Roman Culture Flashcards
Where would Romans usually place their tombs?
By the side of the road just outside town.
What did expensive tombs look like?
They looked like small houses.
Where were the ashes of the dead placed for the poor and wealthy?
They were both burned to ashes but the poor were buried without a vase or chest and the rich were the opposite.
Why would the Romans take care to treat the dead with respect?
Because they didn’t want the ghosts of the dead to haunt them.
Where did the Romans think their dead wanted to be buried?
Close to home or life.
What would be done with a dead person’s tools or toys? Why?
They would be buried with them so that the things they needed would be with them as they continued the activities of life.
What was Lucian’s story of the widowed husband and the sandal?
Lucian burned all of his wife’s jewelry and clothes except for a gilt sandal. He found out he didn’t bury it after her ghost appeared while he was reading a story about life after death. A dog barked, the ghost went away and Lucian burned the sandal and his wife’s ghost did not come back again.
The ghosts of the dead were hungry and thirsty. What was given for them to eat and drink?
Eggs, beans, lentils, flour and wine.
What did the wine substitute for?
Blood
What happened at funerals and special occasions?
Animals were sacrificed and their blood was offered.
How were the food and drink delivered to the dead?
There was a hole at the tomb where food and wine would be poured inside.
“…the dead did not lead a very happy existence.” Tell three things people tried to do to cheer them up.
- Tombs were decorated with flowers and surrounded by little gardens.
- Family and friends held a banquet after the funeral and on the anniversary of the dead.
- Different festivals (2) were held for the dead each year.
How are the concrete couches shaped?
Rectangles
What happened at the two festivals for the dead that were held each year?
- Families remembered parents and relations who had died.
2. Performed rites to exercise any ghosts in their houses who may be lonely or hungry and therefore dangerous.
Those people who accepted the Greek myths about the underworld believed…
- Wicked were punished for their crimes.
2. Good lived happily forever.
