The First Cemetery

After Nicki gave her site report on the First Cemetery, and we had a group discussion about Greek burial practices, I knew this was one place I had to see before we left. Since we're leaving in four days, I figured today was as good a day as any, so I grabbed my frozen water bottle, hopped on a bus and headed for the cemetery.

Upon walking into the cemetery, I was immediately struck by the numerous massive grave monuments that could rival that of JFK's. I snapped a few pictures, not sure if that would be insulting to the families of the dead whose monuments were so glorious they had to be famous people, or rich, at least.

I mean, really. Is the twenty foot marble monument
really necessary?

Needless to say, it was pretty cool to see all of the grave monuments. I'd never seen anything like that back home. This cemetery is specifically for the really rich and the really famous, since those people are the only ones who can afford it. The honor of being in this cemetery seems to be similar to the honor of being in Arlington National Cemetery in Washington D.C. And let me tell you that cemetery is beautiful. The exact rows of pristine, white crosses covering every inch of every hill. It's amazing. But it is so different from the glorified, materialistic projection of wealth that was seen at the First Cemetery. It was interesting...but what I saw next took the cake by a landslide. 

The Ossuary. Greeks have this practice of burying their dead relative for three years, digging them up, cleaning their bones, then placing them in a little metal box which then goes into an ossuary. 

Yep, it's a skull...

These were the little, "boring" graves for the
people who were going to be placed in an
ossuary after their three year mark was up. Some
of them were a few months overdue...

So basically, an ossuary is a place for the bones of dead people. We had a lot of discussion about why this is and came to the conclusion that it's partially a result of a lack of land in Greece. The little land that they do have, they try to use for agriculture, so there is a very small amount of land space available for burial. But I think it also has to do with the mourning period. After three years, the family has to clean the bones of their dead relative and put them into a pit with thousands of other peoples' bones. It seems a little callous, but I think it would definitely help the family come to terms with their loss. 

I hope the Greeks don't mind me posting pictures of this....apparently, it's sort of taboo in their culture. But I'm trying to justify it by the fact that I'm American and this is just really unbelievable. One of those "pictures or it didn't happen" moments. 

   

It was interesting to see how differently things were done, even the burial practices. The First Cemetery was actually one of the coolest places I've seen since I've been here. I really enjoyed my visit and would recommend it to anyone who goes to Greece in the future.