1+-+Roman+Funeral+Customs

====**WHEN A ROMAN DIED, THERE WAS USUALLY AN ELABORATE FUNERAL, ESPECIALLY IF THE PERSON WAS WEALTHY AND/OR IMPORTANT.** **FIRST THERE WERE CEREMONIES AT THE HOME OF THE DECEASED. THEN THERE WAS A FUNERAL PROCESSION. THIS WIKI IS GOING TO BE ABOUT ALL ASPECTS OF A ROMAN FUNERAL.....WHO WAS INVOLVED (LATIN NAMES AND TRANSLATION), WHAT WAS SAID, THE ORDER OF THE PROCESSION (WHO WAS FIRST, WHO WAS NEXT, ETC.) AND THE FINAL DESTINATION OF THE PROCESSION.**====


 * Cremation was the most common burial practice in the first and second centuries AD in Rome. Some of the main reasons for its popularity was because of family choices, cost, and for religious reasons in which Christians and followers of** Pythagoras **preferred to use inhumation while emperors preferred cremation.** **Inhumation being the normal burial of being placed in a grave. After the wake was the procession which included many hired musicians and following them were mourners and family members carrying statues, portraits, and wax masks. Many Romans belonged to funeral societies to which they paid monthly fees to ensure proper burial. Many Romans were buried in Columbaria, or large underground vaults that housed many dead bodies. The Columbaria were fairly inexpensive burials that ensured people would get to the underworld.**


 * Ancient Romans paid great attention to funeral rites, because they believed that the souls of the unburied were not admitted onto the boat of the dead and would wander a hundred years along the river Styx before they were allowed to cross it. When any one was at the point of death, "his nearest relation present tried to catch his last breath with his mouth, for they believed that the soul went out at the mouth." The body would be washed, perfumed and dressed in the "richest robes in preparation of the funeral of the deceased." A coin would be put in the mouth of the dead for he or she to pay Charon, who sailed the dead across the river styx into the underworld. A period called the wake would then begin where the deceased are put on display for public mourning. Depending on the Roman's social status, this wake would last up to a week for upper-class citizens, or as little as a day for the lower-class.**


 * However, the poorer people's funeral were far less complicated and were very straightforward. If the family was really poor, they would just place their deceased loved one into a casket and toss them into a creek or river where other dead people of poor families laid. But if the family had a small amount of money, they would be given a normal 6ft under burial (inhumation).**


 * Eventually in the 3rd century, certain cults began to put monuments at the burrial site of the deceased. The Romans believed that the souls of the deceased could interact with the living world, therfore, many celebrations and rituals were preformed to prevent the spirit of the deceased from haunting them, one of these rituals even involved decapitation of the body. The procession would go to the forum where the body would be displayed upright and the eulogy would be read, after that the procession would continue to the burrial site. After the display, a funerary procession followed. Roman funerals were held at night to prevent large public gatherings and "discourage crowds and excessive mourning which, in the case of major political figures, could lead to serious unrest." Families hired musicians that led the parade, followed by hired mourners and relatives who often carried "portrait sculptures or wax masks of other deceased family members." Most Romans were burried outside of the cities, generally near roads, except in the case of the death of the child in which the body would be burried near the home. The Appian Way, which is considered "the oldest highway", is lined with the tombs of the aristocratic families. The deceased would be burried with certain items like a coin placed under the deceased' tongue which were thought to help them in the Underworld.**

The Romans always felt that it was needed to take care of the deceased. They would close the eyes of the one who is dead and say the name of the person. Then they washed the body and put a coin in their mouth which would get them across the river to the underworld. The Romans who were high up in society were put on display so that people we were mourning could have their last good-byes, but people who were lower class were cremated like the day after their death.
 * Three rites were necessary as part of a ceremony at the burial site: the consecration of the resting place, the casting of the remains of the body, and the purifying of all the polluted by death. "Catacombs, or underground burial places, were first used in the second century when burial land was scarce." If the body was being buried it was placed into the grave on a couch or in a coffin that was made of burnt clay or stone. If the body was to be cremated then it was placed into a shallow grave of dry wood. During the cremation perfumes, gifts, tokens and spices were thrown into the ashes. Dirt was thrown over the ashes once the cremation was complete. After the fire was put out all the people who were there said their final goodbyes. Then the water which was purified was sprinkled 3 times over the people; at this time only the immediate family stayed. Dried with a cloth the ashes and the ceremonial bone was buried. Then the home was purified by the offerings to the lares and that concluded the funeral rights.**

After displaying the bodies, the funerals were usually held at night so that there weren't large crowds. There would be parades that are led by musicians. The mourners followed and would often have wax figures or sculptures of other dead people in the family. It was forbidden to bury someone within the city limits. Then they would have a fire and a eulogy was held.

A lot of Romans were members or the collegia which insured the proper burial. They would have to pay monthly dues that would cover the cost of the funeral.