Through the Lens of Death: Understanding Ancient Worldviews through Burial

           Death is universal to the human experience. However, for such a universal topic, death has been interpreted in countless ways throughout history. Today, one comes to understand these interpretations through the remains of burial grounds and the art and architecture found there. Because burial sites are often the most well-preserved artifacts left by ancient civilizations, archeologists often hypothesize about other facets of ancient societies through the lens of death left behind for them. Looking at the burial practices and subsequent art and architecture of the Etruscans, Greeks, and Romans sheds light on the worldviews of ancient Mediterranean cultures.

            Little is known today about the ancient Etruscan civilization. Once a dominating force in the Italian peninsula (approx. 800 B.C.—300 A.D.), their civilization was overlapped by the Greek and Roman powers. Though the Romans later adopted their forms of writing from the Etruscan’s foundation, no literature or history from the Etruscans themselves has ever been found. Thus, archeologists have relied on the ornate and well-preserved tombs of the Etruscan period to give insight to this mysterious culture.

            During their earliest years, the Etruscans believed that the afterlife was a continuation of earthly life in an idealized state. There is no mention of heaven and hell or good and evil in the burial art of the period. Instead, the deceased are depicted as engaging in the worldly activities of the upper-class such as dancing, music, sports, and feasting. Round burial houses were built for the dead and filled with everything the deceased would have needed in life. Items that have been found in these tombs include carriages, jewelry, shoes, and even a bed. When burying the deceased in these “death houses,” the Etruscans would often place the bodies in sarcophagi. Etruscan sarcophagi are unique in that they typically depict a three-dimensional model of the deceased posing in life-like form, often reclining on one arm. The Etruscans would also cremate their dead. Three types of urns have been found: biconical (vase- shaped), conopic (bust-shaped), and hut-shaped urns (Kozlowski, “Obsession with Death”). These hut-shaped urns reflect the architecture of real Etruscan homes. Their homes were oval, had wood-beamed roofs, and had a hole at the apex of the ceiling to draw smoke up from the internal hearth (Taylor, “Etruscan Art”). The artifacts found in the burial sites are often composed of precious materials. Gold, ivory, bronze, and various gems have all been found in these tombs. This reflects the incredible wealth of the early Etruscan nation as they expanded trade throughout the Mediterranean. In looking at the extravagant wealth found in their tombs, and understanding their view of the afterlife, it appears that the early Etruscan culture was one of prosperity, a culture, they thought, that would never die away. However, when this worldview became shaken, there was a shift in the way the Etruscan culture viewed the afterlife.

            In his book “Death and Burial in the Roman World,” J. M. C. Toynbee states: “It does, in fact, seem to be the case that during the fourth century BC the Etruscans’ attitude to[ward] death underwent a change that endured until late in the story of their culture” (13). This change is shown through the appearance of two figures in funeral art, Charun and Vanth. Charun first appears in Etruscan art as a blue devil. It is unclear precisely what his characteristics were or what role he played in Etruscan mythology. He is depicted standing neutrally near the dead, threatening the dead, reveling in the suffering of others, or peacefully guiding the dead. In many depictions he carries a large hammer, a sword, or an oar. The oar indicates that Charun is probably a precursor to the ferryman Charon seen in Greek and Roman mythology. The second figure that appears is Vanth. She is a peaceful, female figure usually portrayed with wings and snakes, the symbol of the dead, twined in her hair or around her wrists. While sometimes appearing individually, she usually appears counter to Charun. It is unknown whether she is a goddess or an angelic figure. The appearance of these two figures marks a shift in Etruscan thinking in that the afterworld is no longer an ideal form of earthly life. Vanth and Charun mark the appearance of good and evil in the spiritual realm of the Etruscan afterlife.

            This shift in thinking reflects the worldview changes the Etruscans were enduring. During the fourth century B.C. and beyond, other strong cultures were beginning to arise and threaten the Etruscan way of life, especially the Romans. The physical world of the Etruscans was no longer perfect and flourishing, and their afterlife changed accordingly. The Etruscans adapted their afterlife to fit their conception of reality. In competing with the rising Roman civilization, the Etruscans essentially had to rationalize their conflict. If their afterlife had no good and evil, heaven and hell, they would end up in the same afterlife as their enemies. Creating a heaven and hell could also have worked as a rallying cry for their people: defeat the enemy, and you will be in heaven while they suffer in hell. Through analyzing Etruscan funeral art throughout their history, one can trace the worldview shifts of the entire civilization.

            Another ancient civilization that was simultaneously evolving around the Mediterranean was the Greeks. Historians view the years 1100—800 B.C. as a dark age in Greek history because no records of this time have been preserved. However, Homer’s “Iliad” and “Odyssey” were both written in this period, and these works give vivid pictures of how the Greek civilization viewed the afterlife. During this stage of Greek history, the view of the afterlife was bleak. It is depicted in Homer’s works to be a vague, wispy place where the “shades” of deceased humans wandered aimlessly. Shades did not yet equate to human souls as we think of them today. The shades were shadows, memories of human existence that in no way reflected the personality or deeds of the human to whom they once belonged. However, the Greek civilization continued to evolve, and with it their perception of death.

            After the dark age of Greek culture came the Archaic period (800—500 B.C.). During this period, the Greeks’ view of death became more defined, morphing into a three-tiered spiritual realm of the good, the bad, and the forgotten. This change coincides with a value shift going on within the culture during that time. Logic and eusebia, a Greek word that when translated encompasses piety and a duty to fellow Greeks (Mark, “The Afterlife in Ancient Greece”), immerged as the leading values of the time period. It was only logical that humans should be placed in the afterlife by their track record on earth. Therefore, those Greeks who had been good citizens in life were rewarded in death, and the opposite occurred for those who had led lives of wrongdoing. The tier of the forgotten also relates back to the value of eusebia, because Greeks who were alive were considered to have a duty to those who were dead. Immortality and a happy afterlife could only be attained if one was remembered on earth. The Greeks redefined their concept of the afterlife and used death as a tool to reinforce cultural values.

            Eusebia and the living’s duty to the dead fueled Greek art and architecture surrounding death. The most extravagant grave markers were built in the sixth century B.C. These markers were marble, and were often statues or tall pillars with intricate carvings and images of the deceased. Unlike in later times, these monuments were placed directly over the graves of those they remembered. These markers would also have the name of the deceased and a short epitaph. Vases were also used as grave markers. Similar to the traditional terracotta pots used in burial ceremonies, large stone vases were carved in the same form. These vases were decorated with scenes of the deceased’s life and death. The stone vases were quite large—some as large as five feet tall.  Just as with the Etruscans, the Greeks also used sarcophagi to bury their dead. These sarcophagi were personalized depending on the wealth of the owner. However, even tradesmen were able to afford elaborately decorated sarcophagi. These sarcophagi usually depicted the deceased amongst family. Some even showed the deceased at their trade, holding symbols of their craft. The entire purpose of the art and architecture surrounding Greek burial was to remember and honor the dead. This shows how a culture’s worldview is physically manifested through burial practices.

            Throughout the long reign of Roman civilization (approx. 735 B.C.—476 A.D.), the Romans adopted the burial traditions of the nations they absorbed while adapting them throughout their history to fit Rome’s shifting civic values. The burial practices of the Romans were stratified by class system. The aristocracy of Rome buried their dead in mausoleums along the major roadways leading out of Rome. Though bodies were forbidden from being buried inside city walls, it is thought that the aristocracy chose to be buried along major roadways in order to stay in the public eye and continue to be a part of daily life. The mausoleums were constructed with one center room, called the sepulcrum, with the floor slightly below ground level. A shelf ran around the edge of the room where urns and sarcophagi could be placed. Items of daily life have also been found in Roman mausoleums, thought partly for the dead but also for the use of living visitors. A mausoleum was built on as large a plot as the family could afford. Gardens were often designed around the tomb, and on the larger plots, houses were even built with large kitchens. This allowed the family of the deceased to host feasts of celebration in honor of their loved one (Johnston, “The Private Life of the Romans”). The Apian Way outside of Rome was once completely lined with these monuments to the dead. However, they began to fall apart and disappear during the sixteenth century. Nevertheless, the upper class did all it could to ensure that they were remembered.

            The middle class could not afford such elaborate burials. Up through the second century A.D., the vast majority of Romans, especially the middle class, chose to be cremated. Though it was less expensive to be cremated, many working Romans still could not afford burial on their own, so burial societies were formed. Much like today’s unions or the guilds of the Middle Ages, members of these societies paid a weekly sum into the common burial fund. These guilds would have crematoriums with wall niches individually reserved for each member of the society. Even the poorest Roman citizens could join patron societies sponsored by members of the aristocracy. Though not as opulent as the monuments of the wealthy, every Roman citizen was given the dignity of a proper burial.

            This respect for the status of Roman links back to the Greek concept of eusebia. The Romans had such a strong national identity that they placed great value in citizenship. It was a law of the Roman Republic that if any citizen happened upon a dead fellow citizen, they were required to perform the proper burial ceremonies. If they were unable to do so, they were required by law to sprinkle three handfuls of dirt over the body. As seen in Virgil’s “Aeneid,” the Romans believed that bodies had to be buried before they could rest in peace and cross fully into the afterlife. The Romans respected citizenship enough to perform this duty for one another, even if they were complete strangers.

            While the Romans may have respected one another, they certainly did not share the same respect for non-citizens. The Potter’s Field, a mass grave and trash dump on the Esquiline Hill, was used for the unknown poor, societal outcasts, abandoned slaves, and gladiators killed in the arena. Trash and animal carcasses were thrown in along with the bodies. The grave was perpetually open, and after the entire hill had to be abandoned because of the smell and disease, Caesar Augustus had it covered with over twenty feet of soil and transformed into a garden (Johnston). Convicted criminals executed by the state were not given the dignity of burial. Their bodies were thrown outside city walls or strung up for vultures to devour. The Romans did not believe in the value of human life, just the life of Roman citizens.

            A major shift in burial practices, the consequence of a major cultural shift, can be seen in the second and third centuries A.D. It was during this period that Christianity gained popularity in the Roman Empire. Christians believed that when Jesus returned, he would resurrect the bodies of believers. Therefore, they abandoned cremation for the practice of inhumation. As a result, Sarcophagi began to be mass produced throughout the Roman Empire. There were three distinct architectural forms of sarcophagi: Metropolitan Roman, Attic, and Asiatic. Named after the city of production, the Roman sarcophagus was rectangular with a flat lid. Like Etruscan sarcophagi, the lid often featured a three dimensional sculpture of the deceased in a reclining pose. Because the Romans placed their sarcophagi against the interior walls of their mausoleums, this style of sarcophagus was only decorated on three sides. Attic sarcophagi were produced in Athens. Workshops there used local marble to create elaborate sarcophagi for exportation throughout the Roman Empire. These sarcophagi were also rectangular but were decorated on all four sides. The lids were not flat, but took the shape of a dual-pitched roof. The Athenians decorated these sarcophagi in the legends of their history, mainly the Trojan War and Achilles (Awan, “Roman Sarcophagi”). Popular throughout Asia Minor, Phrygia (modern day Turkey) was the production hub of Asiatic sarcophagi. This style was a large-scale sarcophagus. This style features a colonnade that wraps around all four sides of the sarcophagus. A doorway design would be carved on one side. This style held the same themes as the mausoleums of Rome and the hut-shaped urns of the Etruscans, meant to reflect a home for the dead. This style was largely meant to be viewed in the round, and would be placed on pedestals. Through the spread of Christianity, an entire genre of art and architecture resurfaced and expanded through the renewed interest in inhumation and sarcophagi.
            The arrival of Christianity in Roman culture birthed a completely new form of burial architecture: the catacomb. From the first through the fifth centuries, around 375 miles of underground tunnels were dug to hold the dead. Some parts of these tunnels are up to five layers deep. The bodies would be buried in sarcophagi and placed in niches along the corridor walls. Today, one can still distinguish where children and infants were buried because of the alcove sizes. This type of burial arose because many Christians were poor and could not afford their own burial plots. Wealthy Christians often donated land for this purpose. Additionally, many Christians wanted to be buried near martyrs. This was more easily attainable with the practice of stackable burial. There are several myths surrounding the catacombs that are false. Contrary to popular belief, non-Christians were also buried in the catacombs. Additionally, the catacomb locations were well-known at the time of their construction; thus, Christians did not hide from persecution there. This myth was started because food jars and eating utensils have been found near the graves. However, these were most likely used for ceremonies and celebrations common in Roman funerary tradition. Christians would, however, secretly mark the graves of the faithful through Christian iconography. The fish was one popular symbol. Placed sideways, the Greek word for fish (IXTHYS) formed an acrostic for: Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior. Many other symbols formed in the evolution of Christian iconography, including the Chi Ro, peacock, anchor, and dove. With Christianity growing in Rome, new forms of art and architecture developed to coincide with their beliefs.      

            Burial practices, cultural values, and art and architecture are all linked. By studying one of these areas, insight will be gained into the other two. This is a truth archeologists embrace. By analyzing the burial sites left behind by ancient cultures, even the most mysterious scenes in history, like the Etruscan culture or the dark age of the Greeks, can be brought to light. Worldview shifts can be seen through changes in funerary practice. Because death is universal to the human condition, the way cultures engage with death certainly reflects the values of the times. Through studying the death of the ancient world, one studies their life.

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