epitaph in honor of the deceased person is called epitaphs.Traditionally, they are poetic, but there are, for example, in the form of aphorisms or passages from sacred texts that are easy to remember.The goal of many popular epitaphs was whether to make the reader think, to warn him of his own mortality.Some of these people choose for themselves during the life of others - those who are responsible for the disposal.It is known that many famous poets, including William Shakespeare, Alexander Pope, composed an epitaph for himself-poems.
epitaph trace their evolution with poetic speeches, which were pronounced in honor of the deceased on the day of his funeral, and repeated in the anniversary.In ancient Greece and ancient Rome, they were formed in the genre of "Epitaph" (from the Greek words - "above" and "grave").Later, to keep the memory of the departed in the world other people, they set them engraved on the monuments.Some were filled with pain and poetic tenderness, others - more than a simple, though there are those who stated a fact of death.
epitaph were varied in accordance with the cultural traditions of a people.Thus, the Romans were extremely attentive to the epitaphs.They could read interesting descriptions of dead people on their military career, political or commercial activity, marital status, and the like.In general, the physical data contained praise and moral virtues.Short or long, poetic or prosaic, but the tombstone inscriptions reflect the feelings of relatives and friends of the deceased.Cicero, for example, at the grave of his daughter Tullia made a brief epitaph, which is strongly felt the pain of loss: «Tulliola, Filiola» («Tulliola, my daughter").
great place and affordable source for studying the history of a community is the cemetery.Gravestones with the information they contain, provide an ideal starting point for any genealogical research.Some of them may have only the names of the dead and the dates of life, while others include a detailed account of several generations of one family, relations among people during his lifetime (husband, wife, son, sister, and so on), their professional activities.Epitaph long been popular with historians and genealogists.From the Renaissance to the nineteenth century in Western culture for the dead people engaged in the life of a high position in society, they are very long descriptions about the legendary origin of their families provided information about their activities, praising the virtues often provide information about next of kin.
interest are engraved on monuments symbols of death, not only gravestone inscriptions.Epitaph keep the memory of the dead men, they emphasize the fact that everyone and everything dies.Typically, this can be a skull and crossbones, a bell that rings at the funeral, the coffin and hourglass, alluding to the fact that the time is not necessary, and brings us closer to death, or an hourglass with wings, also symbolizing the passage of time.
