Roman Death Rituals

1. Feast

1.1. The Feast was essential for the process

1.2. The feast signified that it was OK for the deceased to move on into the underworld.

1.3. The feast took place nine days after the burial.

1.4. The feast was called the cēna novendiālis

1.5. Relatives would "mourn" months after the death of their relative.

2. Eulogy

2.1. Eulogies were meant to praise the dead at their funeral.

2.2. Eulogies were presented at respected Romans who made a change to society.

2.3. Sometime eulogies helped jumpstart the careers of young politicians such as Julius Caesar when he performed the eulogy of his aunt.

2.4. Eulogies performed today are descendants of those in Ancient Rome.

2.5. There are still some ancient Roman eulogies out there today that have been found across various parts of Rome.

3. Commemoration.

3.1. Each year the Romans would have a festival called Parentalia.

3.2. This celebration was to honor the dead.

3.3. It was believed that if all the relatives of the one deceased man were standing around his tomb and they placed an offering, his shade/spirit would arrive.

3.4. At the end of March and May of each year, there would be the festival of roses where people would place flowers on there deceased.

3.5. On both of these celebrations, there would be offerings made to temples, at their graves.

4. Procession

4.1. Marked by movement of bodies.

4.2. The richer the person, the more flashier it would be.

4.3. Freedmen would also attend to pay respect o their former master.

4.4. Families would often hire paid actresses to "mourn" for them.

4.5. The corpse was often carried in a bier which is a bed like tray.

5. Cremation/Burial

5.1. If the body was to be cremated, it would be taken to Necropolis, the cit of the dead.

5.2. Romans thought if the body hadn't crossed Styx, the soul wasn't at peace yet.

5.3. Cremation was the most popular form of burial during the first and second century

5.4. During burial, the body would be placed is a sarcophagus, which was a rich decorated coffin.

5.5. A life like painting was often drawn upon a sarcophagus and was often drawn so well people compare it to photographs.