Ancient Greece and Mummies: The Primacy of the Soul over the Body

Galassi, F.M. and Varotto, E. (2020) Ancient Greece and Mummies: The Primacy of the Soul over the Body. In: Shin D.H., Bianucci R. (eds) The Handbook of Mummy Studies. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-3354-9_54

Abstract

Ancient Greece did not contemplate embalming practices meant to preserve bodies for eternity. Reports of a mummy found by Schliemann are not to be trusted, while there is some literary evidence of temporary forms of honey- mediated embalming practices adopted for Spartan k ings. Greek s rejected the importance of preserving bodies for eternity because, as it can be found in Plato’s work Phaedo, the soul was considered more important than the body and the only truly immortal element.