Laura Boyman Ancient World Legacy Part I 5/22/13 Death is a part of life.

While the phrase may appear to be contradicting, it is extremely true. Everything living must die at one point in time. Throughout history, civilizations have questioned the reason for death, what happens after death, and most importantly, what to do once there has been a death. Around the world, people celebrate the lives of the deceased in different ways. In Ancient Greece, based on the Kouros boy, the dead were honored through artwork, burial rights, the afterlife, and honorary speeches. In ancient Greece, based on the Kouros Boy, the dead were honored through artwork. The Kouros Boy is a statue that is currently being displayed in the Greek exhibit in the Metropolitan museum of art. It is made of marble and naxian. The statue from Attica, in Ancient Greece, was a grave marker for a young aristocrat. The statue is from the archaic period of sculpture, which is shown through its rigid body position and idealism. According to the Metropolitan Museum of Art website, The rigid stance, with the left leg forward and arms at the side, was derived from Egyptian art.1 Egyptian statues of Pharaohs in the same iconic position are located at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, such as the Headless Statue of Babaef as Younger Man.2 The ancient Greeks created sculptures to honor their dead, including nonrulers, with the same cannon as the Egyptians used to honor their kings. This shows that Greeks honored their dead like great rulers. The posture indicates that the person was
1

Department of Greek and Roman Art, Marble Statue of a kouros (youth), Metropolitan Museum of Art, http://metmuseum.org/Collections/search-the-collections/130013862 (accessed 5/22/13) 2 NA, Headless statue of Babaef as younger man Metropolitan Museum of Art, http://metmuseum.org/Collections/search-the-collections/100002353 (accessed 5/22/13).

confident and respected. According to Gloria K. Fiero, the greek canon made active use of that principle of proportion known as symmetry And, if nature itself obeyed laws of harmony and proportion, then should not artists work to imitate them?3 The perfect symmetry of the face and body was used in archaic sculpture and makes the Kouros Boy beautiful by Ancient Greek standards. The time that was taken to make the statue symmetrical and beautiful shows that Ancient Greeks honored the dead through idealism. In ancient Greece, based on the Kouros Boy, the dead were honored through the burial process. The Kouros Boy is thought to be a grave marker of an ancient Greek aristocrat. In ancient Greece, a proper burial is highly valued. According to Joshua J. Mark, recipient of the Faculty of the Year at Marist College university, forgetting to honor the deceased was considered "impious and it was certainly frowned upon severely."4 A burial is divided into three parts, prothesis, ekphora, and interment of the remains. Female relatives of the deceased carried out the procedures. During prothesis, the body would be washed with oil, dressed, and placed on a high bed in the house for friends and relatives of the deceased to mourn. Ekphora was a funerary procession which usually took place just before dawn. The interment of the body, intact or cremated, took place after the ekphora. Graves did not contain very many personal belongings, but they were often marked with statues so the deceased would not be forgotten.5 The detailed process of the burial rituals shows that the living respects the deceased. The bodies are washed and dressed, even though they are about to get

Fiero, Gloria K. The Humanistic Tradition: The First Civilizations and the Classical Legacy . New York: McGraw-Hill, pg 114 4 Mark, Joshua J. The Afterlife in Ancient Greece. http://www.ancient.eu.com/article/29/ (May 22, 2013) 5 Department of Greek and Roman Art. "Death, Burial, and the Afterlife in Ancient Greece". In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000 . http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/dbag/hd_dbag.htm (October 2003)

buried. In addition, they were placed on a high bed, symbolizing that they were above everyone else. According to the British Museum, after the deceased was buried family members often placed objects in the grave or made offerings to comfort the dead person.6 Honoring and burying the dead was so important to the ancient Greeks, that it was a staple part of social conduct. Family members would take the time to make the afterlife as comfortable as possible for the dead. This shows that the living honored the dead because they treated them as a living person who needs food and love. The Greeks also honored the dead by decorating graves of the wealthy with their expensive possessions and artwork. According to the Metropolitan Museum website, The most lavish funerary monuments were erected in the sixth century B.C. by aristocratic families of Attica in private burial grounds [with] Relief sculpture, statues, and tall stelai crowned by capitals, and finials marked many of these graves an inscribed base with an epitaph, often in verse that memorialized the dead. A relief depicting a generalized image of the deceased sometimes evoked aspects of the person's life, with the addition of a servant, possessions, dog, etc7 This quotation shows that families would spend as much money as possible decorating the graves. The Kouros boy is an example of a statue made for a dead, wealthy person. The dead would not be forgotten because even after their families and friends had passed as well, their graves would be monuments to their wealth and power. The deceased would always be respected by those who saw their graves.

British Museum - Death." British Museum - Welcome to the British Museum. http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/young_explorers/discover/museum_explorer/ancient_greece/death.aspx (accessed May 22, 2013). 7 Department of Greek and Roman Art. "Death, Burial, and the Afterlife in Ancient Greece". In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000 . http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/dbag/hd_dbag.htm (October 2003)

In Ancient Greece, based on the Kouros boy, the dead were honored through the afterlife. After a person has died, the soul, or psyche, left the body in a puff of wind.8 The psyche is taken on a journey to the underworld. A ferryman, known as Charon, takes the deceased across a river into the underworld. According to Encyclopedia Mythica and Michael Dawson, It is thought that Charon, the old ferry man who ferries the dead onto the underworld, crosses the river Charon only takes the souls across that are buried properly with a coin (called an obol) that was placed in their mouths upon burial.9 The dead were honored because the living placed gold coins in their mouths during burial. The deceased used the coin to pay Charon and buy themselves a trip into the underworld. This quotation shows that the living were willing to give money to the deceased, who no longer needed it in the material world, in order to assure that they reached the underworld safely. After arriving at the underworld, also known as Hades, the deceased was placed in one of three sections. The underworld was split into the Planes of Asphodel, Tartarus, and the Fields of Elysium. The Planes of Asphodel was the part of the underworld where most people resided. If a person committed a crime against humanity or society, they went to Tartarus, a hell-like place, to be punished. Once their dues were paid, they went to the Planes of Asphodel. The gods chose special people to go to the Fields of Elysium, a happier place than Asphodel with bright, breezy meadows.10 The dead were honored in ancient Greece because the living tried to make the

Department of Greek and Roman Art. "Death, Burial, and the Afterlife in Ancient Greece". In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000 . http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/dbag/hd_dbag.htm (October 2003) 9 Michael Dawson, Styx (River), Encyclopedia Mythica. http://www.pantheon.org/articles/s/styx_river.html (May 22, 2013) 10 Museum of Art and Archeology, Final Farewell: The Culture of Death and the Afterlife, University of Missouri Museum of Art and Archeology. http://maa.missouri.edu/exhibitions/finalfarewell/greeceromeintro.html (May 22, 2013)

underworld as comfortable as possible. According to the British Museum website , The world of the dead was a sad and gloomy place where the dead lived as shadows.11 The ancient Greeks often feared death because the underworld was depicted as such a dark place. This quotation shows that the underworld is not the ideal place to live. The living friends and family, and especially the women, left meals and drinks at graves for the deceased. The Kouros boy would be seen next to offerings for the dead young man buried there. In Ancient Greece, based on the Kouros boy, the dead were honored through funeral speeches. In the fifth century BCE Pericles gave a speech to honor soldiers who fought and died in battle. The act of giving a speech about the deceased shows that ancient Greeks honored the dead. Pericles said in his oration, I shall begin with our ancestors: it is both just and proper that they should have the honour of the first mention on an occasion like the present. They dwelt in the country without break in the succession from generation to generation, and handed it down free to the present time by their valour.12 This quotation shows that the ancient Greeks honored the dead because they valued their ancestors. Pericles honors the ancestors of the people of Athens by mentioning them in his speech and thanking them for bringing the people of Athens to the height of its glory. By mentioning the ancestors, Pericles honored their memories and carried on their legacy for an entire audience. Pericles also honored the dead in his oration by idealizing the deceased. Pericles sa id, But none of these allowed either wealth with its prospect of future enjoyment to unnerve his spirit, or poverty with its hope of a day of freedom and riches to tempt him to shrink from dang er in the
11

British Museum - Death." British Museum - Welcome to the British Museum. http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/young_explorers/discover/museum_explorer/ancient_greece/death.aspx (accessed May 22, 2013). 12 Halsall, Paul. Peloponnesian War (circ. 400 BCE), translated, "Internet History Sourcebooks." FORDHAM.EDU. http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/pericles-funeralspeech.asp (accessed May 22, 2013).

business before them they thought fit to act boldly and trust in themselves. Thus choosing to die resisting, rather than to live submitting, they fled only from dishonour, but met danger face to face.13 In this quotation, Pericles portrayed the men who fought and died as heroes. He said that they never succumbed to greed, as weaker men before them had done. These men laughed in the face of adversity and dared to look danger in the eye. While it is unrealistic to say that someone is as perfect as Pericles described the soldiers, the description did honor their memory. By painting a picture of good, strong men in the publics mind, a heroic memory of the soldiers lived on. Pericles honored the dead by turning them into public heroes. Honoring the dead was important in ancient Greece. The Greeks honored their dead by making artwork, performing burial rituals, comforting them in the afterlife, and giving them orations at their funeral. The dead live on in the memories and hearts of the ancient Greeks, just as our passed loved ones live in our hearts today.

13

Ibid