“EMOTIONAL PERFORMANCES” IN ANCIENT GREECE: THE MOURNING THROUGHTHE BODY (8TH-5TH CENTURIES B.C.)

Pain and the grieving process for men and women demand a transformation of the body: crying, chanting the funeral lamentation, getting dirty and cutting hair are part of a social presentation of mourning for the deceased. Considering these issues and having in mind a History of Emotions, we propose a reflection on the “emotional performance” in funeral contexts, with emphasis on the speeches and practices of imputating of mourning in the visual sphere, that is, the transformation of their bodies before society. In this article we analyze the Homeric epics and list some tragedies in order to understand the mourning behavior of men and women in Hellas and their relationship with the body as a vector of an “emotional performance”.