You might think that the Stoics were above silly things like superstitions. After all, these were rational folks, serious people. Certainly, they wouldn’t believe in ghosts, right? They wouldn’t have time for something as juvenile as a ghost story, would they?
Well, as it happens, we do have a ghost story involving the Stoics, one that has been passed down for more than 2,000 years in fact. It involves Athenodorus, a fascinating but little known man, who we profile in Lives of the Stoics.
An advisor to the emperor Augustus, Athenodorus was living in a large mansion that was purported to be haunted. On the very first night in the house, Athenodorus was visited by a ghost clapped in irons and dragging heavy chains. There it was, the exact apparition he had been warned about. What did he do? Flee? Fall to his knees and pray? Not this Stoic! Instead, Athenodorus–in the middle of a writing session–motioned for the ghost to wait and returned to his work. Only when he had finished did he get up and follow the apparition into the courtyard, where it suddenly vanished.
Sensing this was a message, Athenodorus marked the spot where the ghost disappeared, returned to tidy up his desk, and then went to bed. In the morning, he had workers return to the spot and ordered them to dig. Beneath the dirt they found ancient bones in chains, which Athenodorus had reburied with honors in a public funeral. The ghost was never seen again, by him or any other resident of the house.
Did this really happen? Who knows (you can see our video about it here). But there was a reason Athenodorus told this story to the young king, who was reportedly easily scared and a big believer in the supernatural. He was trying to teach Augustus a lesson: Stoics must always keep their head. Don’t be scared by things that go bump in the night, don’t be thrown even by unexpected and surreal situations. Even these can be resolved with reason and courage, by calmness and fortitude and logic. And even if you believe in silly things like ghosts or superstitions, you can’t let your life be ruled by them.
You must be in charge—no excuses.
We can’t let anything rattle us. Today. Tomorrow. Whenever.
Happy Halloween!
