When the Pope died in April 2025 and his body was put on display for members of the church and the public to pay their respects, I was reminded how jarring it is to today's sensibilities and thought it was a good time to listen to What to Expect When You're Dead - An Ancient Tour of Death and the Afterlife by Robert Garland.
Covering the time period in history 100,000 BC - 400 AD, this audiobook references ancient texts, artworks and archaeology at a level I was largely unfamiliar with. However I did enjoy some of the content, including this quote taken from Greek Playwright Aristophanes (446 BC - 386 BC):
"In Aristophanes Frogs, anyone who has harmed a guest, failed to pay a boy for his sexual favours, struck his mother, punched his father or sworn a false oath is consigned to a sewer full of turds." Chapter 5 Heaven and HellThe beliefs of many ancient civilisations and religions were offered, in addition to their thoughts on the afterlife, how best to lay the dead to rest and how to honour their ancestors.
As a youngster I was interested in the history of Egypt, the pyramids and of course the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb. I was simultaneously disturbed by the fact mummified remains were once desecrated by grave robbers and disturbed in the 'modern era' by archaeologists, with artefacts removed to be sold to private collectors or displayed in museums. It shouldn't come as a surprise then that I relished the legend of the curse of Tutankhamun and enjoyed hearing more about Egyptian curses here:
"Thieves certainly weren't deterred by the stiff penalties they incurred if apprehended, death by impaling being a common punishment. Nor by the curses that the deceased promised to rain down on those who broke into their tombs. A typical Egyptian curse reads as follows: As for anyone who shall violate my corpse in the necropolis or shall damage my image in my chamber, the ka (spirit or soul) of Ra (sun god) shall abhor him. He shall not bequeath his goods to his children nor shall he be restful in life, nor shall he receive water in the necropolis. His ba (personality and soul) shall be destroyed forever.' " Chapter 8, Where to Deposit the RemainsScary stuff! The book includes beliefs and practices from a range of ancient cultures and traditions, including Early Christian, Egyptian, Etruscan, Greek, Hindu, Islamic, Jewish, Mesopotamian, Roman and Zoroastrian. I'll admit I was in very unfamiliar territory here, however this did help to clarify that my interest in death rituals is anchored in Western culture closer to my own time. I've shared my interest in the mourning etiquette of the Victorian era in other reviews and have the current books on my virtual TBR to read at some stage in the future:
- Fashionable Mourning Jewellery, Clothing and Customs by Mary Brett
- Mourning Art & Jewellery by Maureen Delorme
- Death in the Victorian Family by Pat Gallant
- Childhood & Death in Victorian England by Sarah Seaton
