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On some metaphysical conceptions of the Ancient Greeks (The importance of the burial of the dead)

• Νικήτας, Αναστάσιος Αλεξ.

In Ancient Greece, the burial of the deceased was of paramount importance, mainly because the Greeks believed that the spirits of the unburied dead could not find peace in the afterlife, but kept wandering as tormented shadows. This conception, together with the belief that the dead continued, somehow, to live in their tombs, led the ancient Greeks to perform elaborate funerary rituals whose goal was to ensure that the dead were properly honored. This attitude explains the presence of numerous cultural artifacts in Greek tombs, as well as the severe punishment of those who failed to observe these rules, as it is illustrated both in literature (e.g. Sophocles’ Antigone) and in historical circumstances (e.g. the incident of the naval battle at Arginousai).

• Languages and Literature

• Λογοτεχνία
• Φιλοσοφία