Decease in Greece

Today I had the privilege of visiting the oldest and most well known cemetery in the city of Athens. Próto Nekrotafeío Athinón (First Cemetery of Athens) is Athens' official cemetery, and it has been in use since 1837. This historical monument features a number of diversely styled graves- some overgrown with flowers and plants, others as elaborate structures with sculptures, large roofs and pillars. 

Visiting the cemetery brought into light some major cultural differences between Greeks and Americans in regards to how death is viewed in each society. Americans customarily view death as a negative occurrence, and typically mourn, grieve, and cry when a loved one loses his life. Burial customs usually either consist of cremation or an underground grave with a gravestone. This somber view of death is not reflected to this extent in Greece. Death seems to be more likely to be seen as a sort of relief from our bodies to the afterlife, and can be celebrated. An interesting aspect of Greek burial customs is that some graves will be 'recycled' and used for body after body; once the flesh has fully broken down off of a body's bones, they can be put in a bone box and stored in an ossuary. Then, the grave is cleaned out and can be used for another body.

Americans typically believe that as soon as a person stops living, they are dead and gone from their bodies. However, this is not the case for traditional Greeks, who don't believe one's soul has completely left their body until all of the flesh has dissolved from the bones of their remains. Family members of the deceased are impelled to continue visiting the tomb to pay their respects, clean up the grave site, and sometimes even leave gifts like candles or tokens of remembrance like flowers until the bones are completely dry.