Cremation in Western Anatolia (Troad, Aeolis and Ionia) in antiquity

Both in the Ancient Greek Period and after, and during the time between the Ancient Period and the Upper Paleolithic period centuries ago; Every society that has created a conscious or unconscious awareness of death has tried to respect the deceased in the conditions of that period. After a certain time, they began to express this respect in a more formal way through a number of rituals. As a result, funeral rituals for during and after death have emerged. The ancient Hellenic society believed that a body that was not buried could never rest and find peace. They buried the body during these rituals so that the soul could make its journey, and believed that they sent the soul to eternal life by doing so. Burying the dead is so important in Hellenic society that one of the most severe punishments that can be given to a person who has committed a great and unforgivable crime in society is not to bury them when they die. On the contrary, when the body of an honorable soldier who died fighting, or someone who died far away could not be found or brought because of financial difficulties, they built Cenotaphs (empty monumental graves) representing the deceased in order to honor them. Burying the dead in the Ancient Greek Society was done in two ways. These are called Cremation (burial by burning) and Inhumation (direct burial). At first, simple inhumation burial was preferred, and over time, this type of burial has varied. Another form of burial that is seen in parallel with this and is undoubtedly the one that is most wanted to be questioned is cremation. Cremation has been preferred almost every period, even during periods when the types of inhumation burials have varied. Cremation, defined as the burning of the body, was not applied to infants and children, with the exception of questionable exceptional examples. In itself, cremation is varied as primary and secondary cremation. Primary cremation was carried out directly in the grave where the body was to be buried, while the secondary cremation was carried out by collecting the remaining ashes and bones after the body was cremated in the designated cremation area and placing them in urns, whose materials varied from period to period. Both the commercial and political communication of the societies that lived in Ancient Periods with each other and the forced migrations experienced at that time caused the societies to be influenced by each other not only from an economic aspect, but also in cultural and social terms. One of the areas where it is possible to follow and research these changes through written works and findings obtained as a result of excavations is the burial custom. It is possible to trace the perspectives of the Ancient Greek Society towards death and the behaviors they exhibited in this regard on the coast of Northwest Anatolia the systematic archaeological studies that are continuing today and the artifacts that have emerged. Keywords: Troas, İonia, Aeolis, Inhumation, Cremation, Burial Custom, Funeral Rituals, Grave, Ancient Greek