Some Peculiarities of Burial Rite on the Necropolis of Chersonesus Taurica in Classical and Hellenistic Periods
Zubar V. М.
Analysing some peculiarities of burial rite the author comes to the conclusion that traditional Greek beliefs concerning death and dead man's existence in the beyond were prevailing in Chersonesus in the Classical and Hellenistic periods. A great part of the population practiced quite an archaic burial rite with some characteristic features: burying adults in embryo-like position, burying children in amphoras, using cremation over a long period of time and modest burial inventory. Undoubtedly, new religious trends connected with the idea of immortality of soul and with heroization of mortals left their marks on the beliefs of the population. But in the bulk Chersonesians would stick to traditional burial rites reflecting very archaic beliefs. This is a peculiarity that made Doric Chersonesus different among other Greek cultural centres of Black Sea Area in the Classical and Hellenistic periods.