Ancient Greece .26 Rome Ceremonial use of lights

terracotta oil lamp representing serapis (british museum).

the greeks , romans, too, had sacred fire , ceremonial lights. in greece lampadedromia or lampadephoria (torch-race) had origin in greek ceremonies, connected relighting of sacred fire. pausanias mentions golden lamp made callimachus burned night , day in sanctuary of athena polias on acropolis, , tells of statue of hermes agoraios, in market-place of pharae in achaea, before lamps lighted. among romans lighted candles , lamps formed part of cult of domestic tutelary deities; on festivals doors garlanded , lamps lighted. in cult of isis lamps lighted day. in ordinary temples candelabra, e.g. in temple of apollo palatinus @ rome, taken alexander thebes, in form of tree branches of lights hung fruit. lamps in pagan temples not symbolical, votive offerings gods. torches , lamps carried in religious processions.

lamps dead

the pagan custom of burying lamps dead provide dead means of obtaining light in next world; lamps part unlighted. of asiatic origin, traces of having been observed in phoenicia , in punic colonies, not in egypt or greece. in europe confined countries under domination of rome.