Pompeii: Differences Between Life And Death

Back in the day when Pompeii was thriving with life, many people died due to unfortunate deaths and the occasional town murders. They needed their soap operas to keep them entertained for the time being. The Romans believed a funeral was a rite of passage that symbolized the transitions between life and death. It’s very important to plan the proper burial to avoid vengeful spirits rising from the underworld. Roman funeral practices have been passed down and various Roman funeral practices still exist. Some have not been passed down. Generally there were five parts of a Roman funeral: The Romans started off by the movement of living and dead bodies. The wealthier the family is the more snazzy the greater number of people will
show up. For the poor people maybe only a few flute players would play at the gathering.
The next significant that event happens in a procession, in the article The Roman Funeral, Steven Fife states “Professional mourners formed a large part of the procession. These were women who were not members of the deceased’s family, and had to be paid to participate. According to accounts of funerals, they would wail loudly and literally rip out their hair and scratch their faces in mourning. A large number of professional mourners signified that the deceased was a wealthy and powerful individual.” (Fife paragraph-3). As the Procession continues actors often dressed up as the deceased ancestor and imitate the personas. The Romans felt that the worship of the ancestor was the central belief about the death and afterlife. Cremation and burial were a huge part of the ceremony of the Roman culture.