84 ON THE ORIGIN OF CREMATION, 



colonies into Athens and Argos, were Egj T ptians ; and general- 

 ly admitted that Cadmus, who founded Thebes in Bceotia, was a 

 Phenician. It may therefore be conjectured, that as neither the 

 Egyptians nor the Phenicians burnt their dead, while the me- 

 mory of these illustrious men retained any considerable influence, 

 the colonies planted by them would strictly adhere to the rites 

 of sepulture which they had introduced ; especially as these 

 had been sanctioned by the authority and example of their an- 

 cestors, in the countries from which they had migrated. From 

 the institutes of Lycurgus it is evident, that, in his time, the 

 ancient mode of inhumation prevailed among the Spartans. 

 For he enacted, that the dead should be deposited in the earth, 

 wrapt in a covering of scarlet cloth, and surrounded with olive 

 leaves *. 



It seems to be generally believed, that, in later ages, the 

 Greeks universally burned their dead. Lucian, indeed, as 

 Potter has remarked in his Archceologia, expressly assigns cre- 

 mation to Greece, and inhumation to the Persians *f. But this 

 must be understood with great latitude. From the language 

 ascribed by Plato to Socrates, it appears, that both these 

 modes had been promiscuously used in his time, according to 

 the predilection of individuals. For he speaks of it as a mat- 

 ter of indifference to him, whether, after his death, his body 

 should be burned or buried. The language of jElian would 

 imply, that inhumation had continued to be the general prac- 

 tice at Athens. For he says, " It is an Athenian law, that if 

 " any one accidentally meet with the corpse of a man not bu- 

 ** Tied, he shall cover it entirely with earth ; and that the dead 



" shall 



* Plutarch, in Vit. Lycorg. 



+ AiiXofiitot Kocrct ifai) Ta; tss^ocs, o fth ' EAAjjv, sxctvtriv. odi T\ig(r-fis 3 itoctytv, SiC. LUCIAN. de 



Luctu, Open ii. 806. edit. Amstel. 1687- 



