Inscriptions on tombstones have become a habitual tribute to the memory of those who died from their relatives. But it was not always so. In ancient times, tomb epitaphs provided an explanation of who was buried in the grave and who the deceased person was during his lifetime.
The Emergence of the Epitaph
Although the word "epitaph" has Greek roots ("epi" - over, "taphos" - grave), the art of carving the names of the dead on tombstones was known to the inhabitants of Ancient Egypt, and Babylon, and Ancient Judea.
The sarcophagi found in the tombs of Ancient Egypt carry information about noble people buried in them, starting from their name and ending with their deeds during their lifetime. They could also mention what and how the deceased died, and contain a warning about death to those who disturb his ashes.
Images and hieroglyphs engraved on the stones of the tombs can be considered to be the concept of tombstone inscriptions, although the first author of the "commemorative" genre is considered to be Simonides of Kegos, who immortalized the feat of the Greeks in the war with the Persians by writing an elegy about it. “Wanderer, we once lived in Corinth, abundant in water. Now Salamis keeps us…; We won herePersians … and from captivity they saved the lands of Hellas … ". Initially, an epitaph is a funeral speech that was delivered on the annual memorial day dedicated to the fallen heroes. During this speech, the exploits of the Greeks who died for the liberation of their homeland were listed.
Subsequently, epitaphs appeared in verse, which were pronounced at each burial as a sign of respect for the deceased from his inconsolable relatives.
Development of the epitaph as a literary genre
During the Middle Ages in Europe, thanks to Christianity, burial became a kind of cult, during which the soul of the deceased was prepared for the transition from life to death, and the epitaph on the grave began to have a religious or philosophical character.
Many Renaissance poets wrote poems in this genre for dead aristocrats. At the same time, tombstones and crypts appeared with farewell words immortalized on them. The famous tombs of the Medici and Dante, decorated with sculptures by Michelangelo, amaze with their splendor even today.
The names of the great commanders and rulers were also marked on the gravestone. For example, on the grave of Tamerlane in Samarkand there was an inscription "If I were alive, the whole world would tremble." This short phrase conveys the power and strength of a man who, during his lifetime, defeated the Golden Horde and conquered many countries.
Epitaph in the Russian state
In Russia, early epitaphs date back to the 13th century, when the name of the deceased, his occupation and a statement from the Gospel were written on gravestones. Much later, in the 16th century, aristocrats becameto order funeral poems for poets. Thus, the epitaph is a new literary genre that has a specific author.
For example, the tombstone on the tombstone of the poet Batyushkov is short and concise: “You don’t need inscriptions for my stone, just say here: it was, and it is not!”
Later, the writing of epitaphs became a profitable business, and they began to be written both for the merchants and for the townspeople, those who had little idea of literary genres. Some of them have survived to this day, and their content is rather amusing than saddening: "Whom he gave birth to, he built it." This inscription was left by the son to his late father.
Modern epitaph
Today's epitaph is a short statement that conveys the sadness of relatives over the loss of a loved one. It is written on a gravestone or printed in a newspaper obituary. Often, poems by modern poets or bards, phrases from films, statements by famous people are taken for this purpose.
As a literary genre, the epitaph practically ceased to exist in the Soviet Union. It was not customary to leave inscriptions on the graves of members of the Communist Party, except for the last name, first name and patronymic.
The return to the epitaph became possible only after religion and the church became available to people again. On gravestones, relatives convey their sadness and grief to people around them in connection with the death of a person dear to them:
The century seemed painfully short, But in memory you are always with us, Beloved, dear person to us.
Pain our usnot put into words"
Mother's epitaphs
Everyone experiences the loss of a loved one in their own way. One of the manifestations of grief is the tombstone inscription.
When a mother dies, children pay tribute to their love for her by using epitaphs on the monument to mother. It can be a poem, a prayer or a short statement: “We are coming to you to put a bouquet. It is very difficult for us, dear, to live without you.”
Using epitaphs, people convey to the world how great their sadness is in connection with the loss of a loved one. The return of this genre allows them to share their grief with other people. A person who walks through the cemetery can appreciate the amount of grief and sadness that children leave in the form of an epitaph on the monument to their mother. Empathy for someone else's grief helps people come to terms with their loss.
Epitaph to husband
The loss of a breadwinner and a father is just as tragic, so more and more often you can find epitaphs to a husband from his wife on the graves of dead men. They are full of sadness and sorrow, as women who have lost loving husbands feel the loss acutely:
Dry your tears and bow your head.
Loving husband rests here.
He completed his earthly days -
A kind father and a faithful friend.”
Short phrases on the gravestone, dedicated to the deceased husband, can convey the depth of female grief just as strongly as the verses: “I love you, I am proud of you, you are always alive in my memory.”
If a man died in old age, then in the epitaph you can see a mention of him as a father and grandfather: “Acceptfrom us the last earthly gift, beloved husband, kind father and grandfather.”
Epitaph as epigram
Although the death of a loved one is a great tragedy, many people treat his or their death with a dose of humor and skepticism. There are cases when the epitaph was used as an advertisement or instead of a dating service: “Here lies Esther Wright, whom God called to himself. Her inconsolable husband Thomas Wright, America's best stonecutter, made this inscription with his own hands and is ready to do the same for you for $250. The regret of others about the loss may have a peculiar subtext, in which “envy” for the deceased slips: “She lived in the world for 82 years, 6 months, 4 days without a break.”
In different countries you can find epitaphs either with humor or with a hint. For example, this is how the Mexicans show black humor: “Here lies Pancrazio Juvenalis. He was an exemplary husband, a good father and a bad electrician.”
The once famous Lucrezia Borgia, who was the daughter of Pope Alexander 6, had an intimate relationship with her father and brother, for which she was immortalized in the epitaph “Here lies Lucrezia Borgia - daughter, wife and daughter-in-law of Alexander 6, Pope”.
Epitaphs of great people
Not all celebrities are honored with a decent epitaph, although there are those who composed them for themselves, writing expressions that later became winged.
For example, the following phrase is inscribed on the grave of Winston Churchill: “I am ready to meet the Creator. But did the Creator have time to prepare for a meeting with me -that's another question.”
The famous scientist Ampère ordered that the inscription "finally happy" be on his grave. This is how he assessed his life and death.
Reading statements on other people's graves, people seem to join the life and death of someone close, so the epitaph is a kind of message from the world of the living to the world of the dead. People are left with sadness, compassion and memorable phrases.
