Tanatologia în spaţiul semitic
Thanatology in the semitic culture

Summary/Abstract: The present study is trying to highlight both the cult of the dead and the burial customs of the Semites. It also presents some facts concerning death in the myths of Gilgamesh and Adapa. In ancient times, death was seen as a shift towards another existential level, usually represented by means of symbols and images taken from earthly life. For instance, in Greek mythology death and sleep were depicted as twin brothers, and in platonic philosophy the body was merely a prison of the soul from which it could only escape through death. In Egyptian mythology the existence of life after death is admitted provided the three elements of the human being (body, soul and vitality) reunite after death. In the Middle East there is still a strong belief that the dead are still alive, death being simply the separation of the soul from the body. However, this is not a valid conception in the epopee of Gilgamesh, where the hero mourns the death of his friend Enkidu. Regarding the fear of death, Epicure tried to explain rationally that in spite of death being the most frightening thing in the world, it has no connection to the human being, because they exclude each other. Where there is life, there cannot be death and where death appears, life disappears, and so does the human being.

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