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Alexis Massey January 29, 2003 Dr. Adams English 102 Greek Death Ritual Olympian religion was a public religion, whose main function was to integrate the individual into the community. "Funeral rites, and other rituals as well, strengthen social ties and reinforce the social structure of a group by calling forth feelings of togetherness and social solidarity"(Rehm,105). Death ritual in Greece varied through time and place, but some of the recurring features include: gifts to the dead, sacrifices at the grave, a banquet at the grave-site, a tomb marker (sema), and group mourning. Consisting of the laying out and mourning over the body, followed by a graveside meal and offerings and, sometimes, cremation, the funeral allowed the community to reaffirm its structure and beliefs. The funeral ritual was a very dramatic scene involving "choral lament, weeping, rhythmic movement, and the cortege" (Danford, 107), brought together the family and the larger community: "they can define the social impact...

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