OCR GCSE Classical Civilisation (J199) — Myth and Religion
When a Roman citizen passed away, the rituals to prepare their body began the very second they died. The nearest relative would attempt to capture the person's final breath with a kiss, followed immediately by the conclamatio—a loud calling of the deceased's name to confirm they were not just in a deep trance.
The body was then washed, perfumed, and dressed in their finest clothing. To display their social standing, a male citizen would be dressed in his formal toga. A coin was often placed in the mouth to pay Charon, the mythological ferryman, for safe passage to the Underworld.
Finally, the body was laid out on a funeral couch in the atrium (the main reception hall of the home). This public display lasted for eight days, allowing clients, family, and friends to pay their respects. The length of this display and the quality of the garments served as the first major indicator of the family's wealth.
A Roman funeral procession was not just about private mourning; it was a carefully choreographed public parade designed to show off a family's wealth, lineage, and political power. Taking place on the eighth day, the pompa moved from the household to the burial site outside the city, led by a public herald.
The scale of the procession directly reflected the family's status. Wealthy families hired musicians (horn and pipe players) and praeficae (professional female mourners). These hired women would wail, tear their hair, and beat their chests, artificially inflating the scale of the grief and making the deceased appear universally important.
The most distinctive feature of the procession was the use of imagines (wax ancestor masks). Hired actors wore these masks alongside the official robes their ancestors had earned in life, such as the purple-bordered toga praetexta. These actors even rode in ivory curule chairs (magisterial seats), vividly demonstrating that the deceased belonged to a prestigious, historically significant "community of the dead."
Public speaking was a vital skill in Rome, and elite funerals provided the ultimate stage for a family to boast about their historical achievements. For high-status individuals, the procession would deliberately pause at the Roman Forum.
The deceased was placed on a lectus funebris (funeral couch) directly in front of the rostra, the prominent public speakers' platform. The actors wearing the ancestor masks sat in a semi-circle around the body, creating a powerful visual link between past and present glory.
A close male relative, usually the eldest son, would step onto the rostra to deliver the laudatio funebris (funeral eulogy). According to the ancient historian Polybius, this speech did more than just mourn; it acted as a public lesson in civic duty. By praising the bravery and virtues of the dead and their ancestors, the speech was designed to inspire young Roman men to dedicate their lives to the service of the state.
The physical disposal of bodies in the Roman world underwent a dramatic transformation over time, driven by changing tastes and the desire for more permanent monuments. During the Roman Republic and the 1st century AD, cremation was the dominant practice.
Bodies were placed on a wooden rogus (funeral pyre) and burned. The glowing ashes were ritually quenched with wine, collected, and placed into urns. These urns were frequently stored in columbaria—large, underground communal tombs featuring rows of small niches that resembled dovecotes.
However, beginning in the 2nd century AD during the reign of Emperor Hadrian, a major shift towards inhumation (burying the body intact) occurred. Wealthy Romans began commissioning large stone or marble sarcophagi (ornate coffins). These coffins were heavily decorated with intricate high-relief carvings of mythological scenes or the funeral procession itself, providing a far more permanent and elaborate display of wealth than a simple cremation urn.
If you walked towards the gates of a Roman town, the first things lining the roads weren't houses or shops, but hundreds of graves. According to the ancient laws of the Twelve Tables (specifically Table X), it was strictly illegal to bury or cremate the dead within the city limits.
Burials had to take place outside the pomerium, the sacred religious boundary of the city. Death was believed to cause miasma (severe religious pollution). Keeping corpses outside the city prevented the corruption of sacred temples and the angering of the gods, while also serving the practical purpose of reducing disease and the risk of pyre fires spreading to homes.
As a result, tombs were clustered tightly along major incoming roads, such as the Via Appia in Rome or outside the Herculaneum Gate in Pompeii. Romans believed that you only truly died when you were forgotten, so placing tombs on busy "streets of the dead" ensured passers-by would read the inscriptions and keep the memory of the deceased alive.
Even in death, the stark divide between Rome's social classes was impossible to ignore. Lower-class citizens and slaves protected themselves against the indignity of an unmarked grave by paying monthly fees into collegia (funeral clubs), which guaranteed them a basic burial and a niche in a communal columbarium.
Conversely, wealthy freedmen (former slaves) used elaborate tombs to display the riches they were legally restricted from showing off in political life. A key example is the Tomb of Naevoleia Tyche in Pompeii. Built by a wealthy freedwoman, the tomb is a masterclass in status display.
It features a prominent relief carving of a bisellium (an honorary double seat at the public games), deliberately highlighting that her husband held the high civic office of an Augustalis (priest of the Emperor's cult). Another relief depicts a ship, symbolising either the mercantile trade that generated their immense wealth or the soul's journey into the afterlife.
Students often confuse Greek and Roman laying-out durations; remember that Romans laid the body out in the atrium for eight days, whereas the Greeks only did this for two days.
When explaining the purpose of the laudatio funebris, examiners look for the specific concept of civic duty—explicitly state how praising ancestors was designed to inspire young Roman men to serve the state.
If asked why Romans buried their dead outside the city, do not just mention hygiene; you must explicitly use the term 'miasma' (religious pollution) and reference the laws of the Twelve Tables to access higher marks.
For source-based questions on the Tomb of Naevoleia Tyche, you must be able to identify specific reliefs; mentioning the bisellium proves your knowledge of how freedmen displayed their hard-won civic status.
When describing the transition in burial practices, sequence your answer chronologically: make sure you state that cremation was popular during the Republic/Early Empire, and inhumation took over from the 2nd century AD onwards.
Conclamatio
The Roman ritual of loudly calling out the dead person's name to ensure they were truly deceased and not in a trance.
Toga
A distinctive garment worn by male Roman citizens, used during laying out to visually confirm their citizenship and status.
Atrium
The central, semi-public reception hall of a Roman house where the deceased was laid out for public viewing for eight days.
Pompa
The formal Roman funeral procession that carried the deceased from their home to the burial site.
Praeficae
Professional female mourners hired to wail, sing dirges, and tear their hair to make a funeral appear grander and more important.
Imagines
Wax masks representing deceased ancestors, worn by actors during the funeral procession to display the family's distinguished lineage.
Curule chairs
Ivory folding chairs used as a symbol of magisterial power, sat upon by actors wearing ancestor masks during the funeral.
Lectus funebris
The ornate funeral couch on which the deceased was carried during the procession and displayed during the public eulogy.
Rostra
The raised public speakers' platform located in the Roman Forum, used for delivering funeral orations for prominent citizens.
Laudatio funebris
A public funeral speech or eulogy that praised the life, virtues, and ancestors of the deceased.
Cremation
The practice of burning a dead body on a pyre, which was the most common Roman burial method until the 2nd century AD.
Rogus
The wooden funeral pyre upon which the body was burned during a cremation.
Columbaria
Large, underground communal tombs containing rows of small niches used to store cremation urns.
Inhumation
The practice of burying a body intact in the ground or a tomb, which became the standard Roman practice by the 3rd century AD.
Sarcophagi
Large, ornately carved stone or marble coffins used for inhumation burials to permanently display a family's wealth.
Pomerium
The sacred, religious boundary surrounding a Roman city, inside of which burials and cremations were strictly forbidden.
Miasma
A dangerous religious pollution or spiritual uncleanness caused by contact with a dead body.
Collegia
Funeral clubs that poorer Romans and slaves paid monthly fees into to ensure they received a proper burial.
Bisellium
An honorary double seat at public games granted to men of high civic status, frequently depicted on the tombs of wealthy freedmen.
Augustalis
A Roman priest responsible for the cult of the Emperor, a prestigious civic position frequently held by wealthy freedmen.
Put your knowledge into practice — try past paper questions for Classical Civilisation
Conclamatio
The Roman ritual of loudly calling out the dead person's name to ensure they were truly deceased and not in a trance.
Toga
A distinctive garment worn by male Roman citizens, used during laying out to visually confirm their citizenship and status.
Atrium
The central, semi-public reception hall of a Roman house where the deceased was laid out for public viewing for eight days.
Pompa
The formal Roman funeral procession that carried the deceased from their home to the burial site.
Praeficae
Professional female mourners hired to wail, sing dirges, and tear their hair to make a funeral appear grander and more important.
Imagines
Wax masks representing deceased ancestors, worn by actors during the funeral procession to display the family's distinguished lineage.
Curule chairs
Ivory folding chairs used as a symbol of magisterial power, sat upon by actors wearing ancestor masks during the funeral.
Lectus funebris
The ornate funeral couch on which the deceased was carried during the procession and displayed during the public eulogy.
Rostra
The raised public speakers' platform located in the Roman Forum, used for delivering funeral orations for prominent citizens.
Laudatio funebris
A public funeral speech or eulogy that praised the life, virtues, and ancestors of the deceased.
Cremation
The practice of burning a dead body on a pyre, which was the most common Roman burial method until the 2nd century AD.
Rogus
The wooden funeral pyre upon which the body was burned during a cremation.
Columbaria
Large, underground communal tombs containing rows of small niches used to store cremation urns.
Inhumation
The practice of burying a body intact in the ground or a tomb, which became the standard Roman practice by the 3rd century AD.
Sarcophagi
Large, ornately carved stone or marble coffins used for inhumation burials to permanently display a family's wealth.
Pomerium
The sacred, religious boundary surrounding a Roman city, inside of which burials and cremations were strictly forbidden.
Miasma
A dangerous religious pollution or spiritual uncleanness caused by contact with a dead body.
Collegia
Funeral clubs that poorer Romans and slaves paid monthly fees into to ensure they received a proper burial.
Bisellium
An honorary double seat at public games granted to men of high civic status, frequently depicted on the tombs of wealthy freedmen.
Augustalis
A Roman priest responsible for the cult of the Emperor, a prestigious civic position frequently held by wealthy freedmen.
