Death Rituals In The Odyssey

The ancient Greek idea of afterlife beliefs and the ceremonies associated with death and funerary rites were already time-honoured by the sixth century B.C. Homer, in his Odyssey, describes the Underworld as deep beneath the earth, near its very core, where Hades, the brother of Zeus and Poseidon along with his wife, Persephone, reigned over the masses of shadows of all who had died. It was not a happy scene. The ghost of the great hero Achilles told Odysseus that he would rather be a poor slave on earth than lord of all the dead souls in the Underworld (Odyssey, 11.489–91).
The ancient Greeks believed that with the onset of death, the psyche, or soul or spirit of the departed person, left the body as a breath or puff of air. The deceased

Ancient sources highlight the need for a proper burial and refer to the omission of burial rites as an insult to the dignity of humankind (Iliad, 23.71). Relatives of the deceased person, mainly women, conducted the elaborate burial rituals that were usually of three parts: the prothesis (laying out of the body), the ekphora (funerary procession), and the entombment of the body or cremation of the remains of the deceased. The body was first washed and anointed with oil, and then dressed for the funeral and laid out on a tall bed within the house. During the prothesis, relatives and friends came pay their respects. Lamentation of the dead is depicted in early Greek art, as early as the Geometric period, where vases were carefully painted with scenes showing the deceased person surrounded by mourners. After the prothesis, the deceased was brought in a ceremonial procession to the cemetery, the ekphora, which took place just before dawn. Very few objects

These were a liquid offering poured over the grave, frequently right into the soil, because it was believed that running down into the dirt, it would reach the underworld. This custom is depicted on many vases, where the individuals are shown pouring a mixture (usually a combination of wine, honey, water and blood) onto the grave stone. Greek libations were normally done only once a year, and were often done by priests who were paid to perform the duty. The outsourcing of the practise to a third party with no personal relations to the dead, has much to say for the colloquial approach the ancient Greeks had towards the practice of feeding the dead; it was more of a familial duty than a