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Peloponnesian War A Comparative Look at the Changing Perception of Greek death pre- and post- Peloponnesian war Nishant Joshi 1 Introduction When studying the treatment of death in ancient Greece, there are several distinct changes seen in the sources. This work looks to study the treatment of death in Ancient Greece from the Archaic Period through the completion of the Peloponnesian War. More importantly, it aims to examine the major changes regarding the ideologies surrounding death during and after the Peloponnesian war and what led to these changes. These changes are observed through several types of sources, both archeological and literary, and their treatment of death. The study of the ancient Greek interpretation of death is interesting because there is no unifying Greek way of death (Vermeule 1979, 2). Due to the sheer number of city states throughout Greece, there is no consistent view of death1. Regardless of the fact that the specifics of the interpretation of death may vary from polis to polis, many of the larger thematic concepts were the same across most of Greece. Unlike the treatment of other subjects, in which all of the source material comes strictly from Attica, sources regarding death were found all over Greece allowing a much fuller picture to be painted in regards to the treatment of death. Another reason why there is some trouble when studying the idea of the Greek interpretation of death, lies in the fact that the view can change over short periods of time. Although this thesis focuses on the changes as a result of the Peloponnesian war, there can still be changes that occur prior to the war. As Vermeule points out, there are almost no major changes regarding the thematic ideas of death between the Bronze Age and the start of the Peloponnesian war (Vermeule 1979, 3). To avoid the risk of focusing on natural changes, as opposed to those caused by the war, we will focus on larger thematic ideas that are common across several sources. 1 One example of the inconsistencies regarding the view of death is the Eleusinian Mysteries and other cults focused on immortality. Although not covered in this work, the Eleusinian Mysteries provided a view of death and the afterlife that was not consistent with views seen in the rest of Greece. 2 Another way to avoid pitfalls when studying the major thematic ideas of death is to only focus on concepts that were the same as time progressed. While this idea seems counterintuitive when discussing major changes to the interpretation of death, the evolution of a concept represents the changing thought process. Therefore, we will avoid discussions of concepts like Charon because he was not introduced until around the 4th century (Mirto 2012, 25)2. One of the oldest practices in regards to death is the process of a burial (Vermeule 1979, 1). The funerary rites, and their drastically different states pre and post Peloponnesian war, are an important area of focus because of the detailed descriptions of them throughout much of the timeframe on which we are focused. Another major aspect of focus will be the relationship between the living and the dead and how the two worlds interact. Even though the relationship between the two has existed, the specifics of the relationship evolve over time based on the changing views of society. The final major thematic idea has to do with the views of people once they have died. The treatment of someone who is deceased differs from the treatment of someone who is alive and these major differences are also based on societal views changing as time progresses. The reason we choose to compare the differences in society before and after the Peloponnesian war is because of the fact that war affects all aspects of society. While war was a constant part of ancient society, the Peloponnesian war involved the majority of Greek civilization. Therefore, it would cause changes regarding death that would be seen all across Greece, rather than be limited to just a small portion of Greece. Another reason to focus on the Peloponnesian war is due to the longevity of the war. Even though war, no matter how short, drastically impacts a society, societies are able to recover when the war is short enough. However, because the Peloponnesian war lasted almost 30 years, 2 The study of Charon and his role in the study of death is interesting in its own light. Much of his role has to do with the idea of morality and the rewards people will receive as a result of their actions. One of the largest topics of study is what happens to the soul in the afterlife. In regards to this question, there are hundreds of different answers in regards to just ancient Greece. Although different views regarding what exactly happens to the soul in the afterlife will be covered, they will not be a major focus of this work. 3 Greece was unable to recover but instead was forced to adapt. Moreover, the longevity means that it is possible to see how ideas began to change during the war and what they ultimately became at the end of the war. Another reason to study the Peloponnesian war when studying the changing perception of death is because of the sheer number of casualties during the Peloponnesian war. Death became a prominent part of society and forced changes to occur. The final reason to study the Peloponnesian war as the point of change is because of the fact that it was so well documented by Greek historians. Thucydides and, to a minor extent, Xenophon attempted to create the first well documented history of any event in the ancient Greek period. Due to Thucydides’ attempts to properly document everything he could about the war in a purely factual manner, we can easily see how the war impacted citizens. Although the study of the perception of death is primarily cultural and religious, while Thucydides and Xenophon attempt to avoid these two concepts, they provide reasoning for the changes. Therefore, by reading the works of Thucydides and Xenophon, we are able to see the reasons why Thucydides and Xenophon thought these changes happened. Although Thucydides and Xenophon provide what they believe to be the factual reasons for the changes, there is still the question about what the changes are. To answer these questions we focus on four main types of sources: lekythoi, funerary epigraphs, curse tablets, and literary sources3. Each of these sources is linked to the concept of death in a different manner and by examining all of them over time we can see what some of the major changes regarding death were and why they occurred. The first category is the lekythoi. While the word itself refers to a small vase for oil, lekythoi played a large role in funerals. They were frequently buried with the deceased and used during many steps of the funerary rites. As such, many of the lekythoi were covered with paintings of different parts of the funeral process. The study of lekythoi provides a look at the actual steps carried out during a funeral for different 3 We will also briefly discuss poetry and philosophical works in the appendices. There are several reasons to keep these sources separate from the rest and will be explained in their respective appendix. 4 members of society. The lekythoi also help to establish the connection between the living and the deceased and how the living work to benefit the deceased. The next major category of works is the funerary epigraphs, or the writing on the tombstones of the deceased. While the lekythoi and epigraphs are both related to the funerary rites, the information gained from them is different. The study of the funerary epigraphs is more religiously centered and focused on remembering the deceased. It works to establish the interaction between the world of the living and the dead and show the values about the deceased more explicitly than lekythoi. While the lekythoi and funerary epigraphs show the positive relation between the living and the dead, the curse tablets provide insight on the negatives. Curse tablets allow the living to use the dead to punish the living for purely malicious reasons. They capture the ways in which the dead are able to interact with the world of the living and highlight the less positive aspects of ancient Greek society4. By studying the curse tablets, we are able to see the role of the deceased in ancient society and we are also able to understand society as a whole instead of just focusing on the more positive aspects. Also, curse tablets are of particular interest because the thematic ideas seen on them do not change. Therefore, it raises questions about why the positive aspects of society are forced to change but the negative aspects remain consistent. Finally, the last major category is the literary sources. The three main types of literary sources are epics, historical works, and plays. All three were presented to members of society and captured the larger thematic ideas related to death. Thus, the study of literary works provides an insight on whether the previous thematic ideas matched the ideas of the time, or if they were limited to a smaller group of people. The study of epics focuses on the religious ideas of the time and provides a deeper insight on how society thought about death. As mentioned previously, historical works provide insight on society’s treatment of death and shows how 4 One important note regarding Greek society lies in the fact that it is a ‘shame culture.’ Therefore, Greek citizens will act a certain way in public because they know they are being judged by members of society.
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