Editing Funeral (section)

====Ancient Greece====
[[File:Gela Painter - Black-Figure "Pinax" (Plaque) - Walters 48225.jpg|thumb|The lying in state of a body ''(prothesis)'' attended by family members, with the women ritually tearing their hair ([[Attica|Attic]], latter 6th century BCE)]]

{{Main|Ancient Greek funerals and burial}}
The Greek word for funeral – ''kēdeía'' (κηδεία) – derives from the verb ''kēdomai'' (κήδομαι), that means attend to, take care of someone. Derivative words are also ''kēdemón'' (κηδεμών, "guardian") and ''kēdemonía'' (κηδεμονία, "guardianship"). From the Cycladic civilization in 3000 BCE until the Hypo-Mycenaean era in 1200–1100 BCE the main practice of burial is interment. The cremation of the dead that appears around the 11th century BCE constitutes a new practice of burial and is probably an influence from the East. Until the Christian era, when interment becomes again the only burial practice, both cremation and interment had been practiced depending on the area.<ref>Lemos 2002: Lemos I., The Protogeometric Aegean. The Archaeology of the Late Eleventh and Tenth Centuries BC, Oxford</ref>

The ancient Greek funeral since the [[Homer]]ic era included the ''próthesis'' (πρόθεσις), the ''ekphorá'' (ἐκφορά), the burial and the ''perídeipnon'' (περίδειπνον). In most cases, this process is followed faithfully in Greece until today.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ims.forth.gr/joint_projects/e-mem/burial_customs-gr.htm#archaic|title=IMS-FORTH: About IMS|website=www.ims.forth.gr|access-date=2008-09-19|archive-date=2013-03-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130318204155/http://www.ims.forth.gr/joint_projects/e-mem/burial_customs-gr.htm#archaic|url-status=dead}}</ref>

''Próthesis'' is the deposition of the body of the deceased on the funeral bed and the threnody of his relatives. Today the body is placed in the casket, that is always open in Greek funerals. This part takes place in the house where the deceased had lived. An important part of the Greek tradition is the ''epicedium'', the mournful songs that are sung by the family of the deceased along with professional mourners (who are extinct in the modern era). The deceased was watched over by his beloved the entire night before the burial, an obligatory ritual in popular thought, which is maintained still.

''Ekphorá'' is the process of transport of the mortal remains of the deceased from his residence to the church, nowadays, and afterward to the place of burial. The procession in the ancient times, according to the law, should have passed silently through the streets of the city. Usually certain favourite objects of the deceased were placed in the coffin in order to "go along with him". In certain regions, [[Charon's obol|coins to pay Charon]], who ferries the dead to the underworld, are also placed inside the casket. A last kiss is given to the beloved dead by the family before the coffin is closed.

[[File:2011 Enterrement de Jacquotte.jpg|thumb|left|Funeral with [[flowers]] on [[marble]]]]
The Roman orator [[Cicero]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Marcus Tullius Cicero |url=https://www.history.com/topics/ancient-history/marcus-tullius-cicero |website=www.history.com |date=16 December 2009 |publisher=A&E Television Networks |access-date=22 February 2019}}</ref> describes the habit of planting flowers around the tomb as an effort to guarantee the repose of the deceased and the purification of the ground, a custom that is maintained until today. After the ceremony, the mourners return to the house of the deceased for the ''perídeipnon'', the dinner after the burial. According to archaeological findings – traces of ash, bones of animals, shards of crockery, dishes and basins – the dinner during the classical era was also organized at the burial spot. Taking into consideration the written sources, however, the dinner could also be served in the houses.<ref>{{cite web|author=Ανώνυμος Πιστός και Απολογητής του Χριστού |url=http://www.apologitis.com/gr/ancient/tafi_ethima.htm |title=Apologitis.com |publisher=Apologitis.com |access-date=2013-05-21}}</ref>

The ''Necrodeipnon'' (Νεκρόδειπνον) was the funeral banquet which was given at the house of the nearest relative.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0062:entry=necrodeipnon-harpers|title=Harry Thurston Peck, Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities (1898), Necrodeipnon|website=www.perseus.tufts.edu}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=n8VsONHSDDQC&dq=%CE%9D%CE%B5%CE%BA%CF%81%CF%8C%CE%B4%CE%B5%CE%B9%CF%80%CE%BD%CE%BF%CE%BD&pg=PA346|title=The Odyssey of Homer|date=March 4, 1858|publisher=Leavitt and Allen|via=Google Books}}</ref>

Two days after the burial, a ceremony called "the thirds" was held. Eight days after the burial the relatives and the friends of the deceased assembled at the burial spot, where "the ninths" would take place, a custom still kept. In addition to this, in the modern era, [[memorial services]] take place 40 days, 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, 1 year after the death and from then on every year on the anniversary of the death. The relatives of the deceased, for an unspecified length of time that depends on them, are in mourning, during which women wear black clothes and men a black armband.{{Clarify|date=June 2016|reason=this section is about ancient Greece. Is this modern Greece, or what? Is it religious or national?}}

''Nekysia'' (Νεκύσια), meaning the day of the dead, and ''Genesia'' (Γενέσια), meaning the day of the forefathers (ancestors), were yearly feasts in honour of the dead.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0062:entry=nekysia-harpers|title=Harry Thurston Peck, Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities (1898), Nekysia|website=www.perseus.tufts.edu}}</ref><ref>{{cite book| author = Evy Johanne Haland| title = Rituals of Death and Dying in Modern and Ancient Greece| date = 2 October 2014| publisher = Cambridge Scholars Publishing| isbn = 978-1443861274| page = 320| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=XC9QBwAAQBAJ}}</ref>

''Nemesia'' (Νεμέσια) or ''Nemeseia'' (Nεμέσεια) was also a yearly feast in honour of the dead, most probably intended for averting the anger of the dead.<ref>{{cite book| author = Erwin Rohde| title = Psyche: The Cult of Souls and Belief in Immortality among the Greeks.| date = 10 July 2014| publisher = Martino Fine Books| isbn = 978-1684223176| page = 168| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=bq0ABAAAQBAJ}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0063:entry=nemeseia-cn|title=A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities (1890), NEMESEIA|website=www.perseus.tufts.edu}}</ref>