A law of Ceos, enacted probably in the latter part of the sixth century, and resembling the law of Solon very closely, regulates the matter of burials with considerable particularity. This law aims to restrain the excessive cost of funeral ceremonies. It limits the wrappings of the dead to three white cloths, of which the total price shall not exceed one hundred drachmas, about twenty dollars of our money; the body must be laid on a bed with slender legs, and must not be entirely concealed by the draping, a precaution against violent deaths[86]. In the paintings, the face and the upper part of the breast are uncovered. The color of the wrappings or shroud on the lecyths are not uniformly white, for some of violet and some even of green, are seen on these white vases, which belong to the fourth and fifth centuries before our era, and which are found almost exclusively in the tombs of the Athenians[87]. It has already been stated that the women who took part in the funeral rites were required to be near relatives of the deceased. This legal requirement is illustrated by a painted _terra-cotta_ plaque, published by Benndorf, on which are inscriptions near the figures. By these inscriptions, it appears that the persons about the bed of the deceased are the grandmother, the mother, and the sisters, the father and the brothers[88]. The relatives who, in the pictures, stand about the funeral bed or bier, display gestures of some violence, indicating that time has not yet softened the keenness of their sorrow. They hold various objects in their hands, which are intended as offerings at the tomb. A sort of narrow scarf is very frequent[89]. It is composed of a flat band of cloth, terminating in a fringe at each end, and the color is by no means uniform; red, black and violet appearing in different instances. This long, narrow scarf was employed in all religious ceremonies, sacrifices, thanksgivings and consecrations. Its significance is difficult to determine. The purpose of the fan, however, in the hands of a mourner of the period of the white lecyths, was undoubtedly to guard the body from the attacks of flies during its exposure[90]. Another singular object which is present at various scenes of mourning and burial is a bird. Its use is a matter of surmise, and the fact that the bird is of no one species, but sometimes a dove and, at times, a duck or some other bird, makes the interpretation of its presence none the less puzzling. The most satisfactory suggestion is, that it is simply intended as a pleasant reminder to the deceased of an object familiar to him in the life just closed[91]. As companions and sources of amusement and pleasure, the dog and the bird played a prominent part in the in-door life of the Greeks. On that account, probably, the young man with his dog and the young girl with her bird are very often seen in funeral bas-reliefs.