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All major cultures surrounding the Mediterranean basin developed some conception of a special realm inhabited only by the dead. The two cultures that most deeply seeded early Christian conceptions of the afterlife – Greek and Jewish – had varied afterlife beliefs; Egypt, too, with its distinct concept of a solar-based journey to the netherworld, influenced Mediterranean Christian ideas of a realm of the dead. Each of these cultures contributed elements to the development of Christian not…

The overarching term “cult of the dead” can mean different things, including reverence for ancestors or their deification, but also ritual activities centered around remembering and celebrating deceased family members. Traditionally in the Roman Empire, families commemorating their deceased loved ones would visit the tomb during annual festivals such as the Parentalia, Lemuria, and Rosalia, as well as on the 9th and 13th day after burial and annually on the deceased’s date of death. Patterns of commemoration appear to have been widely shared amon…