каталожных номеров) дополняется специальными нумизматическими и эпиграфическими наблюдениями. Особое внимание уделено изучению рассматриваемых в работе предметов из золота при помощи методов естественных наук.

For the interpretation of mythological subjects In the Roman funerary art the author systematically applies the analysis of the Key of Dreams by Artemidorus of Daldis, Greek author of the Antonine period. The funerary art was studied before by F. Cumont and A.D. Nock, and they both discussed also some dreams chosen from the manual of Artemidorus. The comparison of the principles of the analysis of dreams (mental images) with the principles that we encounter in the iconography gives interesting results. This approach has never previously been attempted. To support his argument, the author studies not only numerous decorated sarcophagi but also a series of funerary inscriptions.

The Macedonian tomb presented here was unearthed in 1910 in Macedonia, still under the Turkish occupation. This is the so-called “Tomb of Langadas”, named thus when published by the Greek ottoman archaeologist Theodoros Macridy / or “Tomb of Macridy bey”, after the excavator’s name. The documentation and the graphical representation of the tomb were undertaken by the painter Halil Édhem bey (1851-1938). The marble door of the chamber, as well as all the findings that escaped the looting, were transferred in that same year to the Ottoman Imperial Museum (Istanbul Arkeoloji Muzesi), in Istanbul.  Only the marble door is exhibited to this day.
This Macedonian tomb is constructed using brownish blocks of limestone and has two chambers and a façade of the Ionic order. The façade is decorated with wall paintings, like other monuments of the same type found in the greater area of ancient Macedonia. The door leading to the antechamber was wooden, while the one of the chamber was made of marble. According to the relevant descriptions, the bronze elements of the doors, as well as their decorative and functional reliefs, were gilded, and can be compared with relevant finds, indicating thus the dating of the monument at the end of 4th cent. B.C. The main burial took place inside a cist tomb, which had been constructed underneath a complex marble structure.

This article focuses on a 4th century BC tomb from the necropolis of Soloi, an important ancient city in northwestern Cyprus. The tomb,
together with five others, were revealed during a rescue excavation between 2005-2006. They supply us with evidence related to the Cypro-
Classical period of Soloi. The specific tomb that will be evaluated is distinguished from its contemporaries, especially by its rich inventory of
gold and silver jewelry and metal vessels. The tomb is characterized by three separate burial chambers that open to a rock-cut central courtyard
(prodomos). It supplies us with valuable information related to the sociocultural structure, internal and external relations of Cypro-
Classical Soloi as well as funerary beliefs and customs of its elite.

The article firstly gives a detailed structural and comparative analysis conducted to reveal both the spatial and architectural characteristics
of the tomb. This will be followed by a superficial, yet still informative, analysis of all the burials and their rich inventories. Last but not least, the burials and their inventories will be contextualized within the setting of
the 4th century BC Cypriot and Greek burial customs.

Wooden doors on Mycenaean chamber tombs.
Following a burial in a Mycenaean chamber tomb, the stomion was sealed as a rule by means of a dry stone wall and more rarely by a stone door. Generations of archaeologists have grown up with this assertion so that when excavating a chamber tomb we are certain in advance what awaits us at the doorway. Every time the dry stone wall or stone door is esposed, the conviction finds further substantiation. But can we be sure of this, or is there perhaps something we are overlooking? In the following article a new proposal is put forward: when an excavation reaches the dry stone wall or the stomion of a tomb, we must ask ourselves whether originally a wooden door stood in front of it. Characteristic examples of the existence of wooden doors in Mycenaean tombs are considered and, among other things, the various support mechanisms of wooden doors are discussed. The presence of wooden doors is linked on the one hand to Mycenaean eschatological concepts and on the other to the good state of preservation of the dry stone walls.

Ξύλινες θύρες θαλαμωτών τάφων.
Το σφράγισμα του στομίου των θαλαμωτών τάφων μετά από μία μυκηναϊκή κηδεία γινόταν ως επί το πλείστον με το χτίσιμο της ξερολιθιάς και σπανιότερα με τη χρήση μίας λίθινης θύρας. Η παραπάνω φράση μεγάλωσε γενιές αρχαιολόγων, ώστε όταν σκάβουμε έναν θαλαμωτό τάφο να είμαστε σίγουροι εκ των προτέρων για το τί περίπου θα συναντήσουμε στην είσοδο. Και όταν αποκαλύπτεται η ξερολιθιά, ή η λίθινη θύρα, η παραπάνω πρόταση επιβεβαιώνεται για μία ακόμα φορά. Πρέπει, όμως, να είμαστε σίγουροι, ή μήπως υπάρχει και κάτι άλλο που παραβλέπουμε; Στο κείμενο που ακολουθεί παρουσιάζεται μία νέα πρόταση: Όταν κατά την ανασκαφή συναντούμε την ξερολιθιά ή το στόμιο ενός τάφου, πρέπει οπωσδήποτε να αναρωτηθούμε εάν μπροστά από αυτά υπήρχε κάποτε μία ξύλινη θύρα. Εξετάζονται χαρακτηριστικές περιπτώσεις ύπαρξης ξύλινων θυρών σε μυκηναϊκούς τάφους και προσεγγίζονται οι διάφοροι τρόποι στήριξης της ξύλινης θύρας. Η παρουσία των ξύλινων θυρών συσχετίζεται με μυκηναϊκές εσχατολογικές αντιλήψεις και συνδέεται με την καλή διατήρηση των ξερολιθιών έως τις μέρες μας.

The object of interest is examination of the epigraphic and archaeological evidence related to the
burial rites in the Hellenistic period characteristic by the variety of funeral monuments. New cogitations
and techniques of funeral architecture appeared in the whole Hellenistic world but in Caria strong local
tradition is in evidence. The heroic aspects of the deceased are best to be observed by examining the
particular monuments and their architectural symbols as well as epigraphic evidence and contextual
data. Aim is to accentuate that necropoleis and singular grave temenoi in particular were space where
living interacted with the world of dead. Burial rites can be partial reconstruct with the help of supportive
information however they did not survive in the form of material finds.

Girls or Boys? Meanings and Interpretations of the Grave Goods in Greek Infant Burials

Because of their transitional biological and social state, infants are highly dependent on the other members of the Greek society, which implies important methodological questions relating to burial practices. This paper examines grave goods found with the infants, often used as sex-indicating like jewelries, to explore the plurality of meanings and messages (gender, social, economic, cultural…) formed by the same objects or group of objects. Analyzing young child burials allows a better understanding of the different logics organizing the funerary rituals that reveal not only the manifold identities of the deceased (children and adults), but of his family and relatives as well.

Par leur jeune âge et l’état de forte dépendance qui en découle, les enfants en bas âge constituent une catégorie d’individus particulièrement intéressante pour l’archéologie funéraire. À partir de l’exemple du matériel retrouvé dans les tombes infantiles et plus spécifiquement des parures – artefacts  fréquemment utilisés comme « sex-indicating » –  cet article propose de s’interroger sur la pluralité des discours (sexué, social, économique, culturel …) que peut révéler un même objet ou ensemble d’objets. L’étude des sépultures d’enfants en  bas âge est ainsi utilisée comme un moyen d’aborder les différentes logiques que pouvaient exprimer le choix des dépôts funéraires, reflétant les nombreuses composantes de l’identité des défunts (enfants et adultes), mais également de leurs proches.

Starting from the recent publication of an archaic funerary base (IG XII.6.2-626), my paper intend to review the funerary evidence (archaeological, architectural and epigraphical) of the two main necropoleis of the city of Samos in the archaic period. I will show that this inscription, very special in its formula (probably the earliest known genealogical inscription), is integrated in a no less special funerary program that confront the occupants (and their relatives) of this two burial grounds. I will then try to relate this opposition to the main social issues in Samos during the archaic period.

The number of burials per year known from Athens decreases significantly in the Protogeometric period and then increases rapidly again in the Late Geometric period. The explanation offered for this development by Morris in 1987 is the most popular one so far. This paper will first quickly discuss this and other previous ideas and their wider implications, but then focus on providing a new one. The starting point of this new interpretation is that various types of burial sites may have different recovery rates. I will thus first sketch the different possibilities for the location of graves in Athens in the Early Iron Age and the Archaic period. The subsequent diachronic analysis of these different types of burial sites and their respective popularity forms the core of this contribution. A case study of the Kerameikos and the area of the later Agora as well as an overview of all Athenian sites is provided. These developments and their correspondences in the grave count allow for an interpretation which does account for the variations in the known numbers of graves as well as the changing spatial patterns. This is finally set into the wider field of socio-cultural changes in Early Athens.