Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 03.djvu/773

BURIAL. 689 BUKIAL. cut into the face of the rock and the doinical tombs, are one and all family tomhs, and show the universal use of inhumation, as opposed to incineration. The presence of numerous bones of many kinds of animals shows the custom of ortering sacrifices to the deceased through a long period. The lavish burial with the body of the choicest costumes, ornaments, utensils, furni- ture, arms, and religious objects shows that the » deceased was supposed to continue in the tomb itself a life analogous to his earthy one. Vaphio. Mycena Palaniidi, Dimini. Orchomenos, Argos (Heviieum), Sparta, Jlenidi, Epidaurus, and the islands, such as Rhodes and Melos, have fur- nished every variety of such forms of burial. In the Homeric Age these primitive customs were modified, mainly by the introduction of incinera- tion as the prevailing fashion ( Hind, xxiii. 16-1, ITS; xxiv. 47-78; Odyssey, x. 570 ; xi. 27), ac- companied by human sacrifices, which may have also been known in the Mycenieau Age. The burning and burying of the body forces the soul to abandon the earth for Hades. Burial was uni- versally obligatory: its neglect by relatives, a crime. Tlie ceremony preceding burial was: The closing of the eyes and lips : the rubbing, anoint- ing, and robing of the body; the exposure on the funeral bed in the house for a number of days, after partial embalming, with much lamentation and chanting ; the burning of the body on a pyre together with the favorite animals and objects, so that they could accompany the deceased to Hades: the extinguishing of the bier with wine, gathering of the bones and ashes into urns or vases, which were buried under a mound marked by a stele; finally, a funeral repast and games. The same material view of the future life pre- vailed during the succeeding historic period, although extravagances of grief and of expense and great length of e.xposition of the body «ere discouraged by law. There ere four regular stages: (1) Arranging for the funeral ; (2) ex- position;- (3) transportation; (4) burial. In preparing the body a new class of ornaments was created — rings, necklaces, diadems, brooches, amulets — too light for use and made for the express purpose of burial. It was in Asia ilinor and the region of the Bosporus especially that great luxury was attained in this branch of art. In the exposition (prothesis) one white covering was placed over the bed, a second one around the body, and a third over all. Noisy demonstra- tions and the hiring of foreign singers were for- bidden. The time for the transportation of the body was toward the close of night, to avoid pol- luting the rays of the sun; and during it no name of a god was jironounecd. The funeral bed was often crowned by a canopy, and was either carried by bearers (who were always at first the parents, but later hired men), or on a chariot drawn by two horses or mules. The laws of Solon curtailed the magnificence of the proces- sion. The common disposition of the remains during this period was inhumation in a trench, though cremation was sometimes practiced, and the ashes then commonly placed in a bronze urn. Large necropoli were now formed by the joining of family groups of tombs — always outside the city, except in Sparta. The site of the tomb was marked in several ways — by mounds, steles, sdicula, or cippi. After the burial there were libations, with the breaking of vases and fig- urint3 and the burj'ing of objects. The continu- ous cult of the tomb, with anniversary libations and visits, was rigorously observed. However, the absence of games and festivals, except in the case of public funerals of the greatest men, made the ceremony less conspicuous than in prehis- toric times. Italy. The Etruscans and other early It.tlian races practiced inhumation at first, as is shown I'y primitive coffins hewn out of tree-trunks, by the persistent use of the rite of huiiiatiu. and by imanimous antique literary tradition. Still, the earliest necropoli yet excavated show the univer- sal practice of incineration in the Ninth and Eighth centuries, during the 'Villanova' period. The primitive cinerary Villanova or Cabin urns containing the ashes and a few rude vases and ornaments were lowered into small cylindrical well tombs. The Seventh Century brought a change: inhumation displaced cremation, and trench tombs with long stone sarcophagi and a richer sepulchral furniture replaced the urn and well tomb. Chamber-tombs soon became the fashi(m, and led to the use of highly carved and painted sarcophagi of terracotta and marble until the Roman conquest. The numerous fres- coes and sculptures in these chambers and their varied furniture give the only information avail- able regarding Etruscan burial customs. They show clearly various stages after death: the clos- ing of the ej'es; the arraying; the exposition of the body on a couch at the entrance of the house ; the ofSci,al act of mourning to the accompaniment of music ; the funeral procession, often of a tri- umphal character, with musicians, quadriga, friends, and mourners; the deposit of the body on a stone bench in the tomb or on a funeral bed or in a sarcophagus; the funeral banquet, which was so favorite an observance with the Etrus- cans, accompanied by music, dancing, and games, including races, wrestling, plays and shows, and even gladiatorial contests. Roue. The Romans carried burial ceremonial to a pitch of intricacy and splendor surpassing all nations except, perhaps, the Egyptians. While they at first practiced inhumation, the practice of cremation became supreme in the Second Century n.c, lasting until it was largely superseded again by inhumation under the Anto- nines (Second Century ..d.). The burial rites varied according as the funeral was public or private, plebeian, patrician, or military. In im- portant cases all citizens were invited to take part by the public crier; but ordinarily only the parents and friends. In the interval between the death and the funeral the usual ceremonies take place: closing of the eyes by the children or other relatives; the calling aloud on the de- funct ; the washing, anointing, and robing of the body in white, and the placing of a crown on the head, ami sometimes of a coin in the mouth. Par- tial or complete embalming was practiced. The body remained from three to sev(;n days on a state couch in the vestibule of the house, sur- rounded with flowers and burning perfumes. The funeral procession took place at night by torch- light; but under the Empire daylight funerals became the rule except for children and the poor. The body was actually carried on its litter by pallbearers — the nearest relatives — but a figure of the deceased was often diawn in a chariot. Extravagant demonstrati<ms of grief were pro- duced by hired mourners, and there was a hand of musicians, mainly trumpeters and flute-