Epitaph

For other uses, see Epitaph (disambiguation). Not to be confused with Epigraph or Epithet.

Epitaph on the base of the Haymarket Martyrs' Monument, Waldheim Cemetery, Forest Park, Illinois

An epitaph (from Ancient Greek ἐπιτάφιος (epitáphios) 'a funeral oration'; from ἐπι- (epi-) 'at, over' and τάφος (táphos) 'tomb')[1][2] is a short text honoring a deceased person. Strictly speaking, it refers to text that is inscribed on a tombstone or plaque, but it may also be used in a figurative sense. Some epitaphs are specified by the person themselves before their death, while others are chosen by those responsible for the burial. An epitaph may be written in prose or in poem verse.

Most epitaphs are brief records of the family, and perhaps the career, of the deceased, often with a common expression of love or respect—for example, "beloved father of ..."—but others are more ambitious. From the Renaissance to the 19th century in Western culture, epitaphs for notable people became increasingly lengthy and pompous descriptions of their family origins, career, virtues and immediate family, often in Latin. Notably, the Laudatio Turiae, the longest known Ancient Roman epitaph, exceeds almost all of these at 180 lines; it celebrates the virtues of an honored wife (sometimes identified, but no generally accepted, as the Wife of consul Quintus Lucretius Vespillo[3]).

Some are quotes from holy texts, or aphorisms. One approach of many epitaphs is to "speak" to the reader and warn them about their own mortality. A wry trick of others is to request the reader to get off their resting place, inasmuch as the reader would have to be standing on the ground above the coffin to read the inscription. Some record achievements (e.g., past politicians note the years of their terms of office). Nearly all (excepting those where this is impossible by definition, such as the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier) note name, year or date of birth, and date of death. Many list family members and the relationship of the deceased to them (for example, "Father / Mother / Son / Daughter of").[4]

  1. ^ ἐπιτάφιος. Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; A Greek–English Lexicon at the Perseus Project
  2. ^ "epitaph". Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved 18 March 2012.
  3. ^ Badian, Ernst (1996). Hornblower, Simon; Spawforth, Antony (eds.). Oxford Classical Dictionary (3rd ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 822. ISBN 019866172X. ...has traditionally been assigned to this Turia, but this is now generally rejected and there are no good arguments for the identification.
  4. ^ Plessis, Paul J. du; Ando, Clifford; Tuori, Kaius, eds. (2016). The Oxford handbook of Roman law and society. Oxford handbooks. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-872868-9. OCLC 928443479.