Scholars Day: April 11, 2012

Death at a Funeral: Ancient Greek Funeral Customs in Athens

The presentation will cover Greek funerary ritual and burials. The presentation will focus primarily on customs in the city-state of Athens. It will also discuss the myths surrounding death in ancient Greek religion. The Greek belief of what happened after death changes over time. The Greeks believed that at the moment of death the psyche, or spirit of the dead, left the body as a little breath or puff of wind. If a funeral was never performed, it was commonly believed that that person's spirit would never reach the underworld and so would haunt the world as a ghost forever. Hence the importance of funerary customs in the ancient Greek world.

Please note that presentation times are approximate. If you are interested in attending sessions with multiple presentations, please be in the room at the start of the session.