THEME FUNERARY PRACTICES IN ANCIENT ROME
The series of tombs along the Appian Way is one of the most representative examples of how grave monuments contribute to conveying the memory of both famous and lesser-known individuals. In the Republic, the area became typically associated with the commemoration of the dead, whose remains could not be buried inside the city's boundaries (Cicero, On the Laws 2.23.58). Walking along the road, one would see, among the earlier monuments, the Tomb of the Scipiones, which received the bodies of some of the most famous magistrates and generals of Rome. A hypogeum with numerous underground galleries built between the third and second century BC, the tomb not only led the trend in the use of such monuments to emphasize the public roles of the individuals buried within, it also anticipated imperial practice in the use of grave monuments to demonstrate importance and opulence.
The road to the afterlife
As is usual nowadays, before reaching their final resting places, the deceased were remembered and celebrated with the funeral, whose grandeur would vary according to the social role of the newly dead. The funerary rites, especially those of Roman aristocracy, were not only a channel to remember the identity, fame, and deeds of the deceased, but also an efficient way of displaying their wealth. The Greek historian Polybius provides us with the most detailed description of the Roman funeral (6.53–4), highlighting) in the funeral procession ().
