12-31-2005, 08:24 PM
Quote:Flavia:Thank you so much for replying the story I have comes from York. I had a painting of a roman soldier 1st cent armour done by an artist who was born in York England. When his 92 yr old father saw it he said I never told you but one of them used to visit me when I was a child in my bedroom and I would talk to him. His parents thought he was telling stories. When he asked the sildier what his sword wascalled he replied " Jani" a form of the word Janus the god of portals life death etc I guess What do you think?
Good luck. I say this because the Romans had a very different view of the living and the dead than we do. It seems that to them the so called spirits of the dead were never that far away. They could help or hinder ones everyday life. They were often worshipped, or at least prayed to. Sorry for the sweeping generalizations. A "visit" from a dead ancestor was a not uncommon motif amongst the romans.
The atomists, such as Lucretius explained "ghosts" in terms of atoms (De rerum natura IV, 45f, 84f, 721f).
A specific "ghost story" in the modern sense can be found in one of the leters of Pliny, letter VII, 27. Pliny's may be the best known example. This is probably the closest to what you are looking for.
Someone else, can not remember who, may be the satirist Lucian, has a number of "ghost" stories.
Kevin
