ABSTRACT
It was not unusual for the polis to dictate the parameters of funerals to be conducted by private families. Our most detailed legal
information comes from Athens and from cities that adopted Athenian laws. The legislation, which was attributed to Solon, included these provisions:3
the prothesis must be held indoors; the ekphora must be held before sunrise on the succeeding day
with men walking in front of the cart; and women behind; only women over the age of 60 or related to the deceased within
the degree of second cousin are permitted to participate, with the latter also permitted to return to the house after the burial;
women must not wear more than three himatia, nor must the dead be interred in more than three;
food and drink brought in the procession must not be worth more than one obol;
the offering basket must not be longer than one cubit; laceration of the flesh, singing of prepared dirges, or bewailing
anyone except the person whose funeral is being held is forbidden;
visiting the tombs of non-relatives except at their funerals is forbidden.
