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 The Afterlife in Pagan Rome

       Roman religion contained clear indications that the soul survived the destruction of its physical confines. Cicero discusses the ability of a soul to retain its human shape and sentience in Somnium Scipionis wherein the character Africanus is attentive to the actions and lives of his descendants (Toynbee 1971, 35). The belief of some form of life after death is apparent in the cults of the dead in Rome. Commemoration after death was important and individuals often provided money to ensure their comfort in the afterlife. Much of the money was used to procure proper food offerings that would be taken to the tomb regularly (ibid, 62).

       There is disagreement between the architectural remains related to burial and the literature which employs poetic stylings about the final resting place of the soul. Due to the ongoing practice of food offerings being brought directly to tombs and graves, it is speculated that the Romans believed the Manes, or spirits of the deceased, resided underground or at least very near the location where the physical bodies of the deceased reposed. The hypothesis is also bolstered by the fact that many tombs were made to resemble homes and contained varying amounts of reproduced materials related to the mundane aspects of life (ibid, 35). There were also cenotaphs which pointed to a general belief that souls remained earthbound. If there was no body which to cremate or inter, a cenotaph could be built. This was created as a place for the soul to remain and the soul could be called to the cenotaph by the declaration of the deceased’s name (ibid, 54).

       Inhumation, as opposed to cremation, was generally the preferred method of laying loved ones to rest by the time of the late Roman Empire, though cremation still occurred. The period of funerary rites covered events from the onset of death to the end of formal funeral ceremonies. These began with the relative’s actions of lamentation, washing and anointing of the body, the placing of a wreath on the head and a coin on the mouth. The lying-in state of the body followed these obsequies and could last up to seven days. Finally, there was a funeral procession with the antecedents of our modern-day pallbearers carrying the deceased to a location outside of the city for burial, though this practice was in decline in the late Roman Empire. For wealthiest of Romans, these rituals could be extraordinarily elaborate. For the poor, they were simple and lacked the usage of rich materials (ibid, 44-48).

       Burial and funerary rites were the domain of family members and paid for normally by the heir of the deceased or a collegium of which the deceased was a member (Davies 142, 2002). Death was a private affair and mourning was limited by the state to specific dates (ibid 146). Burial was also highly regulated and burials occurred outside of the city walls due to concerns regarding health and pollution (ibid 148).

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