Funeral of "Patroclus" in Germany
The description, very rich in details, of the funeral of Patroclus
(Iliad, book XXIII), fully recalls the characteristics of Celtic or
Germanic funerals, with the sacrifice of twelve young Trojan prisoners,
rams, oxen, dogs, horses, and with the collection of ashes in a golden
urn: in Greek archeology metal urns begin to be found in the 12th
century BC, but they suddenly become much more common only in the 8th
century. In 2020, the burial of a Germanic nobleman from the 5th century
AD was found in the locality of Brücken-Hackpfüffel, in Saxony, in
which there were the sacrificed bodies of cattle, horses, dogs and six
young women, proving the persistence even of certain bloody rituals.
(from my book THE CUNNING HOMER..... now ready (may 2023))
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