Roman History Essay -- essays research papers

Death In Rome when you died it was very important that you were buried properly and the correct procedure was followed. If something didn’t go right the funeral would start again. The Romans believed in life after death, and the souls of the dead could help the living or make life hard for them. To insure that the souls of the dead rested in peace a gold coin would be placed under the tongue, this was to pay the ferryman Charon to cross the river Styx. If you didn’t have a coin or you drowned you had to wait for 100 years. Once across the river your soul would be judged. If you had a good life you would be sent to Elysia or the Elysian Fields. If you didn’t you would be sent to Tartaurs where you would be tortured for all eternity. The bodies of the dead were cremated. The cremations were held outside the city. The body would then be placed into the ground. The rich were put into sarcophagi. Some people would have an epitaph on there tomb. This was a brief description of the person how they lived and died. On the birthdays of the dead the family would have a meal in there honor. Most tombstones had a chute where food could be dropped into, this was thought to nourish the soul. Some Mausoleums had kitchen facilities and eating areas for these occasions. Most Romans belonged to a funeral club. These were clubs that a Roman would join and pay into over there life to pay for there funeral. The only class that had trouble paying into it were the unskilled plebs, they were usually...