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OCR GCSE Classical Civilisation · J199
OCR J199 · Greece Check the specification (PDF) (opens in a new tab)
A Greek funeral was more than the disposal of a body. It allowed family and friends to honour the person who had died, express their grief and fulfil their responsibilities towards the dead. Religious beliefs also shaped the treatment of the body: death was associated with pollution, and the dead person was believed to face a journey to the Underworld.
The sequence moved from preparing the body, to laying it out at home, to carrying it to the burial ground. The two named stages to distinguish are the prothesis, the laying out, and the ekphora, the funeral procession.
After death, the person's eyes and mouth were closed. The body was washed, perfumed and dressed in a long white shroud, a cloth covering for the dead. These actions prepared the person for the funeral and made the body ready for mourners to see.
A coin was placed at the mouth as payment to Charon, the ferryman associated with the journey of the dead to the Underworld. This small object therefore had a religious purpose: preparing for death involved concern for the person's onward journey, not just their physical appearance.
During the prothesis, the prepared body was laid out at home for two days. Friends and family could come to pay their respects. Unlike the later procession, this stage centred on the dead person remaining in the home while mourners gathered around them.
A bowl of water was placed outside the home for purification. The pollution associated with death was religious uncleanness, not simply visible dirt. The water addressed that concern as people visited the household.
Women expressed grief through lamentation. They could cut their hair, dress in black, wail beside the deceased, beat their chests and flail their arms. Mourning was therefore both audible and visible: clothing, sound and bodily gestures all communicated the loss. The prothesis gave the household time to honour the dead before the body was taken away.
On the third day, the ekphora took place. This was the funeral procession from the home to the burial ground. Whereas the prothesis brought mourners to the body, the ekphora moved the body and mourners together towards the place of burial.
Men, women and children participated. The dead person could be transported in a wagon or carried by pallbearers, the people responsible for carrying the body. Wealthier families could pay for these arrangements, so the means of transport could reflect the family's resources.
The procession led to a burial ground outside the city. This location separated the dead from the living community and addressed concerns about pollution and disease. The ekphora was the journey to that destination, rather than the burial itself.
The prothesis took place at home; the ekphora moved the body to the burial ground on the third day.
The sequence connects three different needs: preparing the dead person, allowing the living to mourn, and accompanying the body to the burial ground. Remembering the purpose of each stage helps keep the two Greek terms distinct.
Men, women and children participated. Wealthier families could pay for a wagon or pallbearers. The destination was a burial ground outside the city, addressing pollution and disease concerns.
Distinguish the prothesis, when the body was laid out at home, from the ekphora, when it was taken to the burial ground.
Support explanations with specific actions: for example, the water outside the home addressed pollution, while the coin was payment to Charon.
Keep Greek and Roman customs separate: the Greek sequence here has two days of laying out and the ekphora on the third day.
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Prothesis
The laying out of a dead person's body at home in ancient Greece so that family and friends could mourn and pay their respects.
Ekphora
The ancient Greek funeral procession that carried the dead person from the home to the burial ground.
Lament
An intense expression of grief, which could include wailing and physical gestures of mourning.
Shroud
A cloth used to wrap or cover a dead person's body before burial.
Pollution
Religious uncleanness associated with contact with death, addressed through purification rather than simply ordinary cleaning.
Charon
The ferryman in Greek mythology who carried the dead towards the Underworld; a coin placed at the dead person's mouth served as his payment.
Put your knowledge into practice — try past paper questions for Classical Civilisation
Prothesis
The laying out of a dead person's body at home in ancient Greece so that family and friends could mourn and pay their respects.
Ekphora
The ancient Greek funeral procession that carried the dead person from the home to the burial ground.
Lament
An intense expression of grief, which could include wailing and physical gestures of mourning.
Shroud
A cloth used to wrap or cover a dead person's body before burial.
Pollution
Religious uncleanness associated with contact with death, addressed through purification rather than simply ordinary cleaning.
Charon
The ferryman in Greek mythology who carried the dead towards the Underworld; a coin placed at the dead person's mouth served as his payment.