DEATH AND THE AFTERLIFE

AS91397
Alex Garcia
Task 1: Death in Ancient Rome and disposal of the body

Traditional Roman ideas about death and Roman rituals about the
treatment and disposal of the body
The Romans, after much hesitation and cult influence, defined death as the separation of body and
soul. To them death was rather special because of the view they held of honour in life exceeded into
death. To honour the dead therefore was of the highest importance- and this can be particularly
seen in their ancestry worship. They believed that a soul could not rest until the body was truly
rested-otherwise the soul haunted the home and wrought its unhappiness to others. A Roman citizen
was obligated to perform the necessary rites should they have come across the corpse of an
unburied Roman out of respect. The deification of these ancestors gave them otherworldly powers to
potentially control the destiny of Rome. Death in Ancient Rome was also very common as their life
expectancies were only to around 30-35 years old due to overcrowding, poor sanitation, poor
nutrition, and various epidemics and diseases- especially within the lower class-which consisted of
about 95% of the Ancient Roman population. Galen described Rome as this populous city, where
daily ten thousand people can be discovered suffering from jaundice, and ten thousand from dropsy.'
The Ancient Roman funeral was representative of the transition between the state of life and death.
It was a solemn affair carried out by the surviving family members, involving a series of meticulous
rituals to cover all possible aspects ensuring the happiness and well-being of the deceased in the
afterlife. This was due to the belief that the soul could only find rest once the body had been laid to
rest in the grave. That being said, some forms of funeral rites were considered a right of the dead
regardless of class because they viewed all men as members of the greater family of the
Commonwealth. Even those known to be dead but without the presence of a body (mainly the rich
or upper class), the remaining family would erect an empty tomb in their honor. There has been no
direct description of the funerary practices of Ancient Romans but many historical sources exist
which provide accounts of such events.
Figure 1; Polybius, Histories: Roman Funeral Rites (extract)
Whenever one of their illustrious men dies, in the course of his funeral, the body with all its
paraphernalia is carried into the forum to the Rostra, as a raised platform there is called, and
sometimes is propped upright upon it so as to be conspicuous, or, more rarely, is laid upon it. Then
with all the people standing round, his son, if he has left one of full age and he is there, or, failing
him, one of his relations, mounts the Rostra and delivers a speech concerning the virtues of the
deceased, and the successful exploits performed by him in his lifetime.
By these means the people are reminded of what has been done, and made to see it with their own
eyes,not only such as were engaged in the actual transactions but those also who were not; and
their sympathies are so deeply moved, that the loss appears not to be confined to the actual
mourners, but to be a public one affecting the whole people. After the burial and all the usual
ceremonies have been performed, they place the likeness of the deceased in the most conspicuous
spot in his house, surmounted by a wooden canopy or shrine. This likeness consists of a mask made
to represent the deceased with extraordinary fidelity both in shape and colour. These likenesses
they display at public sacrifices adorned with much care. And when any illustrious member of the
family dies, they carry these masks to the funeral, putting them on men whom they thought as like
the originals as possible in height and other personal peculiarities. And these substitutes assume
clothes according to the rank of the person represented: if he was a consul or praetor, a toga with
purple stripes; if a censor, whole purple, if he had also celebrated a triumph or performed any
exploit of that kind, a toga embroidered with gold.
These representatives also ride themselves in chariots, while the fasces and axes, and all the other
customary insignia of the particular offices, lead the way, according to the dignity of the rank in the
state enjoyed by the deceased in his lifetime; and on arriving at the Rostra they all take their seats
on ivory chairs in their order.
There could not easily be a more inspiring spectacle than this for a young man of noble ambitions
and virtuous aspirations. For can we conceive any one to be unmoved at the sight of all the

likenesses collected together of the men who have earned glory, all as it were living and breathing?
Or what could be a more glorious spectacle?
Polybius discusses the general outline of a wealthy Roman citizens funeral.

Two forms of burial mainly took place in the Ancient Roman Empire- the embalming of the body and
underground burial or cremation. Burial was most commonly and traditionally practiced by Ancient
Romans, then cremation came into general use by the time of Augustus and the early Empire. Even
during these times though it was still a ceremonial tradition and very symbolic to bury some small
part of the remains of the deceased, like a bone or a finger, into the earth (os resectum) so as to
have some form of bodily burial. Some of the wealthy upper class families still chose to hold fast to
this ancient custom while some of the poorer classes could only resort to burial as cremation was
too costly. Once Christianity became more popular amongst the Romans as well as other mystery
cults, including some changes in the beliefs in the afterlife (basically that the soul would be happier
if the body was left intact), burial was once again the more commonly practiced tradition. Though
certain protocols were observed regardless of religious belief, they varied greatly as the quality or
grandeur of the funeral ritual was dependent on how rich or poor the person and their family were.
The process described here mainly applied to the richer Roman citizens as these rituals and
processes were widely recorded whereas there is little known about the treatment of the slaves,
younger children, and the poor. However it is known they were commonly laid to death with the
simplest of rituals or even none-especially those without family or friends would probably have been
buried in mass graves. There was also the option where Romans paid monthly dues to funeral
societies (a collegia) to help cover the costs of burial and cremation as well as guaranteeing a spot
in a columbarium to avoid an improper burial and have proper passage into the afterlife, as well as
remembrance of the deceased which guaranteed the Romans the immortality they sought from the
idea of an afterlife.
As the person was dying, some records state that people were laid on the ground in contact with
Mother Earth for her to receive their spirit (a return to the birth ritual, where the infant was placed
on the bare earth), or laid on a death bed. Close friends and family would surround the deceased
and the closest relatives would seal the passing of the spirit with a kiss and close their eyes. Some
would try to call out their name in hopes of bringing them back to life before announcing their
death. The deceased were washed, anointed with oils, then dressed in their best clothes according
to their station in life and any awards or wreaths they had earned in their time were also worn. A
coin was placed in the mouth (Charons Obol) as payment to Charon, the ferryman of the River Styx
who carried the dead across the river into the Underworld (This custom was not necessarily
observed by all as it was part of some mystery cult rituals that wove its way into Roman funeral
customs rather than traditional Ancient Roman ones). The houses were also cleansed of the
pollution of death by the burning of incense, and pine and cypress branches were placed over the
door to signify this. At this time friends and relatives of the deceased would visit them in the main
room of the house to pay their last respects-upper class citizens would be on display for as long as a
week while lower class citizens were often cremated or buried after only one day. A funerary
procession followed the display, where the body was carried through the city (Figure 1) and usually
headed towards outside the towns boundaries (again to prevent the pollution of death). Almost
everyone was buried or cremated outside of city limits (otherwise known as pomoerium) in order to
prevent the pollution of death. During this time the family would hire professional mourners
alongside anyone mourning the deceased to wail loudly, lament, and express their grief over the
person dying. An expression of family social status, relatives and mourners would often hold
sculptures, masks, or portraits of the deceased as well as other family ancestors. They would be
sometimes assumed by actors to signify them leading the newly deceased to their place among the
familys ancestors. Musicians who specialised in funeral music were also hired to lead the procession
to the pomoerium outside the city. As the upper class citizens and major political figures were
generally very well known, Roman funerals typically took place at night to discourage crowds
forming and to prevent large gatherings of people as well as excessive mourning which could lead to
serious political unrest. For a popular public figure a eulogy would be spoken by a family member in
honor of the deceased either at the forum before the burial or as a cremation pyre burned. It was
usually about the great deeds and the amazing things that the deceased had accomplished in their
lives. Another form of oratory that usually took place after the eulogy is the chant (nenia),
performed by the professional mourners which guided onlookers into the art of mourning. The chant
was about urging the deceased to accept their status as one of the dead and to go and take their
place without fuss among the ancestors of the deceaseds family.

Figure 2; Funerary
relief sculpture
depicting a
funerary
procession. From
Amiternum, Italy
(dated c100B.C.) It
depicts the
deceased in a
reclining position
on a bier (a frame
where the body is
placed on before
the
burial/cremation)
upheld by either slaves or family members. They are being led by musicians playing early forms of the trumpet
(tibia) and flute (aulos) through the town to the crematory or burial site. Mourners are seen surrounding the
deceased in various poses of crying out..

If the body was being cremated then it would have been placed on a funeral pyre along with certain
possessions that would have been of use to the dead in the afterlife and the fire would have been lit
by a relative. Once the pyre was extinguished, then a family member (usually a woman) would
collect the ashes and place them into an urn. The urn would then be placed either in a columbaria
(basically a collective tomb with small niches for the urns to be placed in), buried at a cemetery, in
the catacombs or a columbaria (Figure 5), or placed in a family tomb (Figure 3). Depending on the
wealth of the deceased the family tomb could have been one of the private burial spots located on
the sides of the road leading out of the city (i.e. the Appian Way).

Figure 3; The Tomb of the Scipios- viewed from the

entrance way. This was the common tomb of the
patrician family Scipios. The tomb is located on the
Appian Way, a road leading out of Rome to Brindisi,
Appulia in southeast Italy. There are many other
tombs of wealthy families located along this road.

The cemeteries housed commoners and

wealthy families alike but the wealthy were
distinguished by their more elaborate tombs
with lots of decoration like paintings, cut out
of the bedrock (As seen in Figure 2) and
resembling the structure of an Ancient
Roman home with doors and various
chambers. The wealthiest and most
prominent families sometimes had grand
mausoleums, nothing short of a mansion,
with bedrooms and kitchens for family visits and feasts. Some simply had tombs with a relief bust
and an inscription detailing the lives of the deceased, and the middle class usually bought niches in
catacombs for the deceased. Burial sites were considered sacred places and violation of them were
punishable by death, exile, or deportation. If the body was to be buried the deceased would be
placed onto an open wooden stretcher to the grave at the cemetery or at a private family tomb.

Figure 4; Funerary stele of Aurelius Hermia and his wife, Aurelia Philematium. Discovered in a tomb near the Via
Nomentana- a road leading north-east to Nomentum. Dated around 100 B.C., it depicts a man and a woman-the
woman is thought to have died before her husband in the raising of her husbands hands to her lips-a sign of
farewell. The inscription on the right reads;
Aurelius Hermia, freedman of Lucius, butcher of the Viminal hill. This woman, who has preceded me in death, chaste
of body, loving of spirit, my only wife, lived faithful to her faithful husband with equal devotion since she failed in her
duty out of no avarice. Aurelia Freedwoman of Lucius.
And the inscription on the left; Aurelia Philematio, Freedwoman of Lucius. While I lived, I was named Aurelia
Philematium, chaste, modest, ignorant of the rabble, faithful to my husband. My husband, whom I am without, alas,
was freedman to this same Lucius. He was to me in fact and in truth more than and beyond a parent. He took me to
his bosom at the age of seven years. At the age of forty years I am stronger than death. He flourished in the eyes of

all due to my constant dutifulness.

source:
http://www.usask.ca/antiquities/ourcollection-/roman/inscriptions/funerarystele-of-aurelius-hermia-and-his-wife,aurelia-philematium/index.php

A sacrifice would be performed in

the presence of the corpse
usually a sow was offered to
Ceres, an agricultural goddess,
while more middle class citizens
would offer things like wine,
incense, produce, or grain. A
portion for the deceased was
cremated with the body while
Ceres portion burned on an altar.
A portion of the sacrifice that was
due to the living was eaten by the mourners. This signified the transitioning of the deceased into
partaking what was appropriate for spirits of the dead.
At the grave there would be a short ceremony where soil
was sprinkled over the corpse. This is where ideally a
eulogy for a burial would take place with a final prayer.
Gypsum (a mineral compound) would be strewn over the
body before it was placed into a sarcophagus, coffin,
sepulchre, or vault.

Figure 5, above; print of an Ancient Roman funeral pyre and the funeral procession. The first image depicts a
sacrifice (sheep) being offered to Ceres on the funeral pyre and the second one depicts the deceased being carried
out to the burial site. Print originates from around 1784-1785. From Costume des anciens peuples, l'usage des
artistes. (Paris : Alexandre Jombert, 1784-1785) Dandr-Bardon, Michel-Franois (1700-1783), Author. Cochin,
Charles Nicolas (1715-1790)
source: http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/dgkeysearchdetail.cfm?
trg=1&strucID=1761655&imageid=1619931&total=1&e=w
Figure 6 above right; Columbarium at Vigna Codini. Niches in the wall made for displays of cremation urns and busts
of the deceased.

Mourners were sprinkled with holy water before entering the city and it was prescribed by law to
partake in the purification ritual to ward off the pollution of death. For men, 8-9 days of mourning
took place where on the final day there was a feast at the grave of the deceased. Women however
were in mourning for a year for a husband or a parent. Mourners would wear dark colours, wear no
jewellery or ornaments and would abstain from cutting any form of hair. After the burial took place
the family of the deceased would return periodically to the place of rest to offer gifts, and in this
sense the deceased came to be worshipped as ancestral gods.

Epicurean ideas about death and rituals around the treatment and disposal
of the body
Firstly, Epicurus was a philosopher who originated from Ancient Greece. He founded one of the
major philosophies of that time c300-270B.C., known as Epicureanism, where the followers were
known as Epicureans. Unusual for its time, his followers not only consisted of men but of women and
slaves. Epicureanism is accredited to laying the intellectual foundations for modern day science and
the beginnings of the belief of finding an individual identity outside of religious context (secular
individualism). The ideas were based on the earlier ones by Democritis which gave a scientific origin
to everything-essentially, that all things were made of atoma (tiny particles) and void (empty
space), including human minds and souls. Change, decay, and growth were all explained due to the
changes in atomic combinations when atoma collided or broke apart from each other, and atoma
was eternal-nothing was in charge of the creation of the universe and everything happened by
chance. Humans had total free will and there were no destined events. Epicureans emphasised the
attainment of happiness (ataraxia-translated into non-disturbance) through moderation of desires,
living with simple pleasures, and the belief that the nature of the universe was kind. In saying this
they advocated for a conscious resistance and avoidance against things that brought pain as well as
unnecessary things such as greed, politics, and ambition. In fact, Epicurus encouraged his followers
to die by suicide when their lives were no longer fulfilling and happy. Epicureans rejected any and all
forms of religious mindsets, superstitions, and beliefs-such as ambitions of immortality, appeasing
godly figures, and fear of the death and afterlife.
Death to the Epicureans was simple. Epicurean philosophy directly addresses 3 main ideas to do
with death- actually being dead, the process of dying, and what came after death. The fear of
actually being dead and what came after death is discussed in task two of this essay. The fear of
dying arises from the belief that in death there is awareness. But Epicurus justifies why there should
be no fear of dying itself- since life and the world is experienced by our senses, and those senses are
no longer used or functioning once deceased, nobody can experience their own death- so the fear of
the process of dying and the pain that people were afraid of is, to the Epicureans, irrational. They
viewed death as an experience that was not bad at all. It might have been bad for others who knew
and liked the Epicurean in particular and from here is where that fear of the process of dying
probably begins. They viewed that, overall, death holds no value because it has nothing to do with
the main aim of life that Epicureans attempted to achieve.

Figure 6; The following is from Epicurus' Letter to Menoeceus, (124-127) a summary of his
ethical teachings.
Accustom yourself to believe that death is nothing to us, for good and evil imply awareness,
and death is the privation of all awareness; therefore a right understanding that death is
nothing to us makes the mortality of life enjoyable, not by adding to life an unlimited time, but
by taking away the yearning after immortality. For life has no terror; for those who thoroughly
apprehend that there are no terrors for them in ceasing to live.
Foolish, therefore, is the person who says that he fears death, not because it will pain when it
comes, but because it pains in the prospect. Whatever causes no annoyance when it is present,
causes only a groundless pain in the expectation. Death, therefore, the most awful of evils, is
nothing to us, seeing that, when we are, death is not come, and, when death is come, we are
not. It is nothing, then, either to the living or to the dead, for with the living it is not and the
dead exist no longer. But in the world, at one time people shun death as the greatest of all
evils, and at another time choose it as a respite from the evils in life. The wise person does not
deprecate life nor does he fear the cessation of life. The thought of life is no offense to him, nor
is the cessation of life regarded as an evil. And even as people choose of food not merely and
simply the larger portion, but the more pleasant, so the wise seek to enjoy the time which is
most pleasant and not merely that which is longest. And he who admonishes the young to live
well and the old to make a good end speaks foolishly, not merely because of the desirability of
life, but because the same exercise at once teaches to live well and to die well. Much worse is
he who says that it were good not to be born, but when once one is born to pass with all speed
through the gates of Hades. For if he truly believes this, why does he not depart from life? It

were easy for him to do so, if once he were firmly convinced. If he speaks only in mockery, his
words are foolishness, for those who hear believe him not.
Little is known about how the Epicureans chose to bury their dead (most likely a simple form of
cremation?) but it is certain that they did not mourn-instead they chose to celebrate the lives of the
deceased and did not consider the matter to call for any sort of grief. In the quote Some (wise)
people have managed to procure security for themselves, so that they have no fear of those around
them, it specifically refers to the attainment of ataraxia by the person and in that person having
lived a happy and full life, what is there to grieve?
Epicurus however did encourage his followers to partake in the traditional cults of their countries to
help them to better imitate, understand, and attain ataraxia through divine examples so it is
assumed that Roman followers of Epicurus chose to be either buried or cremated in a similar style to
that of the Roman religion. They also had to bury them in similar styles to the Roman religion to
avoid being persecuted by Roman officials as they were tolerated but still considered non-Roman.
They did have epitaphs or inscriptions in funerary art that made Epicureans distinctive amongst
other Roman citizens, such as non fui, fui. non sum. non curo (I was not, I was. I am not. I care
not).

Christian ideas about death and rituals around the treatment and disposal
of the body
Despite in modern times Christianity being one of the most popular religions in the world, when it
first began, especially to the Romans, it was nothing more than a cult group than they tolerated.
Christianity developed from Judaism in the sense that Christians came from groups of Jews who
believed in Jesus Christ as the prophesied Messiah and Son of God for the Jewish people to be
delivered from the Roman rule, whereas the Jews disregarded him as the Messiah. Christians had a
dogma (code of belief) of which all strived to live by. Their beliefs were based around a singular God
who was omnipresent and omnipotent, something quite unheard of in Roman times. The Christian
Gods omnipotency included the belief that their God created the world and was the only
supernatural being-no other gods existed. Likewise with the Christian Gods omnipresence, Gods
presence could be found in all people. He did not need constant sacrifice or offerings to keep him
happy and God was nothing like anyone had imagined. Christians were also able to develop a close
personal relationship with their God.
Early Christian ideas about death considered certain aspects- the immortality of the soul, that death
is a form of sleep, and death was to be in union with the Lord.
Greek philosophy had a lot to do with the beliefs of the early Christians. Like the Romans, The Jews
began to accept the belief that the soul separated from the body in death shortly before the
Common Era and it then transcended into early Christianity. Christianity differs though in the way
that once the soul seperates from the body and lives on - it enters an either conscious or
unconscious state for an indefinite period of time. But on Judgement day souls will be given a new body,
either in their previous earthly bodies or new bodies of resurrection and will be living in the kingdom of
heaven for all eternity. A verse that essentially defines death for us is in James 2:26 For as the body
apart from the spirit is dead...
In the sense that the soul enters that conscious or unconscious state, the early Christians believed that
death was a period of sleep. 1 Thessalonians 4:14 describes, that in the belief that Jesus died and rose
again, and died believing in Jesus, those who died will be brought back with God. Throughout the Bible
the term sleep has been used to describe the bodys state in death, such as in Daniel 12:2 - And many of
those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and
everlasting contempt. Though this verse is from the Old Testament it remained relevant to the beliefs of
the early Christians. It tells us that they believed that the body sleeps in death and not the spirit because
it is the part of man that is placed into the earth, which is mans body, that sleeps. The Greek word for
sleep in the New Testament, koimaomai, meant to lie down. It is where the term for cemetery is derived
from in the sense that the Greeks used the word koimeterion as a place where strangers travelling could
stop to sleep- where cemetery is a place for the bodies of the dead to lie sleeping.
The early Christians also saw death as being in union with the Lord. 2 Corinthians 5:8 tells us this in
saying that to be absent from the body (in death) is to be at home with the Lord, and in Greek the term to
be at home also means to be one among his own people-so basically in paradise with other followers of
Christ.

The Christians, due to the fact that in the Ancient Roman times they were still oppressed under Roman
rule, were limited in how they could express their beliefs. This could be mainly to do with the fact that the
Romans had previous quarrels with the Jews regarding religious practices (the Romans and the rest of the
Empire accepted and were prepared to worship the God of the Jews but the Jews refused to worship any
other god than theirs) and therefore were disliked by Roman authorities.

Figure 7; Catacomb of Priscilla, Rome

That being said the Christians had to remain in keeping with

aspects of Roman life and religion as to avert the eyes of the
authorities catching them out, especially in times of
persecution. Like the Epicureans, the Christians would follow
the funerary processions and rituals of the Romans. But the
catacomb of Priscilla in Rome as shown in Figure 7 shows us
the difference in the way they buried their dead- whole. The
significantly larger space compared the niches in the
columbaria suggests inhumation. Christianity spread through
the lowest ranks and as it made its way upward it became
increasingly popular. With the rise of Christianity came also a
rise in whole body burial (inhumation) as the belief in the
afterlife that the Christians had may require the use of the
earthly body once more- resurrection for when Jesus comes
again to Earth.
Figure 8, below; A tomb inscription, found some time ago in a Roman
catacomb and now kept at Urbino in the Museum of the Ducal Palace.
The epitaph translates to Ursa's tomb"). But strange and very worthy of note is the disposition of the name VRSES.
The V and the R are together, united with each other, and a large space separates them from the remaining letters
SES. Exactly under the group VR a monogram of Christ (

) is carved. The symbolic meaning is transparent. The

intention is to state that Christ (

) is the Life and Resurrection (VR); a thought which, applied to the deceased Ursa,
corresponds to a wish that she may live and rise in Christ.

The image on the left and caption

above was taken from a website
that appeared to have done its
own original research but the
epitaph enough is evidence of the
ways, like the Epicureans, the
Christians would mark their burial
spots with links to their beliefs.

Task 2:
Afterlife

Ideas About The

Traditional Roman ideas about the nature of the underworld and Roman rituals associated with
the afterlife
The Ancient Romans, popular to contrary belief, did not originally think of the afterlife as consisting
of spirits residing in an otherworldly place. They first thought of the spirits, in death, being
separated from the body, as staying close to the place of burial and depending on offerings from the
living of food and drink to remain happy and peaceful. If the living didnt offer anything to the dead,
the Ancient Romans believed that the spirits would become unhappy and potentially become
vengeful to those who didnt observe the proper rites for the dead. The deceased spirits, provided
they were given the proper respect, guided and protected the living. The pater familias (head of the

house) was obligated to perform these rights on behalf of his family for the duration of his life and in
death he was obligated to do the same. It was not until the Ancient Romans delved into Etruscan
and Greek mythology that ideas of an afterlife began to come into aspects of Ancient Roman
religion. Because of this, figures like Pluto were not considered true Roman gods as his name was
taken from a minor Greek mythological figure from within their afterlife beliefs. And before that, a
sort of deity of wealth and riches called Dis Pater, with the development of the belief in an afterlife,
developed into Pluto. This is from the belief that wealth and riches came from below ground so
therefore the god of the Underworld must have had something to do with wealth and riches. Later
Pluto became the Roman equivalent of Hades as ruler of the Underworld when Roman afterlife
mythology became entirely Greek. Hades became more of a term for describing the Underworld
itself as a place.
Persephone offered a chance for the Romans to be freed from the bondage of eternity in the
Underworld. The wife of Pluto, with origins in Greek mythology, Persephone was kidnapped and
made to live in the Underworld with Pluto and because she had eaten food from the Underworld,
could not return fully to be with her mother, Ceres. They believed Persephone had the power to
bribe Cerberus, Plutos pet dog who guarded the gates of the Underworld, to let the soul be sent
back across the River Styx and into the realm of the living. This shows at some point the Romans did
believe in a form of re-incarnation.
Other gods that were present in the Roman underworld consisted of Mors, a personification of death
itself. The Greek equivalent being Thanatos, Mors is not unlike the modern day idea of the Grim
Reaper. Depicted as a dark figure carrying a scythe and sometimes also an hourglass, he would go
around collecting spirits and leading them to the Underworld.
However if the body of the deceased was not buried, the soul of the deceased would have to walk
the banks of the river Styx for hundred years before they were carried across by the boatman
Charon. This is mentioned in chapter six of the Aeneid when Aeneas visits the underworld.
There were some differences though as the Ancient Romans viewed life and death in an entirely
unique way. For them life was all about building oneself up with good deeds and wealth and the like
in order to secure a solid place in the afterlife.
The Underworld
The Underworld to the Romans was a vast and scary place. The idea that the soul hung around after
death was still widely believed but what changed was the idea that until the body was buried the
spirit could not cross the River Styx, one of the first 5 rivers of the Underworld. So once the body
was buried, the soul would travel, being led by Mors, to the River Styx where they would be met by
Charon, the ferryman. This is why some would put a coin in the mouths of the death as part of a fee
for being transported across the river. Symbolically it also represented the relationship between the
gods and man-acknowledging the reliance of man on the gods as well as the protection and
guidance the gods offer.
Once the dead crossed the river they would meet Cerberus, Plutos three headed dog that guarded
the gates of the Underworld, preventing spirits who tried to leave the Underworld without
permission from Pluto himself. Then they would go before Minos, Rhadamanthos, and Aeacus
(brothers raised by King Asterius of Crete) to face judgement. The deceased would give an account
of the life they lived and would be rewarded or punished depending what kind of life they led. They
would then be given water from the River Lethe so that they would have no memory of their past life
(though it is said that this was optional). Again depending on the judgement given by Minos,
Rhadamanthos, and Aeacus, there were several different places the soul could be sent. A notable
one is the place of honour that existed for those who were warriors, heroes, or just died honourably,
called the Elysian Fields. It was basically the Roman version of heaven in Christian belief. The
Ancient Romans regarded the Elysian Fields highly and they believed that good Emperors went here
in death (this was obviously before the belief that Emperors were the equivalent of gods). And on
the other hand there was Tartarus, a place where the evil people went or simply people that were to
be punished as the gods saw fit (i.e. Sisyphus, ancestor of Ulysses-cheated death twice and was
then forced to roll a boulder up a hill only to watch it come down again in Tartarus).

The Aeneid, Book 6 lines 535-627

Aeneas suddenly looked back, and, below the left hand cliff,
he saw wide battlements, surrounded by a triple wall,
and encircled by a swift river of red-hot flames,
the Tartarean Phlegethon, churning with echoing rocks.
A gate fronts it, vast, with pillars of solid steel,
that no human force, not the heavenly gods themselves,
can overturn by war: an iron tower rises into the air,
and seated before it, Tisiphone, clothed in a blood-wet dress,
keeps guard of the doorway, sleeplessly, night and day.
Groans came from there, and the cruel sound of the lash,
then the clank of iron, and dragging chains.
Aeneas halted, and stood rooted, terrified by the noise.
What evil is practised here? O Virgin, tell me: by what torments
are they oppressed? Why are there such sounds in the air?
Then the prophetess began to speak as follows: Famous leader
of the Trojans, it is forbidden for the pure to cross the evil threshold:
but when Hecate appointed me to the wood of Avernus,
she taught me the divine torments, and guided me through them all.
Cretan Rhadamanthus rules this harshest of kingdoms,
and hears their guilt, extracts confessions, and punishes
whoever has deferred atonement for their sins too long
till death, delighting in useless concealment, in the world above.
Tisiphone the avenger, armed with her whip, leaps on the guilty immediately,
lashes them, and threatening them with the fierce
snakes in her left hand, calls to her savage troop of sisters.
Then at last the accursed doors open, screeching on jarring hinges.
You comprehend what guardian sits at the door, what shape watches
the threshold? Well still fiercer is the monstrous Hydra inside,
with her fifty black gaping jaws. There Tartarus itself
falls sheer, and stretches down into the darkness:
twice as far as we gaze upwards to heavenly Olympus.
Here the Titanic race, the ancient sons of Earth,
hurled down by the lightning-bolt, writhe in the depths.
And here I saw the two sons of Aloeus, giant forms,
who tried to tear down the heavens with their hands,
and topple Jupiter from his high kingdom.
And I saw Salmoneus paying a savage penalty
for imitating Joves lightning, and the Olympian thunder.
Brandishing a torch, and drawn by four horses
he rode in triumph among the Greeks, through Eliss city,
claiming the gods honours as his own, a fool,
who mimicked the storm-clouds and the inimitable thunderbolt
with bronze cymbals and the sound of horses hoof-beats.
But the all-powerful father hurled his lighting from dense cloud,
not for him fiery torches, or pine-branches smoky light
and drove him headlong with the mighty whirlwind.
And Tityus was to be seen as well, the foster-child
of Earth, our universal mother, whose body stretches
over nine acres, and a great vulture with hooked beak
feeds on his indestructible liver, and his entrails ripe
for punishment, lodged deep inside the chest, groping
for his feast, no respite given to the ever-renewing tissue.
Shall I speak of the Lapiths, Ixion, Pirithous,
over whom hangs a dark crag that seems to slip and fall?
High couches for their feast gleam with golden frames,

and a banquet of royal luxury is spread before their eyes:

nearby the eldest Fury, crouching, prevents their fingers touching
the table: rising up, and brandishing her torch, with a voice of thunder.
Here are those who hated their brothers, in life,
or struck a parent, or contrived to defraud a client,
or who crouched alone over the riches theyd made,
without setting any aside for their kin (their crowd is largest),
those who were killed for adultery, or pursued civil war,
not fearing to break their pledges to their masters:
shut in they see their punishment. Dont ask to know
that punishment, or what kind of suffering drowns them.
Some roll huge stones, or hang spread-eagled
on wheel-spokes: wretched Theseus sits still, and will sit
for eternity: Phlegyas, the most unfortunate, warns them all
and bears witness in a loud voice among the shades:
Learn justice: be warned, and dont despise the gods.
Heres one who sold his country for gold, and set up
a despotic lord: this one made law and remade it for a price:
he entered his daughters bed and a forbidden marriage:
all of them dared monstrous sin, and did what they dared.
Not if I had a hundred tongues, a hundred mouths,
a voice of iron, could I tell all the forms of wickedness
or spell out the names of every torment.
Other places in the Roman Underworld were the Fields of Asphodel, often described as a dull place
for those who had lived average lives (neither good nor bad), and other spirits often wandered close
to the locations of the other three rivers of the Underworld-Acheron, the river of sorrow, Cocytus, the
river of lamentation or wailing, and Phlegethon, the flaming river.
The Parentalia (dead parents)
The Parentalia is a public festival for the spirits of dead Ancient Roman ancestors and generally
friendly spirits (Manes). In keeping with the old belief that the soul lingered around the burial site,
living family members would bring to them offerings of food like bread, milk, or wine. If someone
had also died recently in a particular family, there were individual days for that family to
commemorate the deceased. If the deceaseds family gathered around that persons tomb and
made an offering, it would soothe the spirit and remember some details from its life as opposed to
wandering around in the underworld with no recollection of his/her past. It was believed in this
festival that the spirits were closest to the world.

Honour is paid, also, to the tombs. Appease the souls of your fathers and bring small gifts to
the extinguished pyres. The ghost (manes) ask but little: they value piety more than a costly
gift: no greedy gods are they who in the world below to haunt the banks of Styx. A tile
wreathed with votive garlands, a sprinkling of corn, a few grains of salt, bread soaked in wine,
and some loose violets, these are offerings enough: set these on a potsherd and leave it in the
middle of the road. Not that I forbid larger offerings, but even these suffice to appease the
shades. Add prayers and the appropriate words at the hearth set up for the purpose.
This
custom was introduced into thy lands, righteous Latinus, by Aeneas, fit patron of piety. He to
his fathers spirit solemn offerings brought; from him the peoples learned the pious right. But
once upon a time, waging long wars with martial arms, they did neglect the all souls days. The
negligence was not unpunished; for tis said that from that ominous day Rome grew hot with
the funeral fires that burned without the city. They say, though I can hardly think it, that the
ancestral souls did issue from the tombs and make their moan in the hours of stilly night; and
hideous ghosts, a shadowy throng, they say, did howl about the city streets and the wide fields.
Afterwards, the honours which had been omitted were again paid to the tombs, and so a limit
was put to prodigies in funerals. But while these rites are being performed, ye ladies change
not your widowed state; let the nuptial torch of pine wait till the days are pure. And O, thou
damsel, who to thine eager mother shall appear all ripe for marriage, let not the bent back

spear comb down thy maiden hair! O god of marriage, hide thy torches, and from these sombre
fires bear them away! Far other are the torches that light up the rueful grave. Screen, too, the
gods by shutting up the temple doors; let no incense burn upon the altars, no fire upon the
hearths. Now do the unsubstantial souls and buried dead wander about, now doth the ghosts
batten upon his dole. But this only lasts until there remain as many days of the month as there
are feet in verses. That day they name Feralia, because they carry (ferunt) to the dead their
dues: it is the last day for propitiating the ghosts.
(Ovid: Fasti II 533-70, translated by Sir James G. Frazer)
Ovid describes some aspects of the festival, which took place from 13-24th of February. He is
appealing to the Ancient Romans to respect the dead, honour them and continue with this tradition
or bear the wrath of angry ancestors with hauntings among other threats. He suggests the custom
began with Aeneas in bringing offerings to his deceased father and taught the custom to a
neighbouring king. He also provides excellent examples of typical offerings made for the deceased.
It also tells us that the Parentalia was a time of purification and therefore unlucky for marriages and
to try and shut temple doors to stop unfriendly spirits contaminating cult statues of gods. Feralia is
described as the last day for offerings where the next day, all members of the family would join and
have a meal for the living after honouring the dead.
The Lemuria (to all the dead of the household)
The festival of the Lemures was held on the 9th, 11th, and 13th of May. Another festival for the
dead, it catered to pacify the less friendly, potentially harmful and vengeful spirits (Lemures) than
the Manes. There is no true description of the sacrifices that were performed at the festival, though
it was very popular in its time, but what does survive is Ovids account of a private ritual that the
pater familias had to carry out.

When from that day the Evening Star shall thrice have shown his beauteous face, and thrice
the vanquished stars shall have retreated before Phoebus, there will be celebrated an olden
rite, the nocturnal Lemuria: It will bring offerings to the silent ghosts. The year was formerly
shorter, and the pious rites of purification (februa) were unknown, and thou, two-headed Janus,
wast not the leader of the months. Yet even then people brought gifts to the ashes of the dead,
as their due, and the grandson paid his respects to the tomb of his buried grand-sire. It was
the month of May, so named after our forefathers (maiores), and it still retains part of the
ancient custom. When midnight ha come and lends silence to sleep, and dogs and all ye varied
fowls are hushed, the worshipper who bears the olden rite in mind and fears the gods arises; no
knots constrict his feet; and he makes a sign with his thumb in the middle of his closed fingers,
lest in his silence an unsubstantial shade should meet him. And after washing his hands clean
in spring water, he turns, and first he receives nine black beans and throws them away with
face averted; but while he throws them, he says: These I cast; with these beans I redeem me
and mine. This he says nine times without looking back, the shade is thought to gather the
beans, and to follow unseen behind. Again he touches water and clashes Temesan bronze, and
asks the shade to go out of his house. When he has said nine times, Ghosts of my fathers, go
forth! he looks back, and thinks that he has duly performed the sacred rites.
(Ovid: Fasti V 419-444, translated by Sir James G. Frazer)
A lengthy description is provided by Ovid of the ceremony that every father or head of the
household has to do to appease the Lemures. It shows us the strength in the belief that the Ancient
Romans had of the harmful power of the Lemures.
Rosalia (also known as Rosaria)
Rosalia was observed in the month of May and it involved the ornamentation of flowers (either roses
or violets) on the burial sites of the deceased. It marked the deceased in a way that it reminded the
living of the lives they used to lead and of life itself. It was seen as a commemoration of the dead
and it evolved into the popular burial custom we have in modern day to place flowers over the
graves of our loved ones. It was a simple religious practice reflecting tradition, ancestral heritage,
and memorials of the dead from simple inscriptions to works of grandeur displayed publicly,
depending on the wealth of the deceaseds family.

Emperor Worship
Emperor worship was a custom developed first by the Egyptians with the deification of the Pharaoh
(as a reincarnation of Horus). Figures like Aeneas, credited as the founder of the Roman race, was
made a god when he died and so was Romulus, who founded the city of Rome. Julius Caesar also
claimed he was descended from the gods and so Octavian (who we know as Augustus) took it upon
himself to extend that and deify Caesar, making Octavian the son of a god, in order to secure his
position as a political leader as well as to unite the vast array of religions and mystery cults together
through the worship of his guardian spirit (genius) and to his divine power and will (numen). It gave
Augustus (as well as succeeding emperors) the authority they needed and the guaranteed loyalty of
the people. The Romans perspective of death changed after Augustus revealed his status as
descended from the gods. Where once that people who were very good in their lives were rewarded
with entrance to Elysium, people were now beginning to think that emperors, as well as other
important figures, became gods after death and therefore should be worshipped as such. Though
Augustus did not want to be deified until after death, one of the later Emperors Domitian even took
it so far that he demanded people refer to him as Lord or God whilst he was living and even for
the Romans this was a little out of line-he was murdered through a conspiracy formed in his own
palace in 96 AD.
After the death of an Emperor, they were given the illustrious honour of being
buried inside the city.
It was also believed that Emperors did not become shades (spirits) like others did; rather, they
became Gods through a process known as apotheosis. As such, the Emperors commemoration was
much more impressive and more expensive monuments were erected.

Epicurean views about life after death and rituals associated with their
afterlife
The Epicureans had a very simple view on life after death. Death to them meant the end of
everything. They philosophized that the atoma that made up the body and soul disintegrated at
death and rejoined the universal pool of atoms. The atoms simply reconfigured themselves into
something else. Death could not be controlled or reversed therefore the Epicureans believed it was
out of their hands-hence the well known quote and motto of the Epicureans Death is nothing to us,
because a body that has been dispersed into elements experiences no sensations, and the absence
of sensation is nothing to us And as for what came after death, they believed there was no afterlife
and no memory of the past existed and in realising that death was nothing, the desire for
immortality (what Epicurus essentially described the belief in the afterlife was) would cease.
Because of the lack of their belief in an afterlife they had no specific rituals that related to the
afterlife.

Christian views about life after death and rituals associated with the
afterlife
With such a different stance on beliefs, Christians also had very different views on the afterlife. The
Christians preached that Jesus Christ, in coming down to earth and dying on the cross, provided a
way of salvation for humanity. Salvation was needed as the Christians believed humans were all
born as sinners due to the original sin by Adam and Eve where Eve disobeyed Gods orders not to
eat an apple from a particular tree (with the help of a serpent, of course). Before this time humans
were capable of living without flaw or doing wrong but all of Adam and Eves descendants because
of that became unworthy of the grace of God and became destined to die. Therefore salvation
offered people a chance at being absolved of sin and gaining eternal life and reconciling humanity
with divinity. Achieving salvation before Jesus in Judaism involved a series of sacrifices and living by
certain standards and being morally conscientious. When Jesus died on the cross, his death paid for
all past, present, and future sins, and salvation became achievable by those who had faith in God,
lived their lives piously and passionately, and accepted Jesus as their saviour- a lot simpler than the
old ways. The early Christians believed Christ, after dying, descended into hell, rose again and
ascended into heaven. For the ordinary human after death, as previously mentioned, the soul would
remain indefinitely in a conscious or unconscious state until Judgement Day. On this day Jesus would
come again into the world and God would judge the world through Christ. God would judge each
person and if people had followed Gods and chosen to receive the gift of salvation, their souls will

be granted eternal life in heaven with God. Those who did not, however, such as those who led
sinful lives with no form of repentance or did not accept Jesus as their saviour, may be sent to hell
(Hell, however, was not a properly developed part of Christian theology until later). Christians
believed that people had the freedom to choose whether to reject or accept the gift of salvation and
make choices within their lives accordingly and when Jesus died it was spoken that ignorance was no
longer an excuse (Acts 17:30-31 The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands
all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in
righteousness by a man whom he has appointed [Jesus]; and of this he has given assurance to all by
raising him from the dead.).
Before Paul, the early Christians would have first been influenced by Judaism. Though they did not
really have a concept of an afterlife, there is a concept of heaven in Judaism which was known as
literally the home of God. It was known as great Kingdom floating in the sky which was shared with
angels. It was believed to be resembling a palace or large, wealthy city. It was closed to human
entry. Another place the early Christians would have heard of/believed in from Judaism is Sheol,
similar to the Roman Fields of Asphodel in the Underworld, it was a place of neither reward nor
punishment. This was closest to what the early Christians would have believed in as an afterlife.
Later on, the Christians developed their afterlife beliefs into two main places, where, once
Judgement Day took place, the deceased would go to- heaven, or hell. The ideas of these places
transcended from Judaism. Firstly, heaven was consistent of Jesus as King and those who were
resurrected believers would all be together in this place in union with the Lord living in peace and
eternal communion- as seen in the words of Jesus on the cross: Today you will be with me in
Paradise (Luke 23:43). It was conceived that here in heaven life as if on earth could continue. Like
life before the original sin, life in heaven was speculated to be perfect, sharing in his glory and bliss
(Romans 2:7 to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he
will give eternal life and 2:10 but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good).
The other thing that could happen is that the Christian could be sentenced to hell, and essentially
the opposite of eternal life-eternal death, punishment or damnation. Hell in the bible is described a
place of anguish, suffering, and torment (2 Thes. 1:9 They will suffer the punishment of eternal
destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might; Revelation 20:10
and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast
and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever). The
people who end up going here are resurrected but unredeemed and depending on their life they will
be accordingly punished for all eternity.
A main ritual that was importantly associated with their afterlife was that of the burial of their deadearly Christians, though cremation was also available to them, only used burial. This was to stress
the importance of the link between the resurrection of the body and the resurrection of Christ. Little
else was truly known though, about their specific rituals due to the secretive nature of the early
Christians in Rome as they were only just tolerated by the Romans and would have been persecuted
outright for public disregard of Roman tradition and religion.
Historians examining early Christianity have a problem, that being, the subsequent development of
an orthodox doctrine, and a Church based upon it. Records of other doctrines were either
suppressed, or misrepresented, in intervening centuries. Thus, learning about the actual start of
Christianity, from those who actually lived when it was born, is impossible such records have not
survived.
The only historical documentation we have, then, are the New Testament, and the writings of the
various Church Fathers. Collectively, they paint a somewhat confusing picture of Christianitys
origins. This is unfortunate, for Christianity went on to become a major force in world history, and it
remains one, even today. Knowing the process of its origin would be invaluable, if we had direct
evidence of it.
But we dont have direct evidence, only indirect, later evidence.

Conclusion
In some ways, all three of these ideologies agree with each other and in other ways, they hold their
own ground regarding certain aspects of death and afterlife.

Regarding beliefs about life after death, Roman and Christian beliefs are very similar. Both being
influenced by earlier Greek philosophy as death resulting in the separation of the soul from the
body, they also both believed that the soul continued on after death. Both regarded death as sacred
to some extent. Both of these ideologies placed a lot of faith in their particular deities for certain
things that they wanted out of it- Romans were unique in the sense that they paid proper respects to
the dead so that the dead would continue to protect and guide Rome. They placed their importance
in the stability of the state and in their own welfare. It was feared that neglect of the gods and these
rites would endanger Rome and the peace of the State. The Christians wanted an idea of an afterlife
reflecting around a continuation of personal life after death but in heaven and with God, which was
unlike traditional Roman gods who were treated as higher beings altogether. The Christians were
definitely more religious in the sense that they truly believed in what it was they were doing. In the
aspects of otherworldly realms too, they have many similarities. Both groups of ideologies have a
system where there are judges of the quality of life and where the human being would have to give
an account of their lives. The parallels are seen in the Elysian Fields and the idea of heaven in
Christianity-both are places where people are rewarded based on their actions in life. The Fields of
Asphodel and Sheol match up too in this sense as they were both places that were for neither
punishment nor reward. The ideas of Tartarus and Hell are also linked in the sense that they both
provide punishment for those who have done wrong in their lives. These places in Roman and
Christian afterlife are also all places where the deceased would have to spend their eternity in. This
could again be because of the fact that they both similarly adapted Greek philosophy as part of their
own religions. Epicureans however completely opposed all of this. They did not believe in deities, or
if some did, they didnt believe they had any power over humans and were separate, and they did
not believe in any sort of life after death, save for the fact that the atoms that made up the body
became another object at some other point in the future. In the way that Ancient religion was
tolerant, Epicureans were stubborn and got into bitter long arguments and feuds- because their
philosophy was based more on factual ideas about the world-like the belief everything was made out
of atoms- whereas the ancient religions only really gave way to higher supernatural beings that
controlled aspects of the universe around them and choice of religion either really came down to
preference or what one secured your fate in the afterlife the most.
The limitations in the sources of evidence are quite clearly explained by the fact that the Romans
were the ruling group of ideologies and the rest fell under the cult umbrella that the Romans
tolerated. I have found much more evidence for Roman aspects of death and afterlife than
Christianity especially. Romans were really very tolerant of other religions and in turn only asked for
them to, within their own ideology, help secure the future and state of Rome. They persecuted
religions that did not extend the courtesy and excluded the Roman gods. This is where the
Christians and the Epicureans have a similarity-both completely disregarded the Roman gods for
their own reasons (Christians because they refused to worship any god either than their own [in
tradition with Judaism] and Epicureans because they didnt feel the Roman gods had any true
power). The Romans saw this as treason and disloyal to the Empire. Because of this both Christians
and Epicureans, to hide their beliefs and remain out of the target of the Roman Empire, simply
followed along with the rites that the Romans set to keep their gods happy and therefore keep Rome
powerful. In this state of secrecy both Epicureans and Early Christians have sparse primary sources
when it comes to certain things like the proper burial rites Christians conceded as part of their moral
code. Both did use epitaphs and grave inscriptions as references to their true beliefs. Especially with
groups like Christianity many of their documents were suppressed or misrepresented by Rome as
well as other groups of people in Ancient Europe. The records from those who actually lived during
the birth of Christianity simply doesnt exist anymore because of it. It is the same with Epicurusonly a few fragments and letters of a total of over 300 of his works remain. Most of Epicurean
philosophy is derived from later philosophers, followers, and commentators such as Lucretius.

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