The Curious Case of Athenodorus

The Curious Case of Athenodorus

From Deep into History by Deep into History

October 13, 2025 · 13 min

About this episode

This episode explores the ancient inquiry into the paranormal through the ghost stories recounted by Pliny the Younger.

The spooky season is upon us. Halloween, the time when the veil between the living world and what comes next is at its thinnest. According to legend a time when ghosts, ghouls, spirits, and otherworldly creatures are able to materialize and interact with us. Today I bring you the account of an ancient inquiry into the paranormal from the 1st Century CE. It comes to us from a letter written to a dear friend from the lawyer, author, and magistrate of the Roman Empire Pliny the Younger. In it he is desperate to discover if Ghosts are real, fore he fears that they are. He gives us a priceless retelling of three ghost stories. The first two are second hand reports from Carthage in Africa and Athens in Greece. Then one from his household which chilled him to his core and forced him to consult his most learned friend Sura. The most famous of the three by far is the account of the ghost that haunted a beautiful villa in Athens. Once the specter appeared the owners abandoned the property, could not sell it, and tried to rent it out to recover as least some of its value. Instead every one it was rented to was terrorized each night by the ghost. The tale of the evil spirit and the curse it…

Topics covered

  • ghosts
  • paranormal
  • ancient history
  • Pliny the Younger
  • Athenodorus

Keywords

  • Halloween
  • 1st Century CE
  • Carthage
  • Athens
  • villa
  • evil spirit

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: The Curious Case of Athenodorus, Sad Dramatic March, Epidemic Sound Hosted

Places: Carthage, Africa, Athens, Greece

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