Greek Death and Burial

pov: ur a dead greek. for u, as ur a dead greek, it's important that you're treated with respect, and it doesn't matter if u were the poorest person ever or ruler of the land. u need a proper burial.

as ur a dead greek, u hope that your eyes and mouth are closed, and that ur washed, perfumed and wrapped in a long white shroud. then a coin will hopefully be placed in ur mouth. that way you'll be able to pay charon to bring u across the styx and safely into hades.

after your body is prepared, your body should be laid out for 2 days. this is prothesis, so your friends and family can pay their respects. (we do a similar thing [the exact same thing, actually] in ireland. idk abt the rest of the world) as death pollutes, there will be a bowl of water to wash themselves after they leave ur house. then the women in ur family will lament. (idk why the men don't). this involves cutting their hair, dress in shabby black and wail and flail. literally.

u get all the drama, cuz ur a dead greek!! <3

after the prothesis, on the 3rd day the ekphora happens. this is the funeral procession from the dead person's house to the burial gorund. it could have been fancy will 'pallbearers' basically a litter for ur corpse, or a wagon if u weren't that well-off. the fmaily members would have been there. walking along. yk. u might have had an aulos player, too! (nice to soundtrack that walk)

to avoid pollution and a killer disease, the body would have been buried outside the city. in athens, the burial ground was kerameikos. 

once the body got to the burial ground, it would have been buried or cremated. 

if cremation: funeral pyre, deceased on top. then lit. the ashes would be put in a pot and given to the family to put in a shrine or grave.

if buried: buried

the grave might also have had gifts for the journey in the underworld, like food and stuff

it was important for the dead to be remembered, so if u were rich, a stele (gravestone) would be set up.

after the burial or cremation, there would have been a sacrifice. the blood would have been scattered on the ground, though, for hades and persephone. 

after the burial, there would be a mourning period of 30 days, where they had to visit the grave 3 times. after that, the family would visit on an annual basis.

there were 2 celebrations for the dead: in 1st was antheria. it was for dionysus, happened in late janurary and took 3 days. 

- on the 1st day, the dead were supposed to roam the earth. the wine was poured to dionysus.

- on the 2nd day, drinking contests... wine also poured on the graves.

- on the 3rd and final day, families of the dead would make food offerings to hermes. the living were not supposed to eat ANY of the sacrificial food. 

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The second celebration was genesia. it happened in late september. the athenians would decorate the graves of the deceased with ribbons and give food and sacrifice for the dead ancestors.