34 HUMAN DISSECTION. ITS DRAMA AND STRUGGLE 



time. Pouring out wine, prayers and sometimes hymns accom- 

 panied the meat offering. 



There were Hmitations as to the power of the gods over man- 

 kind. They could not always save their favorite mortals from the 

 consequence of their own misdoing as retribution was judged to 

 be an inherent law of the universe which even the deities could 

 not break, nor could they make them immortal. The final lot of 

 mankind was to go weeping down to the house of Hades as a 

 wan, bloodless and mournful shadow of its former self. There 

 were even standards to be met for entrance to this place in the 

 form of proper burial. If not, a spirit might have to wander deso- 

 late outside of the gate, having lost forever the opportunity of 

 gaining the companionship of the souls assembled inside. 



The intervention of gods and the importance of proper 

 burial rites are poignantly emphasized in the last chapters of 

 the Iliad, dealing with the Trojan War, where Achilles bound 

 the slain body of Hector behind his chariot and proceeded to drag 

 it ingloriously on the ground, full length, with face downwards. 

 Hector lay on the surface of the earth twelve days, intermittently 

 being pulled furiously around; yet his flesh did not waste and 

 the worms did not eat him, because he was protected by the god, 

 Apollo. He lay there fresh as dew, not marked or disfigured in 

 any way, until his father was finally given the humiliating ex- 

 perience of claiming him. During the battle between Achilles 

 and Hector, when the latter was mortally wounded, Achilles 

 threatened his victim by saying that he was going to let the dogs 

 and vultures ignominously devour his body. The dying man 

 pleaded to have it burned, which apparently was the accepted 

 method of disposal. It was believed that this procedure would 

 properly release the soul for entrance into Hades. 



Some of the funeral pyres built in that day attained great 

 size, up to 100 by 100 feet, which required a considerable amount 

 of wood gathering. For important persons, it was the custom to 

 follow the burning with a great spectacle of sport contests: chariot 

 and foot racing, boxing, wrestling, sword fighting, hurling an 

 iron quoit, archery and javelin throwing, all of which was thought 

 to make it easier for the departing soul to gain proper entrance 

 into Hades. 



