Beliefs about afterlife (copy)

TOMBS

Romans would place the tombs of the dead (not really poor people) by the sides of roads, so people could pay respects as they past by and to remove religious polution, they thought if they didn’t respect them they would haunt them. (example of this is in Pompeii from the Herculaneum Gate to the Nuceria Gate). Some tombs were very grand depending on the persons wealth. Inside the tomb was a chest or vase containing their ashes. In these times cremation was the normal way of disposing the dead.

CREMATION URNS

Ashes were buried in containers made of stone, metal and glass, some rich people would have well decorated urns while for poor people, their ashes would be kept in a second-hand storage jar and then buried in the ground

LIFE FOR THE DEAD

It was believed that the dead would continue the activities of life, so they needed supplies. (like children and toys or women and jewellery). When they were cremated their possessions would be burnt with them. The dead would also be hungry and thirsty, and so people would regularly offer them food and drinks (eggs, beans, flour and wine). Sometimes they would have a hole in the tomb for food to be poured into. On special occasions animals were sacrificed, and their blood was offered.

Even though they tried to take care of them the dead didn’t have a happy existence. To try cheer them up people would decorate their tombs with flowers and surround them by little gardens. At the funeral and the anniversary of their deaths the friends and family would hold a banquet at a dining room attached to the tomb, the ghosts were thought to attend and enjoy these occasions.

OTHER BELIEFS

Some people believed in the Greek myths about the underworld, where the wicked were punished and the good lived happily ever after.

A few people didn’t believe in any form of afterlife, mostly followers of the Greek Philosopher Epicurus, who taught that after death life was gone.

Most Romans felt no need to question their traditional beliefs and customs, and kept the dead alive in their memories, and made sure their spirits were at peace.