Funerary archaeological monuments and tomb inscriptions in the Greco-Roman world

For ages, different cultures have attempted to preserve the memory of the deceased for posterity by immortalizing them through funerary artistic representations of various kinds as a sociocultural and religious manifestation of everyday life. In these representations were inscribed dedications to the departed, which in archaic Greece began as epigrams and gradually evolved into a literary genre per se. Consequently, the funerary epigram was the culmination of the death ceremony and was closely linked with the artistic monument, whose ultimate purpose was the preservation of the memory of the deceased.

Methodologically starting from the approach of Mircea Eliade (1964, pp. 23-25) for the study of religious history, multiple aspects of religiosity can be analyzed: rituals, myths, divine forms, sacred objects and revered ones, symbols, cosmogonies, theologians, consecrated men, animals, plants or sacred places. Thus, such monuments represented that sanctity, whether by the place where they were built, the ornaments accompanying them, or religious beliefs and rituals as an expression of the sociocultural framework.

It is necessary to consider a recurring term: the sema (σήμα), which means "tomb marker," "grave." Vermeule (1981, p. 45) defines it as an external sign of the invisible dead in the tomb, also serving as a substitute person kept alive in memory by writing on such a sign.

Another term is mnema (μνῆμα): "memory," "memorial," "sign" (which functions as a space of memory), "tomb," or "grave." In the Getty Villa collection catalog, Grossman (2001, p. 4) argues that it is an "eternal and moving memorial." In archaic Greece, it can be exemplified with the meticulous construction of Patroclus' tumulus in Book XXIII of the Iliad. In classical Greece, we can take examples from the Ceramicus Necropolis of Athens or the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus; in Hellenism, the Altar of Pergamon, while in Rome, imperial mausoleums.

Other terms that refer to the physical space where an individual's remains rest are: ἐπιτύμβια (epitúmbia; concerning the tomb, funeral, funereal), τύμβος (túmbos; tomb, tumulus) and the verb τυμβεύω (tumbéuō; to bury, pour over a grave - libations; to be buried).

When referring to ancient worshippers, Colosimo (2017, p. 11) notes that multiple sources are analyzed, including literary evidence with archaeological and epigraphic evidence from the geometric artistic period to Hellenism. In this same context, we can place the evolution of sepulchral inscriptions until they became an epigrammatic literary genre, which will be discussed later and extended into Roman society.

Regarding the typology of Greek-Roman funerary monuments, there were varied styles: steles, bases, blocks, columns or temples. The most frequent are the steles (from Greek στήλη), which are memorial stones with inscriptions in the form of a plaque, pedestal, or cippus, erected on the ground, serving a commemorative, funerary, religious, magical-healing and/or geographical function. Generally, these representations are monolithic and composed of various stone materials. The size is variable, although sometimes it can be monumental.

On funerary steles were inscribed texts, signs, symbols, and figures that described the reason for their placement, often providing information about religious beliefs and daily life, data of notable interest and primary sources for archaeologists, historians, and epigraphers.

During classical Greece, it was a carefully worked slab accompanied by decorative elements alluding to it, such as palm leaves. Also, the slab appeared surrounded by architectural moldings or framed between columns that support an architrave, thus giving it the appearance of a sanctuary or ἡρῷον. These were spaces for worshipping fallen heroes in the Greek-Roman world, such as the remains preserved from the Heroon of Agrigento, Sicily.

Regarding the general types of funerary monuments, Grossman (2001, pp. 5-6) categorizes the following: 1) steles: a) simple; b) with relief panel; c) with pediment; d) náiskoi (ναΐσκος «small temple or shrine», diminutive of naós «temple»); e) náiskoi with flat top; and f) acanthus steles; 2) lécito (λήκυθος); 3) lutróforo (λουτροφόρος); 4) funerary animals; 5) palmetas (anthemia); and 6) sirens.

As can be seen, the steles prevailed in terms of quantity and diversity, possibly due to two variables: chronology and cost, which is why it is estimated that the oldest ones tend towards a simpler form. The lécitos were containers for storing oil with a votive purpose and appear in Grossman's Getty Villa catalog because they served as substitutes for steles. The lutróforos were ceramic vessels with double handles to "carry water from the bath," used in various mortuary rituals. Many of them have been found in Ceramicus, Athens, since like lécitos, they were used as funerary vessels.

Also mentioned is the presence of ornaments shaped as funerary animals, palmetas (decorations with palm leaf shapes), and sirens, which accompany other funerary monuments, such as steles.

To conclude, a brief mention is made to the structure of sepulchral inscriptions engraved on archaeological funerary monuments in the Greek-Roman world. These evolved progressively from archaic Greece onwards into a literary genre: the epigrammatic. Although there is significant documentary evidence, such as the epigrams of the Palatine Anthology, generally common elements prevail regarding their structure. Del Barrio Vega (1992, pp. 20-29) indicates the following:

1. the tomb, as an instrument for preserving the memory of the deceased through the inscription of his name;
2. a call to the traveler, pilgrim or stranger (ὁδοιπόρε; ξεῖνε/ξένε) passing by;
3. praise of the deceased and their earthly virtues;
4. wailing and tears (στοναχή, δάκρυα) from his relatives;
5. biographical information about the deceased, such as age, status, descendants, profession, socio-economic condition, among other data;
6. consolatio or reason for consolation to their relatives, family members and friends, often written in first person (in the mouth of the dead);
7. cause of death.

Conclusions

The archaeological remains of funerary monuments represent memory spaces, a mnema, in an unyielding desire for the immortalization of the memory of the deceased. Funerary art in the Greek-Roman world, as a cultural and religious manifestation of everyday life, synthesizes key aspects of prevailing religiosity in a specific historical context. Furthermore, the funerary epigram as the corollary of the death ceremony evokes the grief of mortals after losing a loved one, leading them towards the perpetuity of time.

The analysis of both archaeological monuments and inscriptions denotes the collective religious imagination, exposing how important people's beliefs are and their reflection in the mentality of an era, which can be studied by archaeologists, historians or epigraphists. 

Lastly, the topic of death is transversal to all historical and geographical contexts and manifests as a crucial aspect of daily life, along with the need for invocation of religious entities of various kinds and the desire for transcendence towards "the beyond," since dying is an inherent phenomenon of human condition.

Bibliography

Colosimo, N. M. (2017). Reconstructing the Dedicatory Experience: Flexibility and Limitation in the Ancient Greek Dedicatory Process. Bryn Mawr College.

Del Barrio Vega, M. L. (Trans.) (1992). Greek Funerary Epigrams. Gredos.

Eliade, M. (1964). Treatise on the History of Religions. Ediciones Cristiandad.

Grossman, J. B. (2002). Greek Funerary Sculpture: Catalogue of the Collections at the Getty Villa. Getty Publications.

Vermeule, E. (1981). Aspects of Death in Early Greek Art and Poetry (No. 46). University of California Press.