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# Funerary wreaths of ancient Greece and their place in the rites of farewell to the dead
- URL: https://theparnassian.com/en/pogrebalnyi-obriad-v-drevnei-gretsii-koe-chem-napominaet-obychai-proshchaniia-s-umershimi-vo-mnogikh-sovremennykh-kulturakh/
- Published: 2021-05-27T09:56:24.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-02T19:04:20.000Z
- Author: Alexandr Radayev
- Tags: Archaeology, Museums, Ethnography

The funerary rites of Ancient Greece bear some resemblance to the customs of bidding farewell to the dead in many modern cultures. The dead were washed and dressed, a wreath or a precious headband was placed on the head, and only then could one take leave of the deceased at home, surrounded by family and friends. Wreaths are often found in graves and even in urns with ashes. Perhaps the best-known exhibits of the archaeological museum in the city of Patras are the skulls of the 3rd century BC. A crown of flowers was placed on the heads of girls and women. The photograph shows, for example, myrtle, which was used in funerary ceremonies and to mark graves. Men, for their part, were given oak leaves. The wreath could be made of gold, silver and bronze, or of painted and inlaid ceramic or wood, depending on the means of the buried person's family. Aristophanes writes that the wreath symbolised the victory of death in its contest with life. It was no accident that the wreath was also the prize in athletic contests: the games in the Mycenaean kingdom, for instance, formed part of the order of mourning ritual.

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