SEPULCHRAL M O LT ^' 13 S , ETC., OF THE ANCIENT WORLD. 115 



The Trojans are made to bury the body of Hector in the same manner : during 

 nine days they collect the wood and raise the pile ; and when fire has completed 

 its part of the work, they also quench the fires with dark wine, and collect the 

 bones of the hero in a golden urn, which they cover with a rich cloth, and place 

 in a " hollow trench ;" above this they pile large stones, and over all heap the 

 tumulus. 



The body of the dead was not always burned among the Greeks ; on the contrary, 

 burial both by inhumation and incremation was practised from the earliest times, 

 though one practice may have been more common than another at a particular 

 period. In Magna Grsecia, unburnt skeletons have been found, and in tombs close 

 by vases containing the ashes of the dead. — {Tischiben and Bottiger.) Both 

 skeletons and ashes have been found in Greece itself. — {Stackelberg, die Grdber 

 der Hellenm.) There are no certain accounts as to whether the body was burned 

 at the place of sepulture, or at a spot designated for that purpose. At any rate, 

 the remains were collected and deposited in a cinerary made of clay or bronze. 

 The cofiins of the unburned were sometimes of wood, but generally the work of 

 the potter, though in some cases of masonry or stone. The tombs were usually 

 in a spot designated for the purpose. Sometimes they were placed in the person's 

 own house. After it was forbidden to bury in the city, it became common to select 

 a certain quarter for burials. The favorite place of sepulture was in the fields or 

 by some frequented highway. The tombs were the inviolate property of the 

 family, so that no other person might bury therein. A variety of articles were 

 placed with the dead — vases, mirrors, ornaments, etc. In cases of burning, they 

 were placed on the pyre. Feasts and offerings to the dead were customary. At 

 stated times the tombs were decked, and sometimes bloody sacrifices were made. 

 In the order of funeral ceremonies, it should be mentioned that the first thing done 

 was to insert a small coin (an obolus) in the mouth of the dead, as a vaCXov for the 

 ferryman of Hades. A similar custom existed among the ancient Mexicans, who 

 inserted a gem of some kind in the lips of the deceased, which was to serve 

 as a heart in the next world. 



The funeral customs of the Romans were nearly identical with those practised 

 by the Greeks. Their tombs were often simple tumuli, and so denominated. 

 Burial by inhumation and by fire were common practices. In the tombs were 

 placed coins, urns, flasks for holding tears or perfumes, sepulchral lamps, etc. 

 Games were celebrated in honor of the dead, and sacrifices and libations made on 

 their tombs. 



Among both Greeks and Romans, the expenditures at funerals became so great, 

 and the ambition to erect large and costly monuments so general, that it was 

 found necessary to prescribe their dimensions, and check extravagance by law. 



A pillar or upright stone, in ancient times a sacred emblem, was usually placed 

 upon the tumulus of the dead. Paris wounded Diomedes from behind the pillar 

 on the barrow of Ilus. These pillars were caUed stela,. Alexander, when he 

 crossed the Hellespont, performed solemn games at the barrows of the Grecian 

 heroes who fell before the walls of Troy, and anointed with perfumes the stelce. on 

 their tops. They were erected on the taphos of the Athenians who fell at 



