To My Family and Uğraş Uzun - Bilkent University

westerners bought these sarcophagi not only for their elaborate decoration but
also because of the funerary symbolism that appealed to their own interests.
In fact, Greek and Roman funerary practices have many common points,
and they must have mingled with each other even more in the 2 nd -and 3 rd -century
eastern Roman Empire, where it was probably difficult to differentiate which
practice was “Greek” and which was “Roman” (Strong, 1961: 47). For example,
according to literary evidence, various stages of the funerary ceremonies, such as
the offering of gifts; making libations for the deceased; funerary sacrifices; and
the funerary banquets are common in both Greek and Roman rituals (Toynbee,
1971: 42; Burket, 1985: 192; Davies, 1999: 152).
Greek funerary rituals were composed of mainly three steps: the laying
out of the corpse (prothesis); the carrying out (ekphora); and the funeral proper
(Burket, 1985: 192). The funeral proper started by offering gifts- such as
jewellery for women and weapons for men- to the deceased, and placing a coin in
the mouth so that she or he could pay the ferrying fee of Charon (Burket, 1985:
192). Next, sacrifices and libations were made for the deceased, and as a final
step, food was eaten at the graveside, or in later times, at the house of the
deceased (Burket, 1985: 193). The deceased was often imagined to be at the
funerary feast, as the grave reliefs with Totenmahl scenes show. One example of
such a grave relief is from Samos (Fig. 89), showing the funerary sacrifice on the
left and the feast on the right.
In the Roman Empire, the funerals varied according to the social rank of
the deceased person. The public funerals, funus publicum, were for individuals
who had made a significant service to their cities, and they were practised by
officiants and politicians, by inviting all citizens (Toynbee, 1971: 55; Davies,
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