Epitaphs - tombstones on monuments

Tombstone inscriptions in honor of the deceased person are called epitaphs. Traditionally they are poetic, but they are found, for example, in the form of aphorisms or excerpts from sacred texts, which are easy to remember. The goal of many popular epitaphs was to get the reader to think, to warn him about his own mortality. Some of them people choose themselves during their lifetime, others - those who are responsible for the burial. It is known that many famous poets, among them William Shakespeare, Alexander Pope, composed for themselves epitaphs-poems.

Tombstone inscriptions evolve from poetry speeches, which were pronounced in honor of the deceased on the day of his funeral and were repeated on anniversaries. In ancient Greece and ancient Rome, they were formed into the genre of "epitaph" (from the Greek words "over" and "grave"). Later, in order to preserve the memory of other people who left the world, they were engraved on the monuments he had installed. Some were filled with pain and poetic tenderness, others - more than simple, although there were others who stated only the fact of death.

Tombstone inscriptions were diverse, in accordance with the cultural traditions of a particular people. So, the Romans were extremely attentive to the epitaphs. They could read interesting descriptions of deceased people about their military career, political or commercial activities, marital status, and the like. In general, there was praise for physical data and moral virtues. Short or long, poetic or prosaic, but all the funeral inscriptions reflect the feelings of relatives, friends of the deceased. Cicero, for example, at the grave of his daughter Tullius made a brief epitaph, in which the pain of loss is strongly felt: "Tulliola, Filiola" ("Tulliola, daughter").

Cemeteries are an excellent place and the most accessible source for studying the history of a community. Gravestones with the information they contain provide an ideal starting point for any genealogical research. Some of them can only have the names of the deceased and the dates of their lives, others include detailed stories about several generations of one family, relationships between people during life (husband, wife, son, sister, etc.), their professional activities. Tombstone inscriptions have long been popular with historians and genealogists. From the Renaissance to the nineteenth century, in Western European culture, for the deceased people who held high social positions during their lifetime, they were very long, describing the almost legendary origins of their families, containing information about their activities, praising virtues, and often providing information about close relatives.

Also interesting are the symbols of death engraved on the monuments, and not just the gravestones. Epitaphs store the memory of dead people, they emphasize the fact that everything and everything is dying. As a rule, it can be a skull with crossed bones, a bell that rings at a funeral, a coffin and an hourglass hinting that time does not stand and brings us closer to death, or an hourglass with wings, also symbolizing the running of time.