Athens — the house Athenodorus rented, Pliny's ghost in chains

OVERVIEW

Athenodorus Cananites was a Stoic philosopher, born near Tarsus, a student of Posidonius and the teacher of the young Octavian. Pliny the Younger tells that Athenodorus rented a haunted house in Athens, wary because it was exceptionally cheap for its size.

HISTORY

Late at night, while Athenodorus was writing philosophy, a ghost bound with chains and leg irons came and beckoned him to follow. He signalled it to wait, finished his writing, and followed it to the courtyard, where it vanished. He marked the spot; the next day, with the city magistrates' permission, he had the ground dug and a skeleton of an old man in chains was found. After it was buried with full honours, the ghost was never seen in the house again.

REPORTED ACTIVITY

LEGEND. The story comes to us through Pliny the Younger, not from Athenodorus's own works, none of which survive; the article classes it as a folk-tale type (Aarne-Thompson-Uther 32). Where in Athens the house stood is not known, so the pin is general. The article gives no date for Pliny's letter, so no claim year is entered.

VISITING

There is no site to visit; the pin marks the city.