[Footnote 103: vi. 80.] [Footnote 104: _Ant. Denkmäler_, I., pl. 11.] XXVII.--METHODS OF BURIAL. (Wall-Cases 58-64.) =Greece.=--In the prehistoric period known as Mycenaean, the inhabitants of Greek lands probably buried their dead and did not cremate them. It is possible, however, that a partial burning was in vogue in this and the succeeding periods in Greece. In the case of the more wealthy Mycenaean dead, the bodies were elaborately decked with gold ornaments. Oval plates of gold were tied over the forehead and mouth of the corpse, in the latter case (where the impression of the lips can be seen) perhaps with the idea of keeping out evil spirits. The window-cases in the Gold Ornament Room contain many examples of these funeral diadems and mouthpieces from Cyprus. In the Homeric poems we find the bodies of the dead burnt upon a pyre and the ashes buried beneath a mound. [Illustration: FIG. 257. FUNERAL LEKYTHOS. Ht. 15-1/4 in.] Scenes representing the preparation of the body for cremation or burial are frequently depicted on Greek vases. They occur on the large "Dipylon" vases, made specially for standing outside the tomb (see examples in the First Vase Room), and on black-figure vases, where the body is seen lying on the bier surrounded by mourners. It is, however, upon the white lekythi of the fifth century (No. =668=; fig. 257), one of which is here illustrated, that funeral scenes are most commonly found. We know from Greek literature that these vases were expressly made for putting in tombs. A speaker in the _Ekklesiazusae_ of Aristophanes talks of "the man who paints the lekythi for the dead."[105] On the vase here figured a woman is making offerings at the tombstone. These offerings were made by the relatives from time to time, and consisted mainly of sashes, wreaths, and vases, as may be seen from the vases placed in the Case. The Greek funeral monuments of the best period are characterised by their restrained beauty. Examples of the different types will be found in the Phigaleian Room downstairs and in the Gallery of Casts. In the Cases 59-60, the only tombstones are the archaic one of Idagygos of Halikarnassos (No. =669=; fig. 258) found in Cyprus, inscribed with an elegiac couplet in which he is called "the squire of Ares,"[106] and a round stone (No. =670=) with a late inscription showing that the tomb was that of Menestratos, a Corinthian buried in Attic soil. The Greek tombs were generally ranged on either side of the main roads leading from the city gates. [Illustration: FIG. 258.--INSCRIBED TOMBSTONE OF IDAGYGOS (NO. 669). Ht. 5 ft. 8 in.]