Thanks nickcarraway.
Posted on 05/03/2021 1:13:44 AM PDT by nickcarraway
An ancient cemetery for infants in Astypalea. Credit: Dodecanese Ephorate of Antiquities The study of the largest ancient cemetery for infants found on Astypalea island in Greece continues, shedding light on the worship of the goddess of childbirth and the Earth mother.
The Dodecanese Ephorate of Antiquities that is carrying out the study has found that almost all the infants buried there were newborns or, at most, a few months old. There are also a few toddlers that were up to two years of age.
The bodies of the babies were placed in ceramic containers, mainly amphorae or hydrias, whichwere buried in shallow pits with stones on top, which indicated that there was a tomb there.
Burial of newborns and babies in such receptacles was a rather common way of burial in ancient times.
What distinguishes the infants’ cemetery of Astypalea is the huge number of tombs and its use for almost an entire millennium.
History of the Astypalea cemetery for infants
Archaeologists found that burials in the Astypalea cemetery for infants began in the 8th century BC and continued into the 2nd century AD, in the imperial Roman era.
So far, a total of 3,000 vessels containing the skeletons of babies have been excavated, but many more are buried in the cemetery.
With few exceptions, the tombs did not contain favorite objects of the dead, which was common for newborns and infants since they were not considered “full” persons at that point, thus were not buried ceremoniously and traditionally as all adults were.
The number of tombs and the fact that the containers come from various parts of the Mediterranean indicate that it is possible that many of the infants did not belong to Astypalea’s inhabitants.
There are various theories as to why ancient Astypalea was chosen as the place to bury so very many infants.
The uniqueness of the Kylindra area on the island lies in the fact that it is a burial ground exclusively for newborns and infants, most of whom died at birth.
Such a large cemetery for infants is certainly not justified by the size of the island’s population. There was a city there, but it was not one of the most important in ancient Greece.
The most realistic theory for the existence of a cemetery for infants on the island is that there could have been a sanctuary on Astypalea where women went to give birth.
Indeed, inscriptions have been found on the island that mention not only Asclepius, the god of medicine, but also Eileithyia, the goddess of childbirth and midwifery.
The goddess of childbirth helped women give birth and endure its great pains. She was also worshiped as a goddess who takes care of newborns.
The latter seems more likely to be associated with the presence of newborns and infants on the island. Such sanctuaries existed in other parts of the Greek world, but perhaps that of Astypalea was one of the most famous and had pan-Hellenic significance.
Thus, women who were not from Astypalea would prefer to give birth there, much like, for example, patients from all over Greece would visit the Asclepieion of Epidaurus for cures of their diseases.
It is even possible that there were doctors specializing in obstetrics in the sanctuaries of Eileithyia, something that would be especially helpful to midwives at a time when childbirth was particularly dangerous and many newborns and mothers died in the process.
Even under these conditions, many newborns would die in the sanctuary, and perhaps these were the ones who were buried in the cemetery of Astypalea.
Eileithyia had many sanctuaries in Crete. The most famous places of her worship were in Amnisos, Olounda, Diktynnaio and Inato, but the main seat of the goddess was in ancient Lato.
Ping
Maybe child sacrifice.
Thanks nickcarraway.
“The number of tombs and the fact that the containers come from various parts of the Mediterranean indicate that it is possible that many of the infants did not belong to Astypalea’s inhabitants.”
Can you say Satanic rituals? I knew you could. Pure evil!
Or just preindustrial infant mortality rates. If you go to any cemetery that has been operating from the beginning of the 20 th century, or before, you will see a lot of headstones for infants.
3000 Graves so far?
Many more?
Perhaps 10000?
Over a millennia?
10 per year on average?
On an island specializing in childbirth?
Also the children were buried in jars from different areas of the Mediterranean?
There was that little thing called trade.
In ancient Greece, you could kill a child up to the age of two....if they were unwanted, inconvenient...didn’t matter. I studied this years ago. How could they have “forgotten” it? All cultures are not the same.
Yes, If an infant was deformed, or considered less than perfect in some way, I understood the practice was to bury them in a jar as a way to dispose of them.
The Viking upper classes had similar ideas: after birth the child was presented to the father; if he considered that it simply wasn’t up to scratch in any way, then out it went. (The babes were just abandoned in the forests).
Life was tough in those days - slavery was widespread - and they couldn’t afford to support the less able!
Yes. Infanticide was practiced by many different cultures....I lived in Japan and visited just such a “burial” temple dedicated to infants only. In Hawaii, they used to also dispose of “less than perfect” children. The practice is worldwide. It surprised me at the obfuscation lens placed upon this article. It is a growing trend to see the past through “today’s eyes”. It gives a false narrative of history. We are doomed to repeat what we forget.
The Jews were the only ancient civilization that did not practice this abomination and they were considered weird by the rest of the ancient world for not doing so.
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