Religious and secular models of power achieved through funeral ritual: Ancient paradigms

Abstract

This paper researches why and in which way Athenian polis, and since Byzantine era also the Church, made efforts to take over the control over funeral rite. How, why and under which circumstances pagan ritual moved from private to public sphere? How were the roles in the ritual distributed? In which way the elements of pagan rite were integrated in Christian funeral and what was the power-game between Pagans and Christians? Which social potential made funeral so important that the state and the Church were fighting for gaining power over it? [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. 17026: Kulturno nasleđe i identitet]

Keywords

• death
• ritual
• state
• church
• power