Funeral games

Funeral games are athletic competitions held in honor of a recently deceased person. The celebration of funeral games was common to a number of ancient civilizations. Athletics and games such as wrestling are depicted on Sumerian statues dating from approximately 2600 BC, and funeral games are depicted in early Greek vases, such as the Francois vase at Florence and the Amphiaraus vase in Berlin. In some accounts, funeral games were not merely held to honor the deceased, but in order to propitiate the spirits of those who had died.