A funerary cult is a body of

religious Religion is a range of social- cultural systems, including designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relate humanity to supernatural ...

teaching and practice centered on the

veneration of the dead The veneration of the dead, including one's ancestors, is based on love and respect for the deceased. In some cultures, it is related to beliefs that the dead have a afterlife, continued existence, and may possess the ability to influence the fo ...

, in which the living are thought to be able to confer benefits on the dead in the

afterlife The afterlife or life after death is a purported existence in which the essential part of an individual's Stream of consciousness (psychology), stream of consciousness or Personal identity, identity continues to exist after the death of their ...

or to appease their otherwise wrathful

ghost In folklore, a ghost is the soul or Spirit (supernatural entity), spirit of a dead Human, person or non-human animal that is believed by some people to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely, from a ...

s. Rituals were carried on for the benefit of the dead, either by their relatives or by a class of

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

s appointed and paid to perform the rites. These rituals took place at the

tomb A tomb ( ''tumbos'') or sepulchre () is a repository for the remains of the dead. It is generally any structurally enclosed interment space or burial chamber, of varying sizes. Placing a corpse into a tomb can be called '' immurement'', alth ...

s of the dead themselves or at mortuary temples appointed to this purpose. Funerary cults are found in a wide variety of cultures.

Notable cults

Egypt

Funerary cults are especially associated with

ancient Egypt Ancient Egypt () was a cradle of civilization concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in Northeast Africa. It emerged from prehistoric Egypt around 3150BC (according to conventional Egyptian chronology), when Upper and Lower E ...

, where it was common for royalty, those associated with royalty, cats, and the wealthy to be mummified. This practice was done so as to preserve their bodies for the journey to the afterlife. The

deity A deity or god is a supernatural being considered to be sacred and worthy of worship due to having authority over some aspect of the universe and/or life. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines ''deity'' as a God (male deity), god or god ...

Osiris Osiris (, from Egyptian ''wikt:wsjr, wsjr'') was the ancient Egyptian deities, god of fertility, agriculture, the Ancient Egyptian religion#Afterlife, afterlife, the dead, resurrection, life, and vegetation in ancient Egyptian religion. He was ...

, who was the dying and reviving god and Lord of the Egyptian afterlife, was usually depicted as a

mummy A mummy is a dead human or an animal whose soft tissues and Organ (biology), organs have been preserved by either intentional or accidental exposure to Chemical substance, chemicals, extreme cold, very low humidity, or lack of air, so that the ...

in Egyptian art. Also at

Bubastis Bubastis ( Bohairic Coptic: ''Poubasti''; Greek: ''Boubastis'' or ''Boubastos''), also known in Arabic as Tell-Basta or in Egyptian as Per-Bast, was an ancient Egyptian city. Bubastis is often identified with the biblical ''Pi-Beseth'' ( ''p ...

, where Bast was worshiped, there was a massive cat cemetery. Cats were also thought to journey to the afterlife, usually to join their owners. These needed their own material goods for this journey, such as food.

Mesopotamia

Sumer Sumer () is the earliest known civilization, located in the historical region of southern Mesopotamia (now south-central Iraq), emerging during the Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age, early Bronze Ages between the sixth and fifth millennium BC. ...

Assyria Assyria (Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , ''māt Aššur'') was a major ancient Mesopotamian civilization that existed as a city-state from the 21st century BC to the 14th century BC and eventually expanded into an empire from the 14th century BC t ...

, and

Babylonia Babylonia (; , ) was an Ancient history, ancient Akkadian language, Akkadian-speaking state and cultural area based in the city of Babylon in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq and parts of Kuwait, Syria and Iran). It emerged as a ...

, funerary cults were called '' kispu.'' This funerary cult mostly revolved around caring for deceased kin, with a specific family member assigned to providing for a specific ghost. The ghosts were provided with food and other goods, however the provision of clean water was of particular importance. Both deceased men and women were supposed to receive this care. Without this care, the dead had the potential to become a malicious supernatural force. With this care, the dead family continue to participate in the lives of the living family. Also, the practice of recycling the names of the deceased allowed for familial continuity. In Assyria, this was done by any consanguineal kin. A Babylonian variation of this cult treats the veneration of the dead as an extension of the veneration for parents. Offspring were responsible for this care. Scholar Miranda Bayliss had stated the function of this cult was to alleviate guilt and other tensions from the death of the deceased and form solidarity and continuity within the family. Typically only close kin received this care. When ancestors beyond the individual's grandparents were venerated, it was done at large gatherings of extended kin groups. This also functioned to promote solidarity within the larger kin group.

Greece

The ancient

Greek hero cult Hero cults were one of the most distinctive features of ancient Greek religion. In Homeric Greek, "hero" (, ) refers to the mortal offspring of a human and a god. By the historical period, the word came to mean specifically a ''dead'' man, vene ...

was also a funerary cult; in the original sense, a ''

hero A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or Physical strength, strength. The original hero type of classical epics did such thin ...

'' was a deified or semi-divine ancestor, worshiped at a shrine for his power to assist the living. The ancient Greek religion had three main aspects: the Gods, the heroes, and the dead. The dead are powerless and the Gods all-powerful, while the heroes are dead (live only in legend and memory) and are powerful. Heroes occupy a liminal space between the Gods and mortals. Mortals sacrificed livestock and plants at Heroes' tombs to intervene and commune with the Gods on their behalf.

Italian Peninsula

The Samnites and

Etruscans The Etruscan civilization ( ) was an ancient civilization created by the Etruscans, a people who inhabited Etruria in List of ancient peoples of Italy, ancient Italy, with a common language and culture, and formed a federation of city-states. Af ...

of the Italian peninsula painted the underworld deities Aita,

Vanth Vanth is a chthonic figure in Etruscan mythology shown in a variety of forms of funerary art, such as in tomb paintings and on sarcophagi. Background Vanth is a female entity in the Etruscan underworld that is often accompanied either by additio ...

, Phersipnei, and Letham on the walls of tombs.

Roman Empire

The

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

also had a funerary cult, revolving around Dionysus. Dionysus, (along with being lord of wine and parties) had been reborn many times and had rescued his mother Semele from the Underworld (the Roman afterlife, ruled by Hades). Each

Roman God Roman mythology is the body of myths of ancient Rome as represented in the Latin literature, literature and Roman art, visual arts of the Romans, and is a form of Roman folklore. "Roman mythology" may also refer to the modern study of these ...

had his or her own clique of devotees, and it was thought that Dionysus could protect his initiates from death. He was also one of the Gods associated with plants (grapes in particular) and harvest. He was occasionally depicted in conjunction with other Gods (representatives of rebirth or plants of some kind) to indicate the dead also participated in the rejuvenation of the seasons.(The cults of the Roman Empire By Robert Turcan, p 312-313)

References

{{reflist Religion and death Death customs Anthropology of religion