The Spartans idealized order throughout life, but also in death. Spartan funerary customs had the deceased laid to rest in unmarked graves that mingled with the living inside the city walls. Marked gravestones were reserved only for special cases, such as men who fell in battle or women who died while holding religious office (though some scholars suggest women who died in childbirth may have also been awarded such memorials). These were the only citizens deemed important enough to have their names engraved for posterity, on tombstones that were typically…
