ROMAN DEATH AND THE AFTERLIFE
When you die ("you" being a good Roman of the Religio persuasion), you are escorted to the River Styx by spirits. There, you and the other recently life-challenged are met by Charon, the ferryman. A coin, an obolus, will have been placed in your former body's mouth to pay Charon (although an aurus gets you a better seat in the boat, some believed). This payment is not representative of money so much as of the relationship between god and man, acknowledging your debt to the gods and their protection and guidance to you.
On the other side of Styx, you will pass Cerberus, the three-headed watchdog. Cerberus will be friendly — he only becomes unfriendly when shades try to get OUT of the Underworld unauthorized.
You will go before the three judges who will ask you to account for your life. After you've made your accounting, you will be given the water of the River Lethe, the river of forgetfulness and one of five Rivers in the Underworld, which makes you forget your past life. You will be sent to the Elysian Fields (a version of paradise) if you've been a warrior or hero; The Plain of Asphodel, if you've been a good citizen, where you will continue to live a good life as a shade; or — if you've really offended the gods — to Tartarus, where you'll be punished by the Furies until your debt to society is paid. (There's no "eternal damnation" in the Roman underworld, although you can be there a pretty long time, depending on what you've done.) Your punishment depends on your crime.
Dis, while he is God of the Underworld, is NOT the God of Death. He does not decide who lives and dies. Instead, this is determined by the Three Fates. However, Dis does dispatch the god of death, Mors or Thanatos, to do his duty. He also has some connection with Morpheus, god of dreams.
Interestingly, Dis Pater is the only god with no name. He is known by the name of his kingdom: Hades, Pluto, or Dis, all of which refer to the secret riches of the earth.
THE THREE FATES
In Greek mythology, the white-robed Moirae or Moerae (in GreekΜοίραι — the "apportioners", often called the Fates) were the personifications of destiny (Roman equivalent: Parcae, "sparing ones", or Fata; also equivalent to the GermanicNorns). They controlled the metaphorical thread of life of every mortal and immortal from birth to death (and beyond). Even the gods feared the Moirae. Zeus himself may be subject to their power, as the Pythian priestess at Delphi once admitted. The Greek word moira literally means a part or portion, and by extension one's portion in life or destiny.
H.J. Rose writes that Nyx ("Night") was also the mother of the Moiraeas she was of the Erinyes, in the Orphic tradition.
The three Moirae were:
Clotho (Greek — "spinner") spun the thread of life from her distaff onto her spindle. Her Roman equivalent was Nona, (the 'Ninth'), who was originally a goddess called upon in the ninth month of pregnancy.
Lachesis (Greek — "allotter" or drawer of lots) measured the thread of life with her rod. Her Roman equivalent was Decima (the 'Tenth').
Atropos ( Greek — "inexorable" or "inevitable", sometimes called Aisa) was the cutter of the thread of life. She chose the manner of a person's death. When she cut the thread with "her abhorrèd shears", someone on Earth died. Her Roman equivalent was Mors ('Death').
The Moirae were supposed to appear three nights after a child's birth to determine the course of its life.
ROMAN BURIAL
The Romans had a short life expectancy due to disease, limited medical knowledge and almost constant wars. Funerary rituals and practices played an essential part in their lives, as they believed that honouring the deceased members of their family and a proper burial were essential for the Afterlife. Central to the Romans very detailed view of the Afterlife was the belief that the spirits of the dead were taken across the mythological river Styx to the Underworld, where the spirit was judged whether it was to find its place in heaven, Elysium, or hell, Tartarus. Funerals were seen as a way of preparing the spirit for this journey. There were numerous customs that were followed to ensure that the deceased was properly laid to rest, would have an auspicious Afterlife and would not return to haunt the living. These were also intended to reflect the deceased's place in the family and the continued importance of the surviving family.
When a Roman was at the point of death, the nearest relative present would attempt to catch the last breath with his mouth. The deceased's rings were removed and the nearest relation closed their eyes and mouth. The corpse was then washed, and anointed with oil and perfumes by slaves, called Pollinctores, who belonged to the Libitinarii, or undertakers. The Libitinarii were associated with the temple of Venus Libitina, where everything required for funerals was stored and an account was kept of those who died. The expressions vitare Libitinam and evadere Libitinam were used in the sense of escaping death.
Those in mourning displayed their grief by wearing vestes pullae (dull wool clothing) and by neglecting to wash, comb their hair, cut their nails, or change their clothes. As declared by law, parents and children over six could be mourned for a year, children under six for a month, a husband for ten months, and close blood relatives for eight months.
Laments, songs or poems expressing grief, were played on flutes as the body was prepared for the funeral procession. The family would assemble and perform the conclamatio; which involved calling out the name of the deceased three times while horns blew to announce the death. After each family member gave their extremum vale, the final farewell, the body was carried out of the house with the feet-first. If the deceased was from a lower class, the body was taken out by the shortest route possible. If the deceased was of a higher social order there was a more elaborate funeral procession. Musicians led the way while female mourners called praeficae followed singing funeral dirges, or naeniae. The body followed with its face covered and family and friends in mourning garb. If the deceased was a prominent figure, the procession would stop in the forum for the funeral oration, laudatio funebris, by the oldest son of the deceased or another close relative, while the body was displayed upright.
Funerals were typically held at night to prevent large public gatherings and discourage crowds and excessive mourning. Inhumation was more common than cremation in prehistoric Rome. However, inhumation was generally abandoned towards the end of the fifth century BC and was resumed only towards the middle of the second century AD. The acceptance of cremation as the principal system resulted in ustrina, the sacred enclosures in which pyres were built to convert the corpses into ashes.
The Twelve Tables, the code of Roman law, forbade burial or cremation within the walls of the city and they normally took place outside the city walls along the roads leading into the city. At the tomb, the resting place was sanctified, earth was cast on the remains and the family members, who were considered to be polluted by the death, were purified by being sprinkled by a priest with pure water from a branch of olive or laurel.The body, if buried, was lowered into the grave either on a couch, or in a coffin of burnt clay or stone. Tombs were of various sizes and forms, according to the wealth and taste of the owner. The tombs of the Romans were ornamented in various ways, but they seldom represented death in a direct manner.
In cremation, the corpse was burnt on a pile of wood in the form of an altar, with four equal sides. When the flames began to rise perfumes, cups of oil, ornaments, clothes, dishes of food, and other things, which were agreeable to the deceased, were thrown on the flames. After the pyre was extinguished, a family member (usually the deceased's mother or wife) would gather the ashes and place them in an urn. When the pile was burnt down, the embers were soaked with wine, and the bones and ashes of the deceased were gathered by the nearest relatives, who sprinkled them with perfumes, and placed them in an urn. It was normal for an often elaborate feast to be held at the site of the burial or cremation.
Many poorer Romans belonged to funeral societies, called collegiafuneraticia, to ensure a proper burial. They were funeral clubs to which regular payments, which would be used to cover the cost of funerals for the members. Collegia members were guaranteed a place in a Columbaria, where cremated remains were placed within small wall niches which were often marked by memorial plaques and portrait sculptures. Collegia and Columbaria were an inexpensive way to guarantee an appropriate transition to the Afterlife for all classes of Roman society.
"Nine Days of Sorrow" began with the day of the cremation or inhumation. During this period, ashes were dried and put in urns. Nine days after the body was laid to rest, the family members ended the funeral with the novendiale sacrificim, the sacrifice of the ninth day. Then, they participated in another great feast at the house called the cena novendialis. Food was also offered to the dead because they thought it would be required in the Afterlife. On this day, the heirs also formally received their inheritance.
Celebrations were held regularly to commemorate the memory of the dead. The thirteenth to the twenty-first of February was known as Parentalalia or dies parentales. The final day was especially distinguished as the Feralia. There were annual celebrations of the burial day of the dead at the end of March and the festivals of violets and roses (Violaria, Rosaria), at the end of May when violets and roses were distributed among the relatives and laid on the graves or piled over the urns..
In May, the Romans celebrated the Lemuria in a ceremony that was intended to satisfy any lemures that might be haunting their houses. At midnight, the head of the household made the sign of mano fico and walked barefoot around the house while spitting out nine black beans as an exchange for the well being of the occupants of the household. For all of these festivals, offerings were made in the temples to the gods and at the tombs of the dead. Lamps were burned at the tombs and the relatives feasted together and offered food to their dead. The Romans also believed that the deceased were still very important members of the household. Lararium, special household shrines, were kept where prayers and offerings were made to the gods. The spirits of dead ancestors, lares, were also believed to watch the household.
BURIAL PLACES
Throughout the Roman Empire we find many similarities in the way in which the dead were treated, although - as is to be expected - regional differences occur. Funerary rites served to ensure eternal life for the deceased. Ceremonies in which ancestors were remembered and honoured formed a part of daily life.
For reasons of hygiene the burial places are found outside the city walls. This was already stipulated in the ancient Law of the Twelve Tables. The location created the opportunity for people to be remembered. The burial places are found along roads, so that people leaving or entering a city where confronted with the memory of the dead.
Roman burial places show a considerable diversity in the types of graves and methods of burial. Tomb types range from the monumental tumulus and mausoleum to simpler burial chambers and interments in the soil.
During the first two centuries AD cremation was the preferred burial method. It was forbidden to cremate the deceased within the city walls, so the body was taken in a procession to the burial place, where the cremation took place. The crematorium could be a bustum, a place where the deceased was burnt and buried. Often a special crematorium (ustrinum) was used. The ashes were placed in urns made of various materials, ranging from wooden boxes and terracotta vessels to golden receptacles. The urns of the poor were buried in the soil and covered with terracotta tiles or the upper part of an amphora. Sometimes a pipe led to the grave from the surface, so that offerings could be made, that reached the grave. The urns of those with more money were placed in the soil of the bustum, or in one of the countless niches of a funerary chamber (columbarium), that could be preceded by an open enclosure and could have an upper floor. Special structures also occur, such as a small pyramid or a miniature temple (aedicula).
In the second century inhumation became increasingly popular, starting during the reign of Hadrian. It is difficult to tell whether this change was caused by spiritual or other reasons. In the early third century cremation had stopped. After the rise of Christianity this method of burial was continued, because of the belief that resurrection was impossible after cremation.
The wealthy were buried in carved sarcophagi, sometimes with curves ("strigilated" sarcophagi), sometimes with scenes referring to the life of the deceased, or with mythological scenes. Other people were buried in simple terracotta sarcophagi, that were placed in large niches (arcosolia) in the funerary chambers. However, most bodies were buried in the floor of the chamber or in a recess in the wall.
In Rome the worst kind of burial was that in puticuli: huge trenches, in which the bodies of slaves and the poorest people were dumped. In order to escape this fate, many people (both slaves and free people) joined funerary societies (collegia funeraticia). The collegia owned columbaria, that were financed through monthly contributions by the members. The members were assured of a place in the funerary chambers and of proper burial rites. The societies focused on a cult, often the Imperial cult.
Inscriptions in the facade of the columbaria provide information about the owners of the building and record the area that was owned (width and depth in feet; formula: in fronte pedes [number], in agro pedes [number]). When the building belonged to a family it was usually also the burial place of the freedmen of the family, and the children of these freedmen (formula: libertis libertabusque suis posterisque eorum). The inscriptions show the fear that the tomb would pass to an heir outside the family (formula: h(oc) m(onumentum) h(eredem) e(xterum) n(on) s(equitur)). Also in the facade could be terracotta reliefs showing the profession of the deceased.
Inside, inscriptions provided information about the individual people that were buried. Usually we read the name, family relations, and age at death. They begin with a dedication to the di Manes, the powers of the underworld (formula: D(is) M(anibus)). The interior of the tombs was often decorated with wall paintings and mosaics, and here statues and portraits of the deceased could be found. The columbarium was visited regularly by the family, and on these occasions banquets were held. For that purpose dining couches, wells, and ovens could be built.