When Romans died, there were plenty of rituals they believed were necessary. A major one was giving them material items to use in the after life. For example, it was important for loved ones to place a coin in the mouth of the deceased, because the person's soul would need it to pay Charon for a ride on the River Styx.
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| coin |
In fact, most of the time, Romans were cremated. It was more common than burial at the time. Tombs or tombstones were also placed along the street, so that there was a constant reminder of the dead. They even buried pets, which I think is quite nice.
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| tombstone for pet |
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| skeleton with possessions |
The Romans believed that the dead could be easily offended if not acknowledged. There were many festivals celebrating and remembering them.
As for beliefs about the afterlife, there were many. Therefore I can't pinpoint exactly what every Roman believed, yet a common belief was one similar to Greek mythology. This was where Mercury (perhaps more commonly known as Hermes) would guide the dead to the River Styx, where Charon would give them a ride. They would head to the three judges (Minos, Aeacus, and Rhadamanthys), who would decide whether they went to the Fields of Elysium (mainly for heroes), the Plain of Asphodel (for ordinary citizens), or to Tartarus (for criminals).
As my final project, I made a short story following someone named "Livius," through his journey in the afterlife:
Bibliography
"Ancient Romans." AllAboutHistory.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Dec. 2014.
"The Roman Funeral." Ancient History Encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Dec. 2014.
Would slaves also have a coin placed in their mouths and get buried when they died? Also, how would an emperor's grave compare to a normal citizens, the scale, the location, how much was in it?
ReplyDeleteYes, they had the coin placed in their mouth by family members. An emperor's grave would definitely be more elaborate, for example the urn would have more detail.
DeleteI like the rituals they used back then. The coin in the mouth is symbolic and a nice tradition.
DeleteWere the citizens' possessions cremated along with them? And what was done once they were cremated? Where they buried along with the tombstones or put into something like an urn?
ReplyDeleteNo, they were placed with them when their ashes were buried.
DeleteThe ashes were put in an urn and then buried. Sometimes there were family tombs as well.
What kind of rituals did slaves undergo? Would their masters be the ones to do these rituals or would they even have rituals?
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure actually, I think lots of time the family and friends would take part in the ceremonies.
DeleteIts very interesting how death rituals have evolved overtime. Back then, above explains how people acted around people who died and what they did when they were put to rest. Now a days, people don't even do much. Its more depressing now, and the funeral home deals with things to do. the only things that happen now is the service, and how it changes depending on religion. The Romans started many traditions
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ReplyDeleteWhat happened when the slaves died
ReplyDelete