A Paranormal Guide to the Other Side

Ancient Spirits of Greece and Rome

This is my very first attempt at this kind of story, so it's a little short right now- as I get farther along, hopefully I can go back and find more information. As a disclaimer: I did use other sites to find the information you will read(at the end of the chapter); however I did not copy the information.

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Every civilization has folklore- this can include a form of belief in beings such as a higher power, demons, angels, and spirits. These are several of which, in mythology, are commonly written about.

The way the Greeks and Romans believed in ghosts is much like we do today- philosophers previously wrote about ghosts appearing to man both physically, and in other ways; such as a dream or vision.

This is a story first recorded by Pliny the Younger, an author who lived in ancient Rome. Pliny the Younger was raised by his uncle, Pliny the Elder. His writings included letters addressed to current reigning emperors or others such as Tacitus, a historian.

 There was a house in Athens that had an infamous reputation of being haunted. As time passed through the night, the sound of rattling chains was heard. This sound seemed to get closer and closer as the time passed.

When the sound was close enough to be right in front of the witness, a man- or spirit -would appear. Matching the sound, his arms and legs were twisted in iron chains that refrained much movement. The phantom appeared as an elderly man with a whiskered beard.

Those living in the house were unable to sleep in fear of the phantom. As their health depleted, they were driven to madness as resulting to deprivation. Even during the day, when they were free of the dead, they could not get rid of the memory of the spirit in chains, dragging through the house in the cold hours of the night.

Finally, the house was abandoned; thus, leaving the spirit alone

Knowing of the previous fate of those living in the house, the haunted manor was still put up for sale. At this time, a philosopher, called Athenodorus, had the intention of purchasing the house with complete understanding of the consequences.

The night he moved into the house, Athenodorus wrote. He wrote, even when he began to hear the rattling chains. When the spirit was close enough that it appeared, its same whiskered beard and suppressed movement of iron. The spirit was impatient, attempting to lead Athenodorus to him. Finally, the philosopher put his ink down, grabbed his lamp, and stood from his desk.

When he walked closer to the spirit, it began to drift, leading Athenodorus to the courtyard, before disappearing.

Athenodorus grabbed a handful of leaves and placed them in the spot where the spirit vanished. The next day, he ordered the spot to be dug up.

In place of the pile of leaves, a skeleton was found. When the remains were put to rest, the house was as well, and the spirit in chains was never again seen in the manor it haunted.

In this situation, the spirit was held hostage to the earth after not receiving a proper burial. A spirit also may not be put to rest for vengeful reasons. In a story told by Apuleius, a man named Thrasyllus falls in love with the wife of his best friend, Tlepolemus. While hunting, Thrasyllus murders Tlepolemus. One night when the wife was asleep, her dead husband appears to her in a dream, and tells about his death. Tlepolemus asks his wife to avenge his death and murder Thrasyllus. Later, a night when Thrasyllus is invited to visit her, she poisons him, prompting him to fall asleep. When the drug in the wine does its damage, she ties him up, finishing with her own hairpin, and runs to her husbands tomb. After she explains to her dead husband what she has done, she kills herself with a sword. Thrasyllus follows her to the same place, and starves to death.

This next account is written by Plutarch, who wrote about the city Chaeronea, Greece.

In Chaeronea, Greece, there was a Roman soldier who supposedly loved a Greek boy named Damon. The soldier's attraction to him angered Damon, leading him and his friends to attack him. The city sentenced the group to death. Because of this, Damon killed the member of the council. Damon ran from the town; however, was killed later in a bathhouse.

This is quoted from Plutarch's writings: "And because, for a long while thereafter, certain phantoms appeared in the place, and groans were heard there, as our Fathers tell us, the door of the vapour-bath was walled up, and to this present time, the neighbours think it the source of alarming sights and sounds." 

Also quoted, "...even to this day those who live in the neighbourhood believe that they sometimes see spectres and hear alarming sounds."

This was written in Cimon, by Plutarch in 75 A.D.

Greek and Roman Afterlife

In ancient times, Greeks and Romans believed in polytheism, or that there were multiple gods, apart from monotheism, the belief in one god. When a loved one died, a family member would place a coin into the mouth of the deceased, as a sign of respect to the gods. They would take a "ferry" across the River Styx, guided by Charon, that led them into the underworld. On the other side, they would encounter Cerberus, a three-headed dog, and then a line of judges. These judges would tell them the account of the life they lived- before deciding what they deserved. When the end was reached, the deceased soul would drink a cup of the water from the River Lethe, leading them to forget the life they led on Earth. When all was forgotten, the judges would give the soul a location to spend eternity. Elysian Fields, if they died as a hero; the fields of Asphodel, if they lived a normal life of good; or to the pit of Tartarus, if they had lived a live of evil. This was until the soul paid the debt of their sin.

Sources:

http://ancientstandard.com

http://www.ancient.eu

http://www.livescience.com/48515-10-haunted-house-ghost-stories.html

http://classics.mit.edu/Plutarch/cimon.html