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)

Rain of blood

479

With fearsome battle-cry
They closed; and wise Zeus, thundering aloud,
Let gouts of blood drop from the very sky—
War's signal to his own high-hearted son1.

^ilius Italicus, therefore, is following in the beaten track, when he
flakes Iupiter portend the death of Marcus Marcellus (in 208 B.C.)
y the downfall of blood-drops from a clear sky2. With other writers,
reek, Roman,and Byzantine, the portent passes into a commonplace
ch ^.eUS 01 ^uP'ter's ignored3. The same prodigy was repeatedly
r°nicled during the dark ages*. It has, indeed, attracted the

P ^xxvi. \y Schmid—O. Stahlin Geschichte der griechischen Literattir Miinchen 1929
j 1} argues for a date nearer to 600 than to soo B.C.
s £es- sc. Her. 382 ff.

3 j1'- ^ r5- 363 ff. with N. E. Lemaire's note ad loc.
pl«. ■ su"j°in in tabular form the time and place of each fall of blood-rain recorded by
Classi^l writers:

1 B.c. At Rome and at Laurentum after the murder of the Laurentine ambassadors
2 and of Titus Tatius (Plout. v. Rom. 24).

* At Rome in the Forum Boarium (Liv. 24. 10).

At Rome in the Forum, in the Comitium, and on the Capitol (Liv. 34. 45).
At Rome for two days on the Area Volcani (Liv. 39. 46. Iul. Obs. 59 = 4

under the date 183).

169 ^ Saturnia in Etruria for three days (Liv. 42. 20).
165 At Rome by day on the temple of Fortuna Primigenia (Liv. 43. 13).

°3

At Rome for two days on the Area Concordiae (Liv. 39. 56, Iul. Obs.

is, AA9=4)-

At Rome on the Area Volcani and on the Area Concordiae (Liv. 40. 19. It
seems probable that the portents of 184, 183, 181 were in reality the same
( occurrence variously dated).

At "

9

In the territory of Praeneste (Iul. Obs. 71 = 12).
128 At Amiternum (Iul. Obs. 86 = 27).
U + At Caere (Iul. Obs. 88 Lycosthenes).

ioC (PKn. nat. hist. 2. 147, Lyd. de ostent. prooem. 6 p. 13, 2 f. Wachsmuth).
,o4 (Iul- Obs. 101=41).

102 At Luna ir> Etruria (Iul. Obs. 103 =43).

.2 Round the river Anio (Iul. Obs. 104 = 44).

43 k R°me (Dion Cass- 4°- 47)-

37 } Rome (Cic- de div- *• a8- CP- 0v- ">d- Lv 788)-

3o j ' Aspis on the north coast of Africa (Dion Cass. 48. 52).

54 n Syp' portending the subjugation of its inhabitants (Dion Cass. 51. 17).

68 At H°me (?) portending the death of Claudius (Dion Cass. 60 (61). 35).

399 J1 tlle Alban territory portending the death of Nero (Dion Cass. 63. 26).

4 -j.^ 6 ore tne downfall of the eunuch Eutropius (Claud, in Eutrop. 2. 41).

6 blowing list will suffice:
A-t>. in v

'ranee (Sigebertus Gemblacensis ckronograpkia ed. L. C. Bethmann in
• H. Pertz Monumenta Germaniae historica Hannoverae 1844 viii
57o (Scnptores vi). 3,7).

wly, when the Lombards under Alboin invaded the land (C. Lycosthenes
Wolffhart) Piodigiomm ac ostentorum chronicon Basileae 1,557 P- 3°8)-