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Funeral Customs of the
Ancient Romans
Roman Influence
-The Romans borrowed and
adapted much of their culture
from the Greeks.
-Many details of Roman funeral
and undertaking operations
foreshadowed our work today.
-We will now start to see the
emerging role of the modern day
Undertaker.
-The Romans made great strides
in defining the character, status
and occupational of the modern
Funeral Director.
Roman view of death
Animistic viewthe doctrine that believes
that the soul is vital and the
soul of a man although
separated at death from the
body it will hover around the
place of burial for continued
peace and happiness and
requires food and drink
constantly from the
survivors.
Therefore, the dead were offered
basic food necessities.
Roman View of Death
Continued
Influence of Mystery CultsPeople had the hope of
joining a cult god in a
wonderful placeor the horror of a world
of torment, gloom, and
continued unhappiness.
Epicurean influencebelieved that there was no
after-life, the body simply
disintegrated back to atoms.
“…eat and drink for tomorrow we
die…”
Roman View of Death
Continued
Influence of ChristianityDominate Religion by 300 A.D.
We now start to see a theological
orientation to deathOrganization of beliefs
about man and his Maker.
Customs were patterned for the
most part by the Christian mode
of sepulture of Christ
Some form of afterlife was
envisioned by the Romans at all
times.
Roman Burial Customs:
Cremation-Common until the first
century after Christ.
-Was later discouraged by the
Mystery Cults of the Orient
and the rise of Christianity.
Burial-Because of sanitation it was
not permitted within the walls
of Rome.
-Cremation was replaced by
burial with the Christian
Influence.
Roman Burial Customs:
Excavation-Burial was extramural
(outside the city walls).
Class Distinctions-The rich had tombs.
-The poor had a common pit
commune sepulcurum.
Tombs or Columbaria-Held the cremated dead.
Roman Burial Customs:
Burial Societies-Assured burial of the poorer
classes of people.
Death was a part of life-There was no hurriedly
putting the dead out of sight.
~Do you feel that we put death
out of sight today?
Roman Burial Customs:
Preparation of the dead-The person died in the
presence of his family.
-The body was washed ,
anointed and laid out with a
toga, and decorated with the
insignia of rank the dead had
achieved.
-Placed on a funeral couch
with the feet towards the door
to then lie in state for a length
of time flowers and incense
were present.
~Where do we see this today?
Roman Burial Customs:
Preparation of the dead-The well to do people were
taken care of by professional
undertakers who took care of
the arrangements for the
funeral procession and burial
also.
-The body was not embalmed
to last like the Egyptians but
rather just to make it through
lying in state without
putrefaction.
-Most embalming was done
superficially. Cavity
embalming was only done for
the rich.
Funeral Functionaries:
Libitinagoddess of corpses and
funerals.
LibitinariusHead Undertaker-took care of
most of the arrangements.
PollinctoresThe Embalmers-were slaves or
employees of the Libitinarius.
Funeral Functionaries:
Designators-Directed the funeral
Procession and was the master
of ceremonies.
Praeco-Crier, let everyone know
about the funeral by crying in
the streets.
These officials were debarred from
participation in Political life, but if
they ever quit they could be elected
to the highest magistracies.
Early Funeral Directing:
Funeral Procession/Services-Usually held at night, the high
status funerals were during the
day.
-The body was moved outside
the city where cremation or
burial took place.
-Consecration of the burial site
took place and guests threw
dirt on the coffin.
-Mourning period was
observed.
Early Funeral Directing:
Professional Mourners-Romans used professional
mourners….did not want to
offend the dead.
-Women were hired to “shriek
and beat their breasts with
abandon.”
-The ceremony ended with the
conclamatio mortis(calling out
of the dead), as they tore their
hair out and tore their clothes
and scratched their faces until
they drew blood, while circling
the coffin.
Early Funeral Directing:
Influence of Constantine and
Christianity on funeral behavior-Everyone received a burial
even if they could not afford it,
the State would pay.
-They were Given a coffin, a
religious procession, the grave was
dug and the body was buried.
Do you think the Roman State
should pay for the funeral of the
poor?
Why?
Early Funeral Directing:
Funerary CustomsFuneral behavior was slowly
becoming a function of the
church.
The Roman Influence
The Roman UndertakerAs an arranger, manager and
director of funeral affairs, as well as
a supplier of mortuary goods, sets a
pattern of occupational behavior
meaningful to the funeral director
of the mid-twentieth century.
-The Romans were the first to
create mortuary law. These laws
have been an enduring pattern for
public protection in the matter of
the disposal of our dead.