ROMAN FUNERALS

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0 height="100%"><tr> <td valign="top" width=168 BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF" background="049a11c3.gif"> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id17_charon.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="CHARON"><U><IMG SRC="04f72710.gif" border=0 width="114" height="113" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> <div> A soul being brought to Charon, the ferryman of the Underworld.</div> <div> <A HREF="id18.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="COLUMBARIA"><U><IMG SRC="058797d0.jpg" border=0 width="121" height="125" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> <div> Columbaria</div> <div> <A HREF="id19_mano_fico.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="MANO FICO"><U><IMG SRC="0636a8f0.jpg" border=0 width="106" height="143" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> <div> Mano Fico</div> </td> <td valign="top" BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <div> <B>ROMAN FUNERALS</B></div> <div> <IMG SRC="048f4010.gif" border=0 width="500" height="1" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> The Romans had a short life expectancy due to disease, limited medical knowledge and almost constant wars. Funerary rituals and practices played an essential part in their lives, as they believed that honouring the deceased members of their family and a proper burial were essential for the Afterlife. Central to the Romans very detailed view of the Afterlife was the belief that the spirits of the dead were taken across the mythological river Styx to the Underworld, where the spirit was judged whether it was to find its place in heaven, Elysium, or hell, Tartarus. Funerals were seen as a way of preparing the spirit for this journey. There were numerous customs that were followed to ensure that the deceased was properly laid to rest, would have an auspicious Afterlife and would not return to haunt the living. These were also intended to reflect the deceased's place in the family and the continued importance of the surviving family.</div> <bR> <div> When a Roman was at the point of death, the nearest relative present would attempt to catch the last breath with his mouth. The deceased's rings were removed and the nearest relation closed their eyes and mouth. The corpse was then washed, and anointed with oil and perfumes by slaves, called Pollinctores, who belonged to the Libitinarii, or undertakers. The Libitinarii were associated with the temple of Venus Libitina, where everything required for funerals was stored and an account was kept of those who died. The expressions vitare Libitinam and evadere Libitinam were used in the sense of escaping death. </div> <bR> <div> Those in mourning displayed their grief by wearing vestes pullae (dull wool clothing) and by neglecting to wash, comb their hair, cut their nails, or change their clothes. As declared by law, parents and children over six could be mourned for a year, children under six for a month, a husband for ten months, and close blood relatives for eight months. </div> <bR> <div> Laments, songs or poems expressing grief, were played on flutes as the body was prepared for the funeral procession. The family would assemble and perform the conclamatio; which involved calling out the name of the deceased three times while horns blew to announce the death. After each family member gave their extremum vale, the final farewell, the body was carried out of the house with the feet-first. If the deceased was from a lower class, the body was taken out by the shortest route possible. If the deceased was of a higher social order there was a more elaborate funeral procession. Musicians led the way while female mourners called praeficae followed singing funeral dirges, or naeniae. The body followed with its face covered and family and friends in mourning garb. If the deceased was a prominent figure, the procession would stop in the forum for the funeral oration, laudatio funebris, by the oldest son of the deceased or another close relative, while the body was displayed upright.</div> <bR> <div> Funerals were typically held at night to prevent large public gatherings and discourage crowds and excessive mourning. Inhumation was more common than cremation in prehistoric Rome. However, inhumation was generally abandoned towards the end of the fifth century BC and was resumed only towards the middle of the second century AD. The acceptance of cremation as the principal system resulted in ustrina, the sacred enclosures in which pyres were built to convert the corpses into ashes. </div> <bR> <div> The Twelve Tables, the code of Roman law, forbade burial or cremation within the walls of the city and they normally took place outside the city walls along the roads leading into the city.  At the tomb, the resting place was sanctified, earth was cast on the remains and the family members, who were considered to be polluted by the death, were purified by being sprinkled by a priest with pure water from a branch of olive or laurel.<B> </B>The body, if buried, was lowered into the grave either on a couch, or in a coffin of burnt clay or stone. Tombs were of various sizes and forms, according to the wealth and taste of the owner. The tombs of the Romans were ornamented in various ways, but they seldom represented death in a direct manner. </div> <bR> <div> In cremation, the corpse was burnt on a pile of wood in the form of an altar, with four equal sides. When the flames began to rise perfumes, cups of oil, ornaments, clothes, dishes of food, and other things, which were agreeable to the deceased, were thrown on the flames. After the pyre was extinguished, a family member (usually the deceased's mother or wife) would gather the ashes and place them in an urn. When the pile was burnt down, the embers were soaked with wine, and the bones and ashes of the deceased were gathered by the nearest relatives, who sprinkled them with perfumes, and placed them in an urn. It was normal for an often elaborate feast to be held at the site of the burial or cremation. </div> <bR> <div> Many poorer Romans belonged to funeral societies, called collegia<I> </I>funeraticia, to ensure a proper burial. They were funeral clubs to which regular payments, which would be used to cover the cost of funerals for the members. Collegia members were guaranteed a place in a Columbaria,  where cremated remains were placed within small wall niches which were often marked by memorial plaques and portrait sculptures. Collegia and Columbaria were an inexpensive way to guarantee an appropriate transition to the Afterlife for all classes of Roman society.</div> <bR> <div> "Nine Days of Sorrow" began with the day of the cremation or inhumation. During this period, ashes were dried and put in urns. Nine days after the body was laid to rest, the family members ended the funeral with the novendiale sacrificim, the sacrifice of the ninth day. Then, they participated in another great feast at the house called the cena novendialis. Food was also offered to the dead because they thought it would be required in the Afterlife. On this day, the heirs also formally received their inheritance.  </div> <div> Celebrations were held regularly to commemorate the memory of the dead. The thirteenth to the twenty-first of February was known as Parentalalia or dies parentales. The final day was especially distinguished as the Feralia. There were annual celebrations of the burial day of the dead at the end of March and the festivals of violets and roses (Violaria, Rosaria), at the end of May when violets and roses were distributed among the relatives and laid on the graves or piled over the urns.. </div> <bR> <div> In May, the Romans celebrated the Lemuria in a ceremony that was intended to satisfy any lemures that might be haunting their houses. At midnight, the head of the household made the sign of mano fico and walked barefoot around the house while spitting out nine black beans as an exchange for the well being of the occupants of the household. For all of these festivals, offerings were made in the temples to the gods and at the tombs of the dead. Lamps were burned at the tombs and the relatives feasted together and offered food to their dead. The Romans also believed that the deceased were still very important members of the household. Lararium, special household shrines, were kept where prayers and offerings were made to the gods. The spirits of dead ancestors, lares, were also believed to watch the household.</div> <bR> <div> JK GILLON</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div>  <IMG SRC="http://service.bfast.com/bfast/serve?bfmid=31103363&siteid=39624796&bfpage=qb3" BORDER="0" WIDTH="1" HEIGHT="1" NOSAVE > <FORM ACTION="http://service.bfast.com/bfast/click" > <INPUT TYPE="hidden" NAME="siteid" VALUE="39624796" > <INPUT TYPE="hidden" NAME="bfpage" VALUE="qb3"> <INPUT TYPE="hidden" NAME="bfmid" VALUE="31103363" > <table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0" width="150"> <tr> <td valign="top" bgcolor="#FFFFCE" rowspan="3"><img src="http://www.ask.co.uk/docs/about/questionboxes/questionbox11_e.gif" border="0"></td> <td valign="top" bgcolor="#FFFFCE"><img src="http://www.ask.co.uk/docs/about/questionboxes/questionbox11_b.gif" border="0" height="5" width="99"></td> <td align="right" bgcolor="#FFFFCE" rowspan="3"><INPUT TYPE="IMAGE" src="http://www.ask.co.uk/docs/about/questionboxes/questionbox11_d.gif" border="0"><INPUT TYPE="hidden" NAME="scope" VALUE="web"><INPUT TYPE="hidden" NAME="origin" VALUE="nnnn"><INPUT TYPE="hidden" NAME="qSource" VALUE="n"></td> </tr> <tr> <td align="center" valign="top" bgcolor="#FFFFCE"><img src="http://www.ask.co.uk/docs/about/questionboxes/questionbox11_a.gif" border="0"><br><input type="text" size="11" NAME="ask"></td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="bottom" align="left" bgcolor="#FFFFCE"><img src="http://www.ask.co.uk/docs/about/questionboxes/questionbox11_c.gif" border="0" height="5" width="99"></td> </tr> </table> </FORM>  </div> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>