[Illustration: Coffins. (Stackelberg, ‘Die Gräber der Hellenen,’ pl.
7, 8.)]
[Illustration: Tomb in Lycia.]
FŪNUS, a funeral.--(1) GREEK. The Greeks attached great importance
to the burial of the dead. They believed that souls could not enter
the Elysian fields till their bodies had been buried; and so strong
was this feeling among the Greeks, that it was considered a religious
duty to throw earth upon a dead body, which a person might happen
to find unburied; and among the Athenians, those children who
were released from all other obligations to unworthy parents, were
nevertheless bound to bury them by one of Solon’s laws. The neglect
of burying one’s relatives is frequently mentioned by the orators
as a grave charge against the moral character of a man; in fact,
the burial of the body by the relations of the dead was considered
one of the most sacred duties by the universal law of the Greeks.
Sophocles represents Antigone as disregarding all consequences in
order to bury the dead body of her brother Polyneices, which Creon,
the king of Thebes, had commanded to be left unburied. The common
expressions for the funeral rites, τὰ δίκαια, νόμιμα or νομιζόμενα,
προσήκοντα, show that the dead had, as it were, a legal and moral
claim to burial. After a person was dead, it was the custom first to
place in his mouth an obolus, called _danace_ (δανάκη), with which
he might pay the ferryman in Hades. The body was then washed and
anointed with perfumed oil, the head was crowned with the flowers
which happened to be in season, and the body dressed in as handsome
a robe as the family could afford. These duties were not performed
by hired persons, like the _pollinctores_ among the Romans, but by
the women of the family, upon whom the care of the corpse always
devolved. The corpse was then laid out (πρόθεσις, προτίθεσθαι) on a
bed, which appears to have been of the ordinary kind, with a pillow
for supporting the head and back. By the side of the bed there
were placed painted earthen vessels, called λήκυθοι, which were
also buried with the corpse. Great numbers of these painted vases
have been found in modern times; and they have been of great use
in explaining many matters connected with antiquity. A honey-cake,
called μελιττοῦτα, which appears to have been intended for Cerberus,
was also placed by the side of the corpse. Before the door a vessel
of water was placed, called ὄστρακον, ἀρδάλιον or ἀρδάνιον, in order
that persons who had been in the house might purify themselves by
sprinkling water on their persons. The relatives stood around the
bed, the women uttering great lamentations, rending their garments,
and tearing their hair. On the day after the πρόθεσις, or the third
day after death, the corpse was carried out (ἐκφορά, ἐκκομιδή)
for burial, early in the morning and before sunrise. A burial soon
after death was supposed to be pleasing to the dead. In some places
it appears to have been usual to bury the dead on the day following
death. The men walked before the corpse, and the women behind.
The funeral procession was preceded or followed by hired mourners
(θρηνῳδοί), who appear to have been usually Carian women, playing
mournful tunes on the flute. The body was either buried or burnt. The
word θάπτειν is used in connection with either mode; it is applied to
the collection of the ashes after burning, and accordingly we find
the words καίειν and θάπτειν used together. The proper expression
for interment in the earth is κατορύττειν. In Homer the bodies of
the dead are burnt; but interment was also used in very ancient
times. Cicero says that the dead were buried at Athens in the time
of Cecrops; and we also read of the bones of Orestes being found in
a coffin at Tegea. The dead were commonly buried among the Spartans
and the Sicyonians, and the prevalence of this practice is proved
by the great number of skeletons found in coffins in modern times,
which have evidently not been exposed to the action of fire. Both
burning and burying appear to have been always used to a greater or
less extent at different periods; till the spread of Christianity
at length put an end to the former practice. The dead bodies were
usually burnt on piles of wood, called _pyres_ (πυραί). The body
was placed on the top; and in the heroic times it was customary to
burn with the corpse animals and even captives or slaves. Oils and
perfumes were also thrown into the flames. When the pyre was burnt
down, the remains of the fire were quenched with wine, and the
relatives and friends collected the bones. The bones were then washed
with wine and oil, and placed in urns, which were sometimes made of
gold. The corpses which were not burnt were buried in coffins, which
were called by various names, as σοροί, πύελοι, ληνοί, λάρνακες,
δροῖται, though some of these names are also applied to the urns in
which the bones were collected. They were made of various materials,
but were usually of baked clay or earthenware. The following woodcut
contains two of the most ancient kind; the figure in the middle is
the section of one. The dead were usually buried outside the town,
as it was thought that their presence in the city brought pollution
to the living. At Athens none were allowed to be buried within the
city; but Lycurgus, in order to remove all superstition respecting
the presence of the dead, allowed of burial in Sparta. Persons who
possessed lands in Attica were frequently buried in them, and we
therefore read of tombs in the fields. Tombs, however, were most
frequently built by the side of roads, and near the gates of the
city. At Athens, the most common place of burial was outside of the
Itonian gate, near the road leading to the Peiraeeus, which gate
was for that reason called the burial gate. Those who had fallen in
battle were buried at the public expense in the outer Cerameicus, on
the road leading to the Academia. Tombs were called θῆκαι, τάφοι,
μνήματα, μνημεῖα, σήματα. Many of these were only mounds of earth
or stones (χώματα, κολῶναι τύμβοι). Others were built of stone,
and frequently ornamented with great taste. Some Greek tombs were
built under ground, and called _hypogea_ (ὑπόγαια or ὑπόγεια). They
correspond to the Roman _conditoria_. The monuments erected over the
graves of persons were usually of four kinds: 1. στῆλαι, pillars
or upright stone tablets; 2. κίονες, columns; 3. ναΐδια or ἡρῷα,
small buildings in the form of temples; and 4. τράπεζαι, flat square
stones, called by Cicero _mensae_. The term στῆλαι is sometimes
applied to all kinds of funeral monuments, but properly designates
upright stone tablets, which were usually terminated with an oval
heading, called ἐπίθημα. The epithema was frequently ornamented with
a kind of arabesque work, as in the preceding specimen. The κίονες,
or columns, were of various forms, as is shown by the two specimens
in the annexed cut.
[Illustration: Epithema or Heading of Tombstone. (Stackelberg, pl.
3.)]
[Illustration: Sepulchral Columns. (Paintings on Vases.)]
The inscriptions upon these funeral monuments usually contain
the name of the deceased person, and that of the demus to which
he belonged, as well as frequently some account of his life. The
following example of an ἡρῷον will give a general idea of monuments
of this kind.--Orations in praise of the dead were sometimes
pronounced; but Solon ordained that such orations should be confined
to persons who were honoured with a public funeral. In the heroic
ages games were celebrated at the funeral of a great man, as in
the case of Patroclus; but this practice does not seem to have been
usual in the historical times.--All persons who had been engaged in
funerals were considered polluted, and could not enter the temples
of the gods till they had been purified. After the funeral was over,
the relatives partook of a feast, which was called περίδειπνον or
νεκρόδειπνον. This feast was always given at the house of the nearest
relative of the deceased.
[Illustration: Sepulchral Heroon. (Painting on Vase.)]
Thus the relatives of those who had fallen at the battle of
Chaeroneia partook of the περίδειπνον at the house of Demosthenes,
as if he were the nearest relative to them all. On the second day
after the funeral a sacrifice to the dead was offered, called τρίτα;
but the principal sacrifice to the dead was on the ninth day, called
ἔννατα or ἔνατα. The mourning for the dead appears to have lasted
till the thirtieth day after the funeral, on which day sacrifices
were again offered. At Sparta the time of mourning was limited to
eleven days. During the time of mourning it was considered indecorous
for the relatives of the deceased to appear in public; they were
accustomed to wear a black dress, and in ancient times they cut
off their hair as a sign of grief.--The tombs were preserved by
the family to which they belonged with the greatest care, and were
regarded as among the strongest ties which attached a man to his
native land. In the Docimasia of the Athenian archons it was always
a subject of inquiry whether they had kept in proper repair the
tombs of their ancestors. On certain days the tombs were crowned
with flowers, and offerings were made to the dead, consisting of
garlands of flowers and various other things. The act of offering
these presents was called ἐναγίζειν, and the offerings themselves
ἐναγίσματα, or more commonly χοαί. The γενέσια mentioned by Herodotus
appear to have consisted in offerings of the same kind, which were
presented on the anniversary of the birth-day of the deceased. The
νεκύσια were probably offerings on the anniversary of the day of
the death; though, according to some writers, the νεκύσια were the
same as the γενέσια. Certain criminals, who were put to death by
the state, were also deprived of the rights of burial, which was
considered as an additional punishment. There were certain places,
both at Athens and Sparta, where the dead bodies of such criminals
were cast. A person who had committed suicide was not deprived of
burial, but the hand with which he had killed himself was cut off
and buried by itself.--(2) ROMAN. When a Roman was at the point of
death, his nearest relation present endeavoured to catch the last
breath with his mouth. The ring was taken off the finger of the
dying person; and as soon as he was dead his eyes and mouth were
closed by the nearest relation, who called upon the deceased by
name, exclaiming _have_ or _vale_. The corpse was then washed, and
anointed with oil and perfumes, by slaves, called _pollinctores_,
who belonged to the _libitinarii_, or undertakers. The libitinarii
appear to have been so called because they dwelt near the temple
of Venus Libitina, where all things requisite for funerals were
sold. Hence we find the expressions _vitare Libitinam_ and _evadere
Libitinam_ used in the sense of escaping death. At this temple an
account (_ratio, ephemeris_) was kept of those who died, and a small
sum was paid for the registration of their names. A small coin was
then placed in the mouth of the corpse, in order to pay the ferryman
in Hades, and the body was laid out on a couch in the vestibule of
the house, with its feet towards the door, and dressed in the best
robe which the deceased had worn when alive. Ordinary citizens were
dressed in a white toga, and magistrates in their official robes.
If the deceased had received a crown while alive as a reward for
his bravery, it was now placed on his head; and the couch on which
he was laid was sometimes covered with leaves and flowers. A branch
of cypress was also usually placed at the door of the house, if he
was a person of consequence. Funerals were usually called _funera
justa_ or _exsequiae_; the latter term was generally applied to
the funeral procession (_pompa funebris_). There were two kinds
of funerals, public and private; of which the former was called
_funus publicum_ or _indictivum_, because the people were invited
to it by a herald; the latter _funus tacitum_, _translatitium_, or
_plebeium_. A person appears to have usually left a certain sum of
money in his will to pay the expenses of his funeral; but if he did
not do so, nor appoint any one to bury him, this duty devolved upon
the persons to whom the property was left, and if he died without a
will, upon his relations, according to their order of succession to
the property. The expenses of the funeral were in such cases decided
by an arbiter, according to the property and rank of the deceased,
whence _arbitria_ is used to signify the funeral expenses.--The
following description of the mode in which a funeral was conducted
only applies strictly to the funerals of the great; the same pomp and
ceremony could not of course be observed in the case of persons in
ordinary circumstances. All funerals in ancient times were performed
at night, but afterwards the poor only were buried at night, because
they could not afford to have any funeral procession. The corpse was
usually carried out of the house (_efferebatur_) on the eighth day
after the death. The order of the funeral procession was regulated
by a person called _designator_ or _dominus funeris_, who was
attended by lictors dressed in black. It was headed by musicians
of various kinds (_cornicines, siticines_), who played mournful
strains, and next came mourning women, called _praeficae_, who were
hired to lament and sing the funeral song (_naenia_ or _lessus_) in
praise of the deceased. These were sometimes followed by players and
buffoons (_scurrae, histriones_), of whom one, called _archimimus_,
represented the character of the deceased, and imitated his words
and actions. Then came the slaves whom the deceased had liberated,
wearing the cap of liberty (_pileati_); the number of whom was
occasionally very great, since a master sometimes liberated all his
slaves, in his will, in order to add to the pomp of his funeral.
Before the corpse the images of the deceased and of his ancestors
were carried, and also the crowns or military rewards which he had
gained. The corpse was carried on a couch (_lectica_), to which the
name of _feretrum_ or _capulum_ was usually given; but the bodies
of poor citizens and of slaves were carried on a common kind of
bier or coffin, called _sandapila_. The _sandapila_ was carried by
bearers, called _vespae_ or _vespillones_, because they carried
out the corpses in the evening (_vespertino tempore_). The couches
on which the corpses of the rich were carried were sometimes made
of ivory, and covered with gold and purple. They were often carried
on the shoulders of the nearest relations of the deceased, and
sometimes on those of his freedmen. Julius Caesar was carried by
the magistrates, and Augustus by the senators. The relations of the
deceased walked behind the corpse in mourning; his sons with their
heads veiled, and his daughters with their heads bare and their hair
dishevelled, contrary to the ordinary practice of both. They often
uttered loud lamentations, and the women beat their breasts and tore
their cheeks, though this was forbidden by the Twelve Tables. If the
deceased was of illustrious rank, the funeral procession went through
the forum, and stopped before the _rostra_, where a funeral oration
(_laudatio_) in praise of the deceased was delivered. This practice
was of great antiquity among the Romans, and is said by some writers
to have been first introduced by Publicola, who pronounced a funeral
oration in honour of his colleague Brutus. Women also were honoured
by funeral orations. From the Forum the corpse was carried to the
place of burning or burial, which, according to a law of the Twelve
Tables, was obliged to be outside the city. The Romans in the most
ancient times buried their dead, though they also early adopted, to
some extent, the custom of burning, which is mentioned in the Twelve
Tables. Burning, however, does not appear to have become general
till the later times of the republic. Marius was buried, and Sulla
was the first of the Cornelian gens whose body was burned. Under the
empire burning was almost universally practised, but was gradually
discontinued as Christianity spread, so that it had fallen into
disuse in the fourth century. Persons struck by lightning were not
burnt, but buried on the spot, which was called _Bidental_, and was
considered sacred. [BIDENTAL.] Children also, who had not cut their
teeth, were not burnt, but buried in a place called _Suggrundarium_.
Those who were buried were placed in a coffin (_arca_ or _loculus_),
which was frequently made of stone, and sometimes of the Assian
stone, which came from Assos in Troas, and which consumed all the
body, with the exception of the teeth, in 40 days, whence it was
called _sarcophagus_. This name was in course of time applied to
any kind of coffin or tomb. The corpse was burnt on a pile of wood
(_pyra_ or _rogus_). This pile was built in the form of an altar,
with four equal sides, whence we find it called _ara sepulcri_ and
_funeris ara_. The sides of the pile were, according to the Twelve
Tables, to be left rough and unpolished, but were frequently covered
with dark leaves. Cypress trees were sometimes placed before the
pile. On the top of the pile the corpse was placed, with the couch on
which it had been carried, and the nearest relation then set fire to
the pile with his face turned away. When the flames began to rise,
various perfumes were thrown into the fire, though this practice was
forbidden by the Twelve Tables; cups of oil, ornaments, clothes,
dishes of food, and other things, which were supposed to be agreeable
to the deceased, were also thrown upon the flames. The place where
a person was burnt was called _bustum_, if he was afterwards buried
on the same spot, and _ustrina_ or _ustrinum_ if he was buried at a
different place. Sometimes animals were slaughtered at the pile, and
in ancient times captives and slaves, since the manes were supposed
to be fond of blood; but afterwards gladiators, called bustuarii,
were hired to fight round the burning pile. 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 a vessel called _urna_, which
was made of various materials, according to the circumstances of
individuals.
[Illustration: Sepulchral Urn in British Museum]
The urnae were also of various shapes, but most commonly square or
round; and upon them there was usually an inscription or epitaph
(_titulus_ or _epitaphium_), beginning with the letters D. M. S.,
or only D. M., that is, DIS MANIBUS SACRUM, followed by the name of
the deceased, with the length of his life, &c. The woodcut opposite
is a representation of a sepulchral urn in the British Museum. It
is of an upright rectangular form, richly ornamented with foliage,
and supported at the sides with pilasters. It is to the memory of
Cossutia Prima. Its height is 21 inches, and its width at the base 14
inches 6-8ths. Below the inscription an infant genius is represented
driving a car drawn by four horses.--After the bones and ashes of
the deceased had been placed in the urn, the persons present were
thrice sprinkled by a priest with pure water from a branch of olive
or laurel for the purpose of purification; after which they were
dismissed by the _praefica_, or some other person, by the solemn
word _Ilicet_, that is, _ire licet_. At their departure they were
accustomed to bid farewell to the deceased by pronouncing the word
_Vale_. The urns were placed in sepulchres, which, as already stated,
were outside the city, though in a few cases we read of the dead
being buried within the city. Thus Valerius Publicola, Tubertus, and
Fabricius, were buried in the city; which right their descendants
also possessed, but did not use. The vestal virgins and the emperors
were buried in the city.--The verb _sepelire_, like the Greek
θάπτειν, was applied to every mode of disposing of the dead; and
_sepulcrum_ signified any kind of tomb in which the body or bones of
a man were placed. The term _humare_ was originally used for burial
in the earth, but was afterwards applied like _sepelire_ to any mode
of disposing of the dead: since it appears to have been the custom,
after the body was burnt, to throw some earth upon the bones.--The
places for burial were either public or private. The public places
of burial were of two kinds; one for illustrious citizens, who were
buried at the public expense, and the other for poor citizens, who
could not afford to purchase ground for the purpose. The former was
in the Campus Martius, which was ornamented with the tombs of the
illustrious dead, and in the Campus Esquilinus; the latter was also
in the Campus Esquilinus, and consisted of small pits or caverns,
called _puticuli_ or _puticulae_; but as this place rendered the
neighbourhood unhealthy, it was given to Maecenas, who converted it
into gardens, and built a magnificent house upon it. Private places
for burial were usually by the sides of the roads leading to Rome;
and on some of these roads, such as the Via Appia, the tombs formed
an almost uninterrupted street for many miles from the gates of
the city. They were frequently built by individuals during their
lifetime; thus Augustus, in his sixth consulship, built the Mausoleum
for his sepulchre between the Via Flaminia and the Tiber, and planted
round it woods and walks for public use. The heirs were often ordered
by the will of the deceased to build a tomb for him; and they
sometimes did it at their own expense.--Sepulchres were originally
called _busta_, but this word was afterwards employed in the manner
mentioned under Bustum. Sepulchres were also frequently called
_monumenta_, but this term was also applied to a monument erected to
the memory of a person in a different place from that where he was
buried. _Conditoria_ or _conditiva_ were sepulchres under ground,
in which dead bodies were placed entire, in contradistinction to
those sepulchres which contained the bones and ashes only.--The
tombs of the rich were commonly built of marble, and the ground
enclosed with an iron railing or wall, and planted round with trees.
The extent of the burying-ground was marked by cippi [CIPPUS]. The
name of mausoleum, which was originally the name of the magnificent
sepulchre erected by Artemisia to the memory of Mausolus, king of
Caria, was sometimes given to any splendid tomb. The open space
before a sepulchre was called forum, and neither this space nor the
sepulchre itself could become the property of a person by usucapion.
Private tombs were either built by an individual for himself and
the members of his family (_sepulcra familiaria_), or for himself
and his heirs (_sepulcra hereditaria_). A tomb, which was fitted up
with niches to receive the funeral urns, was called _columbarium_,
on account of the resemblance of these niches to the holes of a
pigeon-house. In these tombs the ashes of the freedmen and slaves of
great families were frequently placed in vessels made of baked clay,
called _ollae_, which were let into the thickness of the wall within
these niches, the lids only being seen, and the inscriptions placed
in front. Tombs were of various sizes and forms, according to the
wealth and taste of the owner. A sepulchre, or any place in which a
person was buried, was _religiosus_; all things which were left or
belonged to the Dii Manes were _religiosae_; those consecrated to
the Dii Superi were called _sacrae_. Even the place in which a slave
was buried was considered religiosus. Whoever violated a sepulchre
was subject to an action termed _sepulcri violati actio_. After the
bones had been placed in the urn at the funeral, the friends returned
home. They then underwent a further purification, called _suffitio_,
which consisted in being sprinkled with water and stepping over a
fire. The house itself was also swept with a certain kind of broom;
which sweeping or purification was called _exverrae_, and the
person who did it _everriator_. The _Denicales Feriae_ were also
days set apart for the purification of the family. The mourning and
solemnities connected with the dead lasted for nine days after the
funeral, at the end of which time a sacrifice was performed, called
_novendiale_.--A feast was given in honour of the dead, but it is
uncertain on what day; it sometimes appears to have been given at
the time of the funeral, sometimes on the novendiale, and sometimes
later. The name of _silicernium_ was given to this feast. Among the
tombs at Pompeii there is a funeral triclinium for the celebration
of these feasts, which is represented in the annexed woodcut. It is
open to the sky, and the walls are ornamented by paintings of animals
in the centre of compartments, which have borders of flowers. The
triclinium is made of stone, with a pedestal in the centre to receive
the table. After the funeral of great men, there was, in addition to
the feast for the friends of the deceased, a distribution of raw meat
to the people, called _visceratio_, and sometimes a public banquet.
Combats of gladiators and other games were also frequently exhibited
in honour of the deceased. Thus at the funeral of P. Licinius
Crassus, who had been Pontifex Maximus, raw meat was distributed to
the people, 120 gladiators fought, and funeral games were celebrated
for three days, at the end of which a public banquet was given in
the forum. Public feasts and funeral games were sometimes given on
the anniversary of funerals. At all banquets in honour of the dead,
the guests were dressed in white.--The Romans, like the Greeks, were
accustomed to visit the tombs of their relatives at certain periods,
and to offer to them sacrifices and various gifts, which were called
_inferiae_ and _parentalia_. The Romans appear to have regarded the
manes or departed souls of their ancestors as gods; whence arose
the practice of presenting to them oblations, which consisted of
victims, wine, milk, garlands of flowers, and other things. The
tombs were sometimes illuminated on these occasions with lamps. In
the latter end of the month of February there was a festival, called
_feralia_, in which the Romans were accustomed to carry food to the
sepulchres for the use of the dead. The Romans were accustomed to
wear mourning for their deceased friends, which appears to have been
black under the republic for both sexes. Under the empire the men
continued to wear black in mourning, but the women wore white. They
laid aside all kinds of ornaments, and did not cut either their hair
or beard. Men appear to have usually worn their mourning for only a
few days, but women for a year when they lost a husband or parent.
In a public mourning on account of some signal calamity, as, for
instance, the loss of a battle, or the death of an emperor, there
was a total cessation from business, called _justitium_, which was
usually ordained by public appointment. During this period the courts
of justice did not sit, the shops were shut, and the soldiers freed
from military duties. In a public mourning the senators did not wear
the latus clavus and their rings, nor the magistrates their badges of
office.
[Illustration: Funeral Triclinium at Pompeii. (Mazois, Pomp., 1, pl.
xx.)]
FURCA, which properly means a fork, was also the name of an
instrument of punishment. It was a piece of wood in the form of
the letter Λ, which was placed upon the shoulders of the offender,
whose hands were tied to it. Slaves were frequently punished in
this way, and were obliged to carry about the furca wherever they
went; whence the appellation of _furcifer_ was applied to a man
as a term of reproach. The furca was used in the ancient mode of
capital punishment among the Romans; the criminal was tied to it, and
then scourged to death. The _patibulum_ was also an instrument of
punishment, resembling the furca; it appears to have been in the form
of the letter Π. Both the furca and patibulum were also employed as
crosses, to which criminals appear to have been nailed.