Abstract
The article analyses the practice of secondary burials as part of the funeral and memorial rite in modern Greece. Secondary burial in this case is defined as the exhumation of the remains from the grave after a certain time and their reburial in the ossuary. The article includes the description of the practice in modern Greece (based on author’s field materials) and comparative analysis of the rite in its traditional and modern forms. It is concluded that secondary burials as part of the modern funeral rite represent a transformation of the rural tradition. In traditional culture the transfer of the bones of the deceased to the ossuary was considered the final stage of the funeral rite, and was perceived positively as a part of the ancestor worship. In modern urban conditions, on the other hand, these reburials are carried out involuntarily (due to the lack of cemeteries in big cities) and have not such an unambiguous reception.
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