Concept in Definition ABC

Like many other words, cenotaph comes from the Greek. It is formed by the root kenos, which means emptiness, and by taphos, which means grave. Therefore, a cenotaph is a tomb in which there is no deceased person.

In many national pantheons around the world there are some of this type of burial, since the graves of famous people have simply a value symbolic and they do not incorporate the corpse of the illustrious individual.

What is important in these tombs is the honorific meaning and the memory of a person, regardless of where their authentic remains are.

The first cenotaphs are historically located in Ancient Egypt and since then these symbolic buildings They are present in all civilizations, especially to remember those who died in wars or to honor the memory of some illustrious personage.

Famous cenotaphs

- The Italian poet Dante Alighieri has an honorary tomb in the Church of Santa Croce in Florence, since his real tomb is in the city of Ravenna.

- The innumerable tombs dedicated to the unknown soldier are also examples of cenotaphs. A large number of ancient Egyptian pharaohs are remembered in this type of burial.

- In the city of Jaisalmer in India there is a collective burial called Bada Bahg and it is symbolic constructions of a funerary type. In this sense, they have the appearance of graves, but in reality the corpses were cremated to throw their ashes into the river.

- In the city of Madrid there is a monument that remembers the national heroes who resisted the attack of the French during the episode of May 2, 1808.

- In Argentina there is a similar monument to commemorate those who died in the 1982 Falklands War.

Cenotaph, epitaph and other words related to death

Cenotaph and epitaph share the Greek word taphos. Thus, a cenotaph indicates that the tomb is empty and an epitaph is an inscription on a tomb with which it is intended to honor the deceased. In both cases there is a component of I respect towards the deceased person.

There are epitaphs for all tastes. There are ironic ones like Groucho's Marx (Excuse me not getting up and), poetic like Immanuel Kant's ("the starry sky above me", "the lawmoral in me ”) and emotional like Jimi Hendrix's (“ we'll see you in the next life, baby ”. "Do not delay").

A deceased is a dead person, but this word is used to indicate that the deceased died violently.

In Spanish the word interfecto is also used in this sense.

In the context of sexual fixations or paraphilias there is necrophilia, which consists of obtaining sexual pleasure with corpses.

Finally, thanatology is the discipline that studies everything related to death.

Photo: Fotolia - kmiragaya

Themes in Cenotaph