cused on the useof a simple pit in the ground. Right after death, not too dissimilar fromthe practices of the Egyptians, it was necessary for the persons tocarefully wash and prepare the corpse for his journey. It was vital forall persons to receive a proper burial and if they did not they were dammedto hover in a quasi-world, somewhat of a "limbo" between life and death. One Greco-Roman myth that illustrates this point is The Odyssey byHomer. There is a part in Book eleven of the work in which Homerspecifically addresses proper burial rites. When Odysseus wishes tocontact Tiresias, he comes across Elpenor, one of his soldiers. Thisparticular man fell (in a haphazard fashion) to his death on the island ofthe Kimmerians, but did not receive a proper burial and was stuck in limbo.Elpenor begged Odysseus and his men to return to the island and care forhis body. Consequently, they did return and Elpenor passed into the nextworld. Most likely he was buried in the same fashion other members of hissociety were; a pyre was probably constructed and the body placed upon it.Also placed on the pyre were items that the deceased held dear in life withthe hope that they would follow him into the next world. In order tosurvive in the afterlife, the deceased "is also presented with a small coinwhich came to be known as the ferrying fee for Charon." This can belikened to the Egyptian practice of introducing coinage into the tomb insome cases. Homer also speaks of the psyche, which slips out of man "at themoment of death and enters the house of Ais, also known as Aides, Aidoneus,and in Attic as Hades." This idea can be compared to the concept of anindividual's ba in ancient Egypt. When someone died, an eternal part ofthem (their ba) would also slip out and seek out the individuals spiritualtwin (their ka) in order to unite with it and facilitate a successfulpassage. Many times in myth, the living desired to speak with...
