Greek Funeral Customs, From Ancient Times to Today

Greek funeral customs
A black-figure Pinax, or pottery plaque, showing a body lying in state in Ancient Greece, with the women of the family tearing out their hair. Latter 6th century BC. Credit: Walters Art Museum/Public Domain

The funeral and burial customs of the ancient Greeks — and even the Greeks of today– are and were so very different to those in other parts of the world that they hold a fascination for many today.

Originally closely linked to the ancient pagan beliefs revolving around the Greek gods and goddesses and the Underworld, the customs changed throughout the years as Christianity spread over the land. But perhaps not as much as you would imagine.

Ancient Greek funerary practices are evidenced in much of Greek literature, in the archaeological record, and in ancient Greek art, including sculpture and pottery.

Kerameikos
The ornate tombstones of Athens’ Kerameikos cemetery. Credit: Clutario / CC BY 2.0

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The Best Ancient Greece Comedies Still Funny Today

Ancient Greek comedies
A scene from the comedy “Phylax” showing three men (Gynmilos, Kosios and Karion) robbing a miser (Kharinos) inside his house. Side A of a red-figure calyx-krater made in Paestum, 350–340 BC. From Sant’Agata dei Goti. Credit:User:Bibi Saint-Pol/Public Domain 

Some things never change — and humor, luckily, is one thing that hasn’t changed a great deal over time, as we can see today by the comedies of Ancient Greece. The ancient Greeks were known for exploring a wide range of comedic content, using the satire and farce that are just as funny today as they were in ancient times.

Tropes such as mistaken identity and of course the old standby, sex jokes, will never go out of style, as we can still see today. We have always needed an outlet for the stresses and troubles of life and that was just as true two millennia ago as it is

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How Democracy Created in Ancient Greece

In the late 6th century B.C., the Greek metropolis-point out of Athens started to lay the foundations for a new form of political system. This demokratia, as it grew to become acknowledged, was a immediate democracy that gave political power to absolutely free male Athenian citizens rather than a ruling aristocratic class or dictator, which had mainly been the norm in Athens for numerous hundred years in advance of.

Athens’ demokratia, which lasted until finally 338 B.C., is a person of the earliest known illustrations of democracy and whilst new scholarship has challenging the Eurocentric check out that it was the 1st democracy, this ancient political system was very influential in the Mediterranean area. It impressed very similar political systems in other Greek city-states and motivated the historical Roman Republic.

Examine A lot more: How Rome Ruined Its Very own Republic

Athenian Gentlemen Sign up for the Assembly

The

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The Forgotten Background of Amazon Warrior Girls of Ancient Scythia

Penthesilea was an epic warrior, the prodigy of none other than Otrera, the 1st queen of the Amazons, and Ares, the Greek god of violence and war. Her battle techniques have been legendary, top her to facet with King Priam in the Trojan war, but she at some point arrived up from a larger pressure. Achilles defeated her right after a very equally match struggle, in accordance to Homeric custom.

“As she’s dying, he usually takes off her helmet and falls in adore with her,” states Adrienne Mayor, creator of the e-book The Amazons: Life and Legends of Warrior Girls Across the Historical Earth.

Penthesilea was described as powerful Amazon queen — a group of fierce females warriors that matched adult males in energy and techniques. They fought on horseback, were excellent with a bow and had been terrific hunters. Whether Penthesilea was a serious, historic determine or

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Priestesses Amid Couple of Females Who Had Position, Electrical power in Ancient Greece

Priestesses Ancient Greece
The Eleusinian Mysteries, affiliated with the goddess Demeter and her daughter Persephone, as depicted on pink determine pottery. By the Varrese Painter, ca. 340 BC, from Apulia. Credit score: Person:Bibi Saint-Pol,Public Area

Everyday living for females in most city states of Historical Greece, significantly Athens, was so tough that it would be almost unendurable for us to stay like that today – but ancient Greek priestesses had powers that elevated them to a relatively high status in modern society.

In the vast majority of Historical Greek town states — with the noteworthy exception of Sparta — the way women of all ages ended up handled was, at the quite, incredibly the very least, that of a 2nd-class citizen.

Nevertheless, 1 location of society permitted girls to maintain positions of esteem and allowed them a degree of individual liberty.

Joan Breton Connelly’s seminal do the job “Portrait of

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