At the end of the year, they made a fresh commemoration for them, and so from year to year; beside the standing commemoration for the dead, always joined with the eucharist, they frequently put into the grave several things, as marks of honour to the deceased, or to preserve his memory; such as the badges of his dignity, the instruments and acts of his martyrdom, an epitaph, or at least his name: and sometimes they threw in medals, laurel leaves, some crosses, and the gospel. And whereas the heathens, built stately tombs for their dead, either by the sides of great roads, or in the open fields; the Christians, on the contrary, disposed of their deceased, either after the common way of interment, or laying them in vaults under ground; such were the catacombs near Rome.--They had anciently, a religious ambition to be buried near the bodies of martyrs, and this is that which, at last, brought so many graves and tombs into the churches; which were frequently erected over the graves of martyrs: this was the occasion of burying in churches; for a long time it was the custom to bury the dead no where but without the walls of cities. As to the old Greeks, after they had closed the eyes of the deceased, they used to make a great noise with a sort of bell, done as it is supposed either to scare away the furies and hobgoblins, or else to wake the person, in case he was only in a lethargy or apoplectic fit. Afterwards they put a piece of money into his mouth, to pay his passage over the Styx, giving him likewise a piece of meat to put Cerberus in good humour: they then put a bandage, or little scarf over his eyes, and his face was covered to his chin with cloth. This office was to be performed by the nearest relations, who were likewise obliged to wash the body with warm water and anoint it. This was properly the business of women. The corpse was likewise wrapt in fresh linen, or new cloth, made into a sort of straight gown. The body was afterwards crowned with chaplets, to intimate the deceased had conquered the misfortunes of this life. They likewise put some sweetmeats into his mouth, which was part of the entertainment of the Olympionces. The funeral being thus far prepared, they placed the corpse at the gate of the house, which was a sort of laying in state.