Cook, Arthur B.: Zeus: a study in ancient religion (Band 3,1): Zeus god of the dark sky (earthquake, clouds, wind, dew, rain, meteorits): Text and notes (Cambridge, 1940)

326 The relation of rain to Zeus

it for no other reason (for no other is reported) than because of the incident
that occurred in this very war1. It was precisely this incident that saved
the Romans on this occasion and brought destruction upon the barbarians,
and not Arnuphis, the magician; for Marcus is not reported to have taken
pleasure in the company of magicians or in witchcraft. Now the incident I have
reference to is this: Marcus had a division of soldiers (the Romans call a division
a legion) from Melitene; and these people are all worshippers of Christ. Now
it is stated that in this battle, when Marcus found himself at a loss what to do
in the circumstances and feared for his whole army, the prefect approached him
and told him that those who are called Christians can accomplish anything
whatever by their prayers and that in the army there chanced to be a whole
division of this sect. Marcus on hearing this appealed to them to pray to their
God; and when they had prayed, their God immediately gave ear and smote the
enemy with a thunderbolt and comforted the Romans with a shower of ram-
Marcus was greatly astonished at this and not only honoured the Christians by
an official decree but also named the legion the "Thundering" Legion. It 15
also reported that there is a letter of Marcus extant on the subject But the
Greeks, though they know that the division was called the "Thundering" Legion
and themselves bear witness to the fact, nevertheless make no statement whatever
about the reason for its name.

Dio goes on to say that] when the rain poured down, at first all turned their
faces upwards and received the water in their mouths; then some held out their
shields and some their helmets to catch it, and they not only took deep draughts
themselves but also gave their horses to drink. And when the barbarians now
charged upon them, they drank and fought at the same time; and some, becoming
wounded, actually gulped down the blood that flowed into their helmets, along
with the water. So intent, indeed, were most of them on drinking that they
would have suffered severely from the enemy's onset, had not a violent hail-st01
and numerous thunderbolts fallen upon the ranks of the foe. Thus in one an
the same place one might have beheld water and fire descending from the s
simultaneously; so that while those on the one side were being drenched an^
drinking, the others were being consumed by fire and dying; and while
fire, on the one hand, did not touch the Romans, but, if it fell anywhere am «
them, was immediately extinguished, the shower, on the other hand, di ^
barbarians no good, but, like so much oil, actually fed the flames that
consuming them, and they had to search for water even while being <fren
with rain. Some wounded themselves in order to quench the fire with ^

blood, and others rushed over to the side of the Romans, convinced that

"He wa^

alone had the saving water; in any case Marcus took pity on them. « g
now saluted imperator by the soldiers, for the seventh time ; and altll0U^e]eSs
was not wont to accept any such honour before the senate voted it, nevei
this time he took it as a gift from Heaven, and he sent a despatch to the s

This passage together with other ancient allusions to the ^
event has in modern times given rise to a lively, not to sa^ &5
monious, controversy2. The upshot of the matter appears to

D. Vaglieri in ^USB

1 In reality the name goes back to the time of Augustus (see
Dizion. epi%r. hi. 335, E. Ritterling in Pauly—Wissowa Real-Enc. xii. i7'°)