Taking care - Greek colonies

The active role of women at funerals and, especially in relation to  the care of the dead and the tombs, was part of the duties of caring for family members who considered themselves of women in Greek cities. Death represented a transitional phase in the life of a family in which women, who were responsibles of the basic maintenance tasks of the group, were protagonists of various ritual activities.

The deceased person was released through keening , and since men had to show tight control of their emotions, women were responsible for expressing the family's grief for the loss. The involvement of women in the treatment of death lasted for years at subsequent visits to cemeteries. Women cared to decorate the graves with garlands or ribbons and keep them as a symbol of the relationship between living and dead members of the family unit. Women's activities related to the funeral and the tomb were part of the role that women assumed in the ritual practices that indicated specific times of the life cycle of the family.