Dec 30, 2009

Iliad | Compare and Contrast

Late Bronze Age (the time of the Trojan War): Burial is by inhumation. The bodies of the dead are laid to rest, often with grave goods and weapons, at least among the upper classes, in dug graves, stone-walled tombs (called “cist graves”), or tholos tombs built in the shape of a beehive, often under a hill.

Iron Age (Homer’s own time): The bodies of the dead are cremated and the remains are collected in an urn (often richly decorated), which is then buried in a specially dug pit. In the case of very important burials, a...