Roman Burial Rites
In polytheistic Rome, burial rites symbolised the deceased's journey to the underworld, where they were judged. If the burial rites were not done correctly, malicious spirits would rise from the underworld. In the cremation, the body was sent to the necropolis (the Roman City of the dead) and was burnt upon a pyre. Afterwards the ashes were placed in an urn. The Romans believed that the urn caused the spirit of the deceased to linger around it's family.
Ancient Rome was polytheistic until the reign of Emperor Constantine in 312, AD. After the death of Emperor Constantine, the Christian religion gradually overshadowed Ancient Rome's original religion.
In polytheistic Rome, burial rites symbolised the deceased's journey to the underworld, where they were judged. If the burial rites were not done correctly, malicious spirits would rise from the underworld. In the cremation, the body was sent to the necropolis (the Roman City of the dead) and was burnt upon a pyre. Afterwards the ashes were placed in an urn. The Romans believed that the urn caused the spirit of the deceased to linger around it's family.
Ancient Rome was polytheistic until the reign of Emperor Constantine in 312, AD. After the death of Emperor Constantine, the Christian religion gradually overshadowed Ancient Rome's original religion.