Philinnion

Philinnion is a young vampiric entity which was recorded during the 2^nd Century AD.  The young female reportedly went back to the land of the living to visit a man named Machates who was a young man who stays at that time with her mother and father.  The undead incident with a shade of romance was documented in the works of Phlegon of Tralles in “Concerning Wondrous Things”.

The story started when the nurse of the household found Machates sleeping with a woman who has a striking similarity with the deceased daughter named Philinnion.   The parents of Machates were informed about what she saw and were alerted.  But despite of that they decided to do nothing and wait till morning.  The parents asked the young man about the beautiful girl and said she does not know about the death of their daughters.  She also told him that her name is Philinnion.

Philinnion gave him a ring and left behind a ribbon.  The parents were surprised to see that the ring was the same ring that their daughter was wearing when she was buried while the ribbon was tied to her in her coffin.  Machates agreed to help the parents into meeting their daughter once more.  But this time he believes that Philinnion is actually alive and on fine state.  While inside the room with the lover, the man signaled the parents, but they were scolded by the revenant in return.

“Cruel are you to grudge me a visit with a guest in my ownhome, doing no harm to anyone. You will grieve sorely for yourcuriosity for I must now return to the place that is appointed tome. It was against the will of god that I came here.”

The girl died and the family mourns for the second time.  The news about Philinnion returning from the grave quickly spreads throughout the village.  The people investigated the grave and realized that it is empty.  The authority found out that the body is in the home of the family.  He ordered them to burn the remains.  The story of Philinnion became an inspiration to the Goethe Ballad entitled Die Braut von Korinth or the Bride of Corinth.