Why Is Death Important In Ancient Greek Culture

Death was a very important concept to the Ancient Greek civilization. To the Greeks after a human died their spirit or psyche left their body and traveled to the underworld where they would meet the Greek God Hades and his wife Persephone. There the Greek soul would be judged and their fate sealed. Meanwhile back to the deceased’s body, preparations were being made for a proper burial. Burying of the dead was a very important aspect in Greek culture. An improper burial was seen as an “insult to human dignity.” Women would be the primary caretakers of the demised. The ritual would be held in three parts the prothesis, which was when the dead’s loved one would mourn and pay their respects, the ekphora, which was when the body was brought to the

In many vases found, scenes of murder and war were painted to demonstrate the departed’s bravery and depict epic stories as a way to pass down the oral tradition. For those who were cremated urns were made with elaborate decorations that would hold the ashes. These decoration would stem from intricate designs to scenes of the deceased daily life. Many of the deceased would be buried with possessions that the Greeks believed would come in handy in the afterlife. To ensure that the dead would not be forgotten great statues and monuments were erected. Funerary altars would portray the dead in a veritistic way and contain an epitaph on the bottom, which would memorialize the dead in a verse. Many lavish aristocrats would ensure that their deceased would be buried in very detailed, ornate sarcophagi. A sarcophagi would be painted with pigments of green, red, blue and black and contain mini statues of the deceased and family, sometimes making it hard to tell, which one had died.To the Ancient Greeks burial was a very important part in remembering the dead, which was a way to keep the deceased