i have seem several movie when there's a scene where they burn dead soliders, and they always put gold coins over the corpse's eyes, any one knows why?
2006-07-14 06:25:21 · 11 answers · asked by scarlet 1 in Arts & Humanities ➔ History
Before I answer your question I must make one remark. The ritual that you describe is not practiced in modern Greece anymore. It is an ancient Greek ritual. Modern Greeks are Christians (99% of the population) and they do not practice the Dodecatheon. I needed to do this clarification because in the rest of the answers it is implied that this ritual is still practiced.
The ancient Greeks believed that there is life after death and the every human being had a soul. When the person died the soul exited the body through the mouth or a wound. The souls descended to Hades. First they had to pass the Kerberos, a three-headed huge dog that was guarding the entrance of Hades. That dog allowed the souls to enter Hades but not exit back to the living world. Then they had to pass river called Styx. On the other side of the river there was a place called Tartaros were all there memories of their life was erased with their humanity as well.
At that river there was Charos, the person that was providing the transport to the other side. The souls had to pay a ticket so the family of the deceased put a coin on the body so the soul would have the amount for the fare, otherwise they would stuck between the living and the dead world without forgetting their humanity and they would be unhappy to eternity.
I need to add more thing. The Greeks do not burn the bodies anymore. It is allowed in Greece to be cremated but it is not practiced since the Greek church is not very fond of this procedure and prefers burial.
2006-07-14 09:19:39 · answer #1 · answered by Gke 3 · 3⤊ 0⤋
They put coins over the eyes of the dead so that they could pay the ferryman, Charon to take them over the River Styx to the underworld, Hades.
2006-07-14 16:42:57 · answer #2 · answered by samanthajanecaroline 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
That is the fare for Charon - the ferryman who takes dead souls accross the river Styx to the underworld. The coins are placed to make sure the deceased can pay the fare.
It doesn't matter what sort of funeral it is either - it can be burning, burial, or mausoleum - whatever.
2006-07-14 13:28:47 · answer #3 · answered by Carbon-based 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
there was this guy called Charon, ferryman of the dead. the gold coins served as payment as he ferried the souls of the dead across the river Styx, in the underworld Hades..
2006-07-14 13:29:42 · answer #4 · answered by ZahirJ 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The coins were to pay the ferryman who was supposed to carry their souls across the Styx river into Hades, the underworld.
2006-07-17 15:44:52 · answer #5 · answered by cross-stitch kelly 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The coins are for Charon the ferryman. It's his fee to take the dead across the river Stix.
2006-07-14 13:53:21 · answer #6 · answered by gavery1974 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
well the greeks believe that it is payment/toll for the boat rower charon on the river styx when they get to the underworld(hades)
if they don't put the coins then the souls are stuck in limbo or the elysian fields
2006-07-14 13:30:06 · answer #7 · answered by novylox 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
So they can pay the ferry man to get across the styx river in the underworld
2006-07-14 13:29:38 · answer #8 · answered by The Witten 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
To pay the ferry man.
2006-07-14 13:28:34 · answer #9 · answered by HoneyBee24-7-365 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Man, I'd give you the correct answer, but everyone else beat me to it.
2006-07-14 13:30:34 · answer #10 · answered by Ashti 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋