Suicide in antiquity
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Suicide was a widespread occurrence in antiquity across cultures. There were many different methods and reasons for committing suicide, and these vary across place and time. The origins of modern mora
Jacques-Louis David, The Death of Socrates, 1787
Pieter Bruegel the Elder, The Death of Saul (detail), 1562
Sati (practice)
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Sati or suttee is a chiefly historical Hindu practice in which a widow burns alive on her deceased husband's funeral pyre, either voluntarily, by coercion, or by a perception of the lack of satisfacto
Suicide in antiquity
…of a community because their menfolk suffered defeat in battle, and the women feared retribution, rape, enslavement, or worse by the enemy soldiers. Sati was the self-immolation of a widow on the funeral pyre of her husband, or her suicide following, the pretexts varying, whether for emotional, religious…
Aquatint from the early 19th century purporting to show ritual preparation for the immolation of a Hindu widow—shown in a white sari near the water—on the funeral pyre of her deceased husband.
The Sati of Ramabai, wife of Peshwa Madhavrao I in 1772
Orchha Sati Shrine
The Eran inscription of Goparaja is considered as the earliest known Sati stone in India (circa 510 CE). The inscription explains: he "went to heaven, becoming equal to Indra, the best of the gods; and [his] devoted, attached, beloved, and beauteous wife, clinging [to him], entered into the mass of fire (funeral pyre)".