An ancient ghost story: Filinin &; Ma charters

In many of the oldest cultures, ghost stories have existed for thousands of years, usually appearing in similar forms and often involving the same theme. The writer Hewlett-Packard Kraft once wrote: "As people can naturally expect, forms and horror stories closely related to primitive emotions are as old as human thought and language itself." The desire of mankind to overcome death and eternal life is expressed through the stories of those who seem to have returned from the grave.

Nevertheless, for the ancients, these stories are not some psychological expression of human basic desires, but illustrate the reality of human beings. If the god who rules the underworld gives them special permission under appropriate circumstances, the dead can return to the land of the living.

Lamia

The story of Filignon and machat

One of the oldest stories in the West is the story of Philinen and Ma charters in ancient Rome, which was told by Flegon of Trales (2nd century A.D.) and Proclosus (5th century A.D.). It is reported that this story happened during the reign of Philip II of Macedonia (359-336 BC). In this story, the young girl Filignon is the daughter of Demeter stratos and Harito of Annapolis. She married a general named Craterus in Alexander's army and died six months after the wedding. Then, she appeared at her parents' home, where she "dated" a young man named Ma charters for three nights. He was a guest there.

Finally, when she was seen by the rest of the family and discovered by her parents, she claimed that her actions were recognized by the gods of the underworld and her parents should not interfere with her; After explaining it to her, she died for the second time. Her parents thought that this woman might be just an impostor like her dead daughter, and ordered her to open the grave and found her body missing. In addition, when she was together, the trinkets she gave Ma charters were the same as those she was buried with. Of course, these trinkets disappeared from the grave, and the gift he gave her on the night they were together was also found there. The conclusion is that, somehow, the purpose of Fellinin's resurrection is unknown.

Story background

There are many similarities between this story and the story about lamia. Lamia is a vampire, sucking the blood of the victims she seduced.

The story is written in the form of letters, and it provides enough details carefully, so it can be believed (the incident took place in the city of Hidden Princess Boris during the reign of Philip II), but it is not enough to make a person familiar with the specific details believe that the history of Hidden Princess Boris has reason to doubt.

It is said that this letter was written by Hipachas, the civil administration of Annapolis, to a friend and colleague named Ardyaus, asking him if he should report these incidents to the king. Phlegon chose a folk authority as his witness-narrator to encourage people to believe in the validity of the story. If the effect is not good enough, he will steadily increase the number of people who saw the resurrected Philinnion from one person (Machates) to two (nurses) until the whole community knows about it.

Theologian Deborah Prince wrote: "The story of Filignon is true. Buried after her death, a young woman secretly met a young man at night, which is the most powerful proof that more and more witnesses "(27). Prince pointed out that this ancient storytelling technique is very common in ancient works about strange events (wonderful events or miracles) to encourage readers to accept stories.

Naumatthews of Epirus was named as the source of the story by Fregon, and he seems to have used the same technology to provide some witnesses for the incident. Ferragon claimed that Naumachus was two centuries earlier than him. Scholars believe that if this is the case, the readers of Fregon's description of Ferinin will know the story, even if they hear different details in another form.

The existing manuscript lacks the beginning of the flegon version. The nurse who started in the house saw Fernin sitting on Ma charters's bed, but according to the scholar JR Morgan (in Hodgkinson's book), the audience in Ferigang didn't need to know the story at the beginning. They may already know the characters and drama situations, and they will read or listen to stories because they are very popular. This popularity continued and inspired Goethe's poem Die Braut von Korinth, which was published in A.D. 1797 and is still very popular today.

As an early vampire, Filignon

The story of Filinin and Ma charters is not considered as a ghost story by some people (including Goethe), because it has many similarities with the story about lamia. lamia is a vampire who sucks blood from the victim she seduced. Goethe's poetry is regarded as a classic of vampire literature, just like the ancient story that inspired it, although according to modern understanding, Filignon is not a vampire.

Fernin company. The story of Ma charters warns people not to trust anyone who comes back from the kingdom of death.

Ghosts in ancient Greece and Rome (and other cultures) are considered to need human blood to sustain their lives, while lamia is just a spirit more dangerous than others. The image of lamia appears in many cultural stories, especially the famous stories of Ning and Nie in China literature. The ghost of a vampire girl was deeply moved by Ning's virtue. She experienced a change of heart, was rescued from death and was reborn.

The text of the story

The story of Filinin and Ma charters did not provide such a happy ending. The following version of the story comes from Flanagan of Trales and is related in his Book of Miracles, which collects stories about ghosts and other events, which are defined as "supernatural phenomena" today. As mentioned above, the story begins with the nurse in the house. The woman who mainly raised Filignon saw her sitting on Macak's bed and ran to tell her parents:

The nurse walked to the door of the guest room. In the burning light, she saw the girl sitting next to Machat. Because of the particularity of this scene, she didn't wait there, but ran to the girl's mother and screamed, "Carlito! * * *! She said they should get up and go to see their daughter with her. She is still alive, and for some sacred purpose, she stays in the guest room with the guests.

When Harito heard this amazing report, the huge information and the excitement of the nurse made her feel scared and fainted. But after a while, she remembered her daughter and began to cry. Finally, she accused the old woman of being crazy and told her to leave at once. But the nurse replied boldly and reproachfully that she was sane, unlike the hostess who didn't want to see her daughter. Carido hesitated and walked to the door of the guest room, half frightened by the nurse and half wondering what had happened. Because it has been a long time since the nurse's initial information-about two hours, when Kharito walked to the door, it was a little late and the residents were already asleep. She stared. Although she recognized her daughter's clothes and looks, she decided not to do anything that night because she was not sure of the truth. She is going to get up in the morning and confront the girl, or if it is too late, she is going to ask Machac everything thoroughly. She thought that if she asked him such an important thing, he wouldn't lie. So she left without saying anything.

However, at dawn, the girl was not noticed by providence or accident. When Harito came to the room, she was very dissatisfied with the young man because the girl left. She asked him to connect everything with her from the beginning, telling the truth and not hiding it.

At first, the young people were a little anxious and confused, and hesitated to reveal the girl's name as Filignon. He described how her visit began and how much she longed for him. She said that she came to him without her parents knowing. To make it credible, he opened his safe and took out what the girl had left-the gold ring he got from her and the chest strap she left the night before.

When Harito saw the evidence, she let out a cry and tore her clothes. The headdress fell off her head, fell to the ground, threw herself on the token, and resumed her grief. The guests observed what happened, and everyone cried sadly, as if to send the girl to the grave. Frustrated, he called on them to stop and promised that if the girl came again, they would see her. Harito accepted this and told him to be careful to keep his promise to her.

When night fell, it was time for Filignon to come to him habitually. The family has been watching and wants to know her arrival. She came in as usual and sat on the bed. Machac pretended not to know, because he wanted to investigate the whole incredible thing, see his partner, and at the same time came to him carefully, whether he was really dead or not. She eats and drinks with him. He can't believe what others tell him. He thinks some grave robbers dug graves and sold clothes and gold to her father. But in order to find out what happened, he secretly sent his slaves to summon Demostratos and Karito.

They came quickly. When they first met her, they were speechless by the amazing sight, but then they burst into tears and hugged their daughter. Filignon said to them, "Mom and Dad, you resent me for staying at my dad's house for three days because I didn't bring pain to anyone. So, because of your meddling, your heart will break again, and I will go back to the place designated for me. Because I wouldn't be here without God's will. As soon as her voice fell, she died, obviously lying in bed. Her parents threw themselves at her. Because of this disaster, the family was in chaos and there were cries. The misfortune is unbearable, and the sight is unbelievable.

The story soon spread all over the city and was reported to me. So, I've been checking the people gathered in the house at night, because such news is passed on by word of mouth, and I want to make sure that nothing will happen.

At dawn, the town Council was crowded with people. After a detailed explanation, I decided to open it in front of the grave to see if the body was lying on the coffin or empty. Less than half a year after the girl died. When we opened the room where all the families of the deceased were placed, we saw the bodies lying on the coffin, or the bones of people who died a long time ago. But on the coffin where Filignon was placed, we only found the iron rings and gold-plated wine glasses belonging to the guests, which she got from machat on the first day.

We were frightened and immediately went to Demostratos' home to see if we could really see the body in the guest room. When we saw the dead girl lying on the ground, we gathered in * * * because the incident was so serious that it was unbelievable.

The meeting was so chaotic that almost no one could judge the incident. The first person to stand up is Hiilos, who is not only considered as the best prophet among us, but also an excellent fortune teller. On the whole, he showed extraordinary insight in craftsmanship. He said that we should burn the girl outside the city, because it is no good to bury her underground in the city, and we should also make an insulating sacrifice for Hermes Kotogni and Omendez. Then he stipulated that everyone should thoroughly purify himself, purify the temple and perform all the customs and ceremonies for the god Khthonion[. He also talked to me privately about kings and events, and told me to offer sacrifices to Hermes, Zeus, Senios and Ares, and to perform these ceremonies carefully. When he told us about it, we promised to abide by his rules. The guest visited by the ghost, Machatz, committed suicide in depression.

If you decide to write to the king about this matter, please tell me so that I can send someone to investigate it in detail. say goodbye to

conclusion

In addition to entertainment, this story will encourage the audience to believe in two important cultural values: the dead will continue to exist after death, and the living should remember and respect them, but don't consider entertaining them. The dead should stay in the afterlife. Every ancient civilization document clearly shows that the appearance of "ghosts"-except in dreams and under certain conditions-is a sign of serious mistakes.

This belief is eternal-it still exists today-the role of Hamlet in Shakespeare's play of the same name may be the best example. Hamlet suspects that the soul he saw on the wall, which is very similar to his father, may be a demon (Act II, lines 690-69 1). It is for this reason that he refused to take action (revenge for his father's death) as the ghost told him, because he knew that the devil might try to trick him into killing his uncle and curse him to go to hell.

Similarly, the stories of Filignon and Machat warn people not to trust anyone who comes back from the kingdom of death. There was no benefit from Fernin's visit, so Ma charters finally committed suicide. It is natural that the dead should continue to exist after death; However, if they come back, it is never a good idea to entertain them.