Most of us have heard of Alexander the Great, well in case you weren’t aware his father was Philip II of Macedonia and scientists now believe they have discovered his cremated remains. The tomb that held them was found a while ago in 1977, but recent excavations revealed that there were were more burial […]
Continue readingMore TagTag: Greece
Why is so difficult to cremate someone in Greece?
In 2006 the Greek parliament laid a law allowing cremation, yet to date no one has been cremated. Greece suffers a problem, like many countries, their urban cemeteries are overcrowded, it is not uncommon for a body to be exhumed moved after three year to make space for someone else. So one might think that […]
Continue readingMore Tag
The rise and fall of cremation in the ancient world
As far back as 1000BC the ancient Greeks had adopted cremation as measure to deal with their dead. It is likely that it was introduced for military reasons as a way of making sure that soldiers killed abroad could be returned home, the bodies were cremated and their ashes are return home to be placed […]
Continue readingMore Tag
What do these Greeks have in common…
People who commit suicide, untoothed children and persons struck by lightning? The answer: they were not allowed to be cremated. It would appear that in pre christian times cremation was the standard form of funeral and that as christianity took hold, a distinction between the old and the new must be established and previous practises were considered […]
Continue readingMore Tag
Orgins of Cremation Rites and Ashes Part III: The Illiad
Origins of cremation ashes and rites: The Trojan war is coming to it’s final stages Achilles’ friend Patroclus is killed by by the hero Hector. Achilles is devastated he puts on new armor and re-enters the fight eventually killing Hector. For Achilles revenge is not enough, his grief is so extreme he can not […]
Continue readingMore Tag