in memoriam: a roman funeral

Artist-at-Work Demonstration:

In Memoriam: A Roman Funeral

In Memoriam: A Roman Funeral The Legion Six Historical Society

Saturday-Sunday: May 24 & 25, 2014

© 2011 J. Paul Getty Trust

Artist-at-Work Demonstration: In Memoriam: A Roman Funeral

"…now I must celebrate grief with funeral tributes offered the dead in the ancient way of the fathers;

accept these presents, wet with my brotherly tears, and, now and forever, my brother, hail and farewell."

Catullus, Funeral Oration for His Brother

Romans had a special place for death in their society partially due to their view of the role of honor in life. Although religion played a major part in the Roman customs surrounding both death and dying, certain protocols seemed to have been observed regardless of personal faith. The nature of a Roman funeral depended very much on personal wealth, social standing and the circumstances of death. Criminals and other undesirables who had been executed were often buried in mass graves whilst the poor generally had simple funerals, which they planned and paid for by becoming members of a guild called a collegia funeraticia. Romans generally believed in an afterlife of some description and their funerary customs suggest that they believed the afterlife began at the moment of death. The physical remains were treated with respect and the personality and lifetime achievements of the deceased, celebrated and remembered. The deference given the deceased was reflected in the long processions that formed the heart and soul of Roman funeral rites. A Pagan View of a Life Beyond the Living It was held that, at the time of death, the soul would begin its journey to the underworld, the abode of the dead. The soul was first escorted to the River Styx by spirits specially appointed by the Gods. Once at the river, the departed soul would be met by Charon the Ferryman. When a person died, a coin would be placed in the mouth, an act that some considered to be payment of the fee required by Charon for ferrying the soul across the Styx. This is also symbolic of man’s reliance on the Gods. From Roman remains, it is known that some believed a more expensive the gift for Charon ensured a better chance for a peaceful passage across the River. Jewels, for example, were thought to secure a nicer seat on the boat! After crossing the river, the dead passed by Cerberus, a three-headed dog owned by Dis Pater (Pluto) the God of The Underworld. Cerberus judged the character of the deceased and would become ferocious to those who were guilty of wrongdoings in their lifetime or to those who were trying to escape the underworld to return to the temporal world. Judgment was the third stage: Minos, Rhadamanthos and Aeacus were the three judges who would hear the life account of every soul that came before them. The type of life led by the soul determined just where in the Underworld it would reside. The Elysian Fields was the 'forever home' of warriors, heroes and those who had died with honor-- it was the most desirable neighborhood of the dead! It was generally believed that good Emperors also met their final resting place here. The second domain was the Plain of Asphodel, where good people lived on as Shades (spirits called lemurs). Tartarus was the third and final realm, a dismal abode reserved for the evil. In this domain of misery and damnation, souls would be punished until they had repaid their debt to society, symbolic of the contractual nature of Roman society. Pagan Romans did not adhere to the idea of a Hell of eternal damnation; their Tartarus is similar in some ways to the concept of Purgatory in Roman Catholicism. Within the pagan Roman belief system, sometimes a reprieve came in the shape of Persephone, Queen of the Underworld. After successfully bribing Cerberus, she would send the soul back across the Styx to the world of the living-a suggestion that the Romans had some belief in reincarnation. Whilst Pluto ruled the Underworld, he was not the God of Death; this was a role held by Mors (the Latin word for death) who was dispatched by Pluto to collect the dead for him when the Three Fates had cut the strings of life. If Mors or Pluto decided to refuse a soul entry to the afterlife, the deceased would be confined to Limbo for all eternity. The Romans believed that wherever in the Underworld the soul would be sent, the soul would live on. This resulted in some rather interesting features of inhumations in which tombs housed decapitated corpses; bodies would often be cut into pieces to prevent them from rising again and haunting the living. In other instances,

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sarcophagi were weighted down with heavy stones. In contrast, these practices was not embraced by Jewish and Christian citizens, who believed it would prevent the person enjoying the afterlife when the Day of Judgment came. The Funeral Preparing the Body Bodies were usually prepared for viewing by libitinarii (undertakers). As well as being cleansed and dressed, the libitinarii would embalm the bodies with gypsum plaster and according to faith, would place a gold coin in the mouth of the corpse. Common was the practice to place pearls or beeswax in the nostrils to prevent evil spirits taking control of the dead body. This being done, libitinarii would then ensure that the person had everything necessary for the afterlife- This included money, jewelry, clothes, writing tools and eating utensils. If the deceased was a former soldier, the personal effects to make the journey might include his armor and weapons. Death masks were also taken at this time. Mourning The rich enjoyed sophisticated and very lengthy mourning rituals. The type of viewing was decided upon by wealth and social status. The wealthy would be displayed on marble slabs covered with purple cloth for up to a week before their funerals took place; however, the poor were usually cremated just a day after death. Bodies were never left alone after death as it was believed that this would cause anger and encourage haunting. Corpses were usually displayed in temples or atriums with their feet pointing to the doorway. Cypress branches were nailed over the door to bar priests from entering, something believed to bring impurity. Mourners paid their respects whilst the body laid in state. Professional mourners, known as praeficae, were employed to keep a permanent vigil. These were always women who were trained singers. They would sing special funeral dirges called naeniae. The Funeral Procession A funeral procession was a public display of the social, economic and professional life the person had led. The wealthy and social elite staged elaborate and colorful parades in which the deceased was carried to the final resting places accompanied by hired mourners, mimes, dancers and family wearing masks of important ancestors. Family members rode in chariots and soldiers’ bodies were often accompanied by their army colleagues. Processions ranged in scale from the grand spectacle to the simple and small for Romans of lesser means. The procession started from the place where the body had been laying in state to the precinct outside of the city where a funeral pyre or tomb was waiting. People in the procession wore robes of traditional mourning colors. If the deceased was an important figure, the procession would stop in the Forum and the body would be displayed upright whilst the eldest male relative delivered a funeral oration called a laudatio funebris. The Funeral Oration Typically utilized by the social elite, the laudatio funebris provided the means for publicly reaffirming the continued authority of the Roman state, the power and prestige of the deceased's family, and the maintenance of cultural values and social hierarchies. It was generally the son of the deceased or another close male relative that would deliver the funeral oration in the city forum which followed a variety of public and private rituals. During the oration, the deceased's meritorious deeds and virtues were recounted and the moral strength and acts of charity were highlighted. Additionally, celebration of loyal service to Rome through public office or military service reinforced the authority of the Roman state. Orations included the recitation of the achievements and legendary deeds of the deceased's ancestors, which demonstrated continuity with the past.

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Disposition of the Body: Inhumation or Cremation The Romans employed both techniques with cremation becoming the preferred means of disposition until after the third century AD, when Jews and Christians refused cremations and were always buried. It was commonplace for the wealthy to have constructed their tombs during their lifetimes. Though called a burial, it would be more correct to call Roman burials inhumations as corpses rarely touched the earth. Bodies were placed in coffins or in vaults made of stone or marble. The wealthy were usually placed in sarcophagi which were housed in grand mausoleums. A large pot would often be buried into the ground at the entrance where offerings were placed by mourners. By the 1st century B.C. cremation was the norm. According to Cicero (De legibus 2.57) and Pliny the Elder (Naturalis historia 7.187), the ultra-conservative gens Cornelii gave up inhumation in 78 B.C. At about the same

time, Roman nobles began building very elaborate tombs modeled on those of the Greek East, with monumental sculptures and elaborate stone architecture. The architecture and decoration of mausoleums and sarcophagi became more elaborate as time went on. Effigies of the dead became the norm and fashionable carvings depicted scenes from the individual's life. This type of sarcophagi became a mortuary “must have” as influence from Greek Asia Minor grew, and the wealthy paying huge sums to have them made.

The alarming rising cost of élite tombs ended quite abruptly under the reign of the Emperor Augustus, who built himself an immense mausoleum. Thus, noteworthy nobles were very careful to avoid being viewed as rivaling the imperial splendor. Architecturally simpler tombs, organized around modest altars, came into fashion for the very rich, while the 'not-so-rich' and the increasingly numerous funerary clubs (collegia) adopted the columbarium (meaning ‘dovecot') in which cremation urns were housed in a small niche called a nidus. These were built with public access as an integral feature so that the living could pay their respects to the dead, though it was considered bad luck to even mention the name of the deceased. Similarly, it was customary after burial or cremation to destroy all possessions belonging to the deceased. By about A.D. 150, the mortuary profile of ancient Rome can be divided into a Latin cremating West and a Greek inhuming East. By the 3rd century A.D. inhumation had swept across the whole West. Although the change has no direct links to Christianity, it was certainly convenient for the spread of the faith, which generally opposed cremation on the premise that it destroyed the physical body and visions of the day of resurrection. It was by the late 4th Century that certain practices found widely across western cemeteries—an east–west orientation of the body, the use of lime on the

Water Jar with a Woman Unknown

Greek, about 460 B.C. Bronze

18 1/2 x 11 1/8 in.

Philoxenos & Philoumene Unknown

Greek, Athens 400 B.C. Marble

40 1/4 x17 1/2x6 1/2

Gravestone Embellishment

Unknown Greek, Athens, about 320 B.C.

Marble and pigment 29 7/8 x 23 3/4 x 10 1/2 in

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walls of the grave, and the decline of grave goods—that might indicate the presence of Christians. From about A.D. 300, there was in Rome itself, a movement away from traditional cemeteries in favor of burial in catacombs and within basilical churches. A Final Note: Celebrating the Dearly Departed After the Funeral The "Nine Days of Sorrow" followed a burial. At the end of the nine days, or the sacrificium novediale, the heirs formally entered on the inheritance. It was customary for family to observe ten months of mourning whilst distant relatives observed eight months. For children ages 3-10, the ages would be equal to the month of mourning. There was also "annual days of obligations". There was the Parentalia or dies parentales, during the 13th to 21st of Februrary, ending with the Festival of the Dead, or the Feralia. There was also privately observed the Violaria, the festival of violets, at the end of March, and the Rosaria, the festival of roses, at the end of May. There would be offering of flowers at the graves, as well as offerings at the temples to the gods and at the tombs to the manes, the spirits of the dead. By observing these ceremonies, the peace of the departed souls was secured and the deceased would rest happily… ever after. REFERENCES

1) J.M.C. Toynbee, Death and Burial in the Roman World (Johns Hopkins University Press, 1971, 1996) 2) Regina Gee, "From Corpse to Ancestor: The Role of Tombside Dining in the Transformation of the Body

in Ancient Rome," in The Materiality of Death: Bodies, Burials, Beliefs, Bar International Series 1768 (Oxford, 2008)

3) Heller, L. John, Burial Customs of the Romans, (Washington: Classical Association of the Atlantic States, 1932)

BIOGRAPHICAL INFO Founded in A.D. 2001, the Legion Six Historical Foundation is a California-based group of living historians who strive to recreate the soldiers and civilians of a Roman frontier town. The group’s talented members have produced their own clothing, armor, equipment, and everyday objects, all based on actual archaeological finds, ancient representational arts, and primary literary references. Its mission is to inform, educate and entertain people of all ages about Greco-Roman civilization by giving them a first-hand look at how ancient peoples looked, dressed, equipped themselves and related to one-another. Toward these goals, Legion Six has participated in film and television productions, given presentations at schools and universities, and, most prestigiously, presented entertaining and informative programs at the world-famous Getty Villa in Malibu.

The Legion Six Historical Foundation 5013©3 non-profit organization and runs on the tax-exempt contributions of its supporters.

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ABOUT THE CRISPUS / POMPEIA GRAVE STELE The gravestone that serves as the backdrop for today’s program was created by sculptor Ben Richards of Portland, OR for Legion Six members David Michaels and Lorie Ann Hambly (Titus Flavius Crispus and Pompeia Pulchra), as a gift/donation from their friend and patron Michael Kilroy. It is based on months of careful research into Greek and Roman military gravestones, their iconography and inscriptions, mostly carried out at the Getty Villa’s galleries and library. Ben based the armor worn by Crispus on the Getty statue of an armored general in the Men’s Gallery. The pose of the couple, with right hands clasped, is patterned on the Greek stele of Philoxenos and Philoumene as well as several other Roman grave monuments in the upstairs galleries. Ben originally sculpted the monument in clay, created a mold from the original, and cast two copies in a gypsum-resin compound to simulate ancient marble. The monument seen here was painted in lifelike colors, as all ancient funerary monuments would have been finished; the colors are based on the vivid hues still seen in the frescoes of Pompeii and Herculaneum. The inscription at the bottom (Latin translation provided by Frank Ryan) is based upon the [fictional] lives of the Roman characters that both Michaels and Hambly portray within the organization, impressions that they have extensively researched. The inscription reads:

D • M • HOC MONVMENTVM POSVIT POMPEIA PVLCHRA NOLANA T• FLAVIO CRISPO VIRO T• FLAVII BASSI FIL QVI IN COLONIA AGRIPPINENSIVM NATIONE TAVRISCVS NATVS AB INCVNABVLIS IMBVTVS AMORE ROMAE MIL• ANN• XXV IN LEGIONIBVS • EX

MILITE GREGARIO LEG XXX VLP• VIC• PRAEFECTVS CASTRORVM LEG VI VIC• P• F• FACTVS EST • ET IN BELLIS DACICIS AC PARTHICIS IN EXERCITV DIVI TRAIANI ET HADRIANO IMPERATORE SEDITIONE A BAR KOCHBA

CONCITATA STIPENDIA MERVIT • PROPTER VIRTVTEM AB EISDEM IMPERATORIBVS DECORATVS • POST COMPLETA STIPENDIA DVOVIR EBORACI FACTVS EST • HIC IACET MARITVS • MARITA IVXTA EVM ADQVIESCET

To the Spirits of the Dead, this monument was erected by Pompeia Pulchra of Nola for T. Flavius Crispus, son of T.

Flavius Bassus of Colonia Agrippensis, of the Taurisci tribe, from, birth a loyal son and lover of Rome, having spent 25 years in the Roman Legions. Starting as an infantryman in Legion XXX Ulpia Victrix, he raised himself to Praefectus Castrorum of Legion VI Victrix Pia Fidelis. He fought in the Dacian and Parthian wars of the Divine

Trajan and the Emperor Hadrian’s expedition to quell the Bar Kochba rebellion. He was personally decorated for valor by both emperors. After completion of his service he became Duovir of Eboracum. Here lies the husband; his

wife will rest beside him.

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in memoriam: a roman funeral

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