Ancestral custom? : the treatment of the war dead in Archaic Athens
The public burial of the war dead in Classical Athens has traditionally been a subject of much scholarly interest. Although the origins of the procedures described by Thucydides as patrios nomos are still a matter of some debate, far less attention has been devoted to the Athenian war dead of the Archaic period. This thesis aims to redress this balance, looking at the practice of war burials in early Athens, through a range of evidence including mythology, archaeology and art. The thesis begins with a study of the Homeric epics, which provide our richest source for the early treatment of the war dead. The poems reveal a highly stratified society divided between the elites and the masses, where social status was strictly delineated by the postmortem fate of the fallen. Chapter 2 focuses on early Greek mythological traditions concerning burial truces and the mutilation of the dead. It is suggested that the major change implicit in these stories towards the end of the Archaic period can be aligned with wider ideological shifts in the perception of the dead in Athens and elsewhere. The iconographical and archaeological evidence forms the subject of Chapter 3, which looks at artistic depictions on vases and funerary
Kucewicz, Cezary Jerzy
Ancestral custom? : the treatment of the war dead in Archaic Athens. The public burial of the war dead in Classical Athens has traditionally been a subject of much scholarly interest. Although the origins of the procedures described by Thucydides as patrios nomos are still a matter of some debate, far less attention has been devoted to the Athenian war dead of the Archaic period. This thesis aims to redress this balance, looking at the practice of war burials in early Athens, through a range of evidence including mythology, archaeology and art. The thesis begins with a study of the Homeric epics, which provide our richest source for the early treatment of the war dead. The poems reveal a highly stratified society divided between the elites and the masses, where social status was strictly delineated by the postmortem fate of the fallen. Chapter 2 focuses on early Greek mythological traditions concerning burial truces and the mutilation of the dead. It is suggested that the major change implicit in these stories towards the end of the Archaic period can be aligned with wider ideological shifts in the perception of the dead in Athens and elsewhere. The iconographical and archaeological evidence forms the subject of Chapter 3, which looks at artistic depictions on vases and funerary
ancestral custom treatment war dead archaic athens public burial war dead classical_athens traditionally subject_much scholarly_interest although origin procedure describe thucydides still matter_debate far_less attention_devote athenian war dead archaic_period aim redress_balance look practice war burial early athens range_evidence include mythology archaeology art begin study homeric epic provide_rich source early treatment war dead poem reveal highly stratify society divide elites mass social_status strictly delineate postmortem fate fall focus early greek mythological tradition concern burial dead suggested major_change implicit story towards_end archaic_period align wider ideological shift perception dead athens elsewhere iconographical archaeological_evidence form subject look artistic depiction vas funerary