Death, as life, distinguished rich people from poor people in the Classical Age. Professor Andrés Pociña is the author of the study about “Death literature in Rome” published in the book: “In Greece and Rome: people and their things”; lecturers Andrés Pociña and Jesús María García are the persons responsible for the edition. According to Pociña, the difference between rich and poor people was clearer in the celebration of the funeral ceremony, since humble people were buried at night, while upper and rich citizens were buried with ostentation by the light of day. The work has been published together by the University of Granada and the Spanish Society of Classical Studies.
When an important citizen died in classical Rome he was granted the first rite: ´the conclamatio´, a ceremony where the deceased was called by his name. According to Profesor Andrés Pociña, of the University of Granada “this rite followed in a very old practice, already attested in the Homeric poetry, which probably has a double meaning: to confirm that he was really dead and, of course, to say goodbye to the deceased. Afterwards the dead was cleaned and dressed according to his social group: with a normal toga if he had not held important posts, a ´toga praetexta´ if he had been a consul, a ´toga purpurea´ if he had been a censor and a ´toga picta´ if he had celebrated the victory any time, or, at least, if he had deserved it. He was laid down in the atrium of the house, with his feet towards the door; lamps and flowers were distributed around him, perfumes were burnt, a slave was in charge of fanning him, the women of the family or the paid mourners cried, screamed and ripped their cheeks and friends came to pay him his last visit.”
Humple people, on the contrary, were buried at night and in general poor deads were interred because this ceremony was cheaper than cremation. In the same way, the saddest funeral, that of the children, took place at night too. Professor Pociña says: “Neither of them was important in classical Rome and they were celebrated secretly, as if they were impure, with the only light of candles and torches; children´s funeral is, moreover, the cruel funeral, the ´funus acerbum´, also called by Seneca éxequiae immaturae´, because it is undoubtedly against the law of nature to abandon life when one it has just started. Romans, as Greeks, were touched by early death; children´s death filled them not only with sadness, but also with confusion, with a superstitious fear.”
Professor Pociña analyses in his study the influence of certain para-literary or literary displays put into practice in Rome during the funerals, on the development of Latin literature. He says that social differences among the citizens were clearer during the funerals, “both in Rome and in our world”. Although in some cases, like Cicero and his well-known “Twelve Tables”, there were people who tried to “eliminate discrimination of the fortune of death”, limiting ostentation and excessive expenses, the fact is that there were always large social differences in Rome in the way people were buried, according to their age, sex and social position.
Reference: Profesor Andrés Pociña Pérez
Department of Latin Studies. University of Granada
Phone number: 958243689 (in the morning)
E-mail: apocina@pluton.ugr.es
