Alien Space Gods Of Ancient Greece and Rome (48 page)

Edward Gibbon critical of those confused times states
:

‘The ancient Christians were animated by a contempt for their present existence, and by a just confidence of immortality of which doubtful and imperfect faith of modem ages cannot give us any adequate notion.... It was universally believed that the end of the world, and the kingdom of heaven, were at hand. The near approach of this wonderful event had been predicted by the apostles, the tradition of it was preserved by their earliest disciples, and those who understood in their literal sense the discourses of Christ himself, were obliged to expect the second and glorious coming of the Son of Man in the clouds before that generation was totally extinguished which had beheld his humble condition upon earth and might still be witness of the calamities of the Jews under Vespasian or Hadrian.’

Most Christians believed that at any moment Christ with a triumphant band of Saints would descend from heaven in glory to reign for a thousand years in the New Jerusalem, a wondrous city of gold and precious stones in a Garden of Eden. This fervent expectation led people to scan the skies with an eagerness transcending even our own UFO watchers so hopeful today.
Very  few records of those troubled centuries now remain; the following sightings must be typical of many since lost to us.

Celestials apparently continued to haunt the skies.

AD 71 'Moreover in the East and West two suns were seen at the same time, of which one was faint and pallid, the other powerful and clear.' (Lycosthenes.)

Pliny, in
'Historia Naturalis'
, Book II, CXXI3, states
:

AD 76 ‘There are also stars that suddenly come to birth in the heaven itself..."Javelin-stars" quiver like a dart, these are a very terrible portent. To this class belongs the comet about which Titus Imperator Caesar in his consulship wrote about in his famous poem, that being its latest appearance down to the present day. The same stars when shorter and sloping to a point have been called "Daggers". These are the palest of all in colour and have a gleam like the flash of a sword and no rays...'

Today such stars that suddenly come to birth and look like 'Javelins' would be considered UFOs, possibly Spaceships.

AD 98 ‘At Tarquinia, an old town In
Campania
,
Italy
, a burning torch was seen all about the sky. It suddenly fell down. At sunset a burning shield passed over the sky at
Rome
. It came sparkling from the west and passed to the east.' (Lycosthcnes.)

That philosopher-Emperor, Marcus Aurelius, like Lucullus against Mithridates two centuries earlier, had cause to thank the heavens. Dio Cassius in his
'Roman History'
, Vol. LXXII states
:

AD 174 'During a great battle against the Quadri, Marcus Aurelius feared for his whole army, a whole legion of Christians prayed to their God, who immediately gave car and smote the enemy with a thunderbolt and comforted the Romans with a shower of rain. Marcus was greatly astonished at this, and not only honoured the Christians by an official decree but also named their legion the "Thundering" Legion.  Numerous thunderbolts fell into the ranks of the foe, water and fire descending simultaneously consumed the barbarians. The rain like oil made the fires spread.'

The brilliant Peter Kolosimo quoting his erudite friends, Renato Gatti and Roberto Pinotti states
:

AD 192 'During the reign of Commodius a particularly bright object crossed the sky; the historian, Elio Lampridio, hints at it; he is one of the "scriptores historiae augustae" and is in his "Life of Commodus". Herodian, too, in his "
History of the Empire after Marcus Aurelius
" supports this with "There were many marvels in those days ... stars were seen in mid-air and in broad daylight." (Book 1).

AD 193 'Emperor Pertinax during the three months of his brief reign, had some coins minted not with the imprint of some star or other (a common motif when it was a question of immortalising events considered to be supernatural) but with a real sphere complete with strange antennae like those of our own artificial satellites.'

The same money shows a woman raising her hands to what appears to be an unidentified flying globe.
The successor to Pertinax, Didius Julian us, reigned only
sixty-one days and was beheaded like a common criminal. Dio Cassius commenting on the conspiracy states:

AD 193 ‘Three men attempted to secure control of affairs.
Severus
,
Niger
and Aibinus.  These were the three men portended by the three stars that suddenly came to view surrounding the sun when Julianus in our presence was offering the sacrifices of entrance in front of the Senate House. These stars were so very distinct that the soldiers kept continually looking at them and pointing them out to one another, declaring that some dreadful fate would befall the Emperor.’ (Book LXXXIV.)

AD 217 'A great fire filled the entire interior of the
temple
of
Serapis
at
Alexandria
but did no damage beyond destroying the sword with which Antoninus had slain his brother. In
Rome
moreover, a spirit having the appearance of a man led an ass to the palace seeking its master as he claimed and stating that Antoninus was dead and Jupiter was now Emperor. Upon being arrested for this and sent by Matermianus to Antoninus, he said "I go as you bid, but I shall face not this Emperor but another." And when he reached
Capua
he vanished.' (Dio Cassius. Vol. XI. Book LXXEX.)

Three years later the Celestials aided the Japanese Empress Jingo to invade
Korea
.

AD 230 'Armies of footmen and horses were seen in the air over
London
and other places in
England
. They were fighting. This was in the time of the Roman Emperor Alexander Severus.'

AD 249 'When Decius ascended the throne of the
Roman Empire
it rained blood in
Britain
, and a terrible bloody sword was seen in the air for three nights, soon after sunset.'

Harold Wilkins quotes these two intriguing sightings from a little-known
'History of
England
'
written long ago by John Sellers.

AD 268 ‘Amid the barren deserts of
Arabia
a few cultivated spots rise like islands out of the sandy ocean.
Palmyra
, a fine city of white marble with a magnificent
temple
of
Baal
, was an opulent centre on the caravan-routes between the
Persian Gulf
and the
Mediterranean
bringing the rich commodities of
India
to the West; its beauteous Queen, Zenobia, became a living legend, esteemed the most lovely of her sex. Edward Gibbon marvelled that Zenobia 'equalled in beauty her ancestor, Cleopatra, and far surpassed that princess in chastity and valour. She was of dark complexion, her teeth were of a pearly whiteness and her large black eyes sparkled with uncommon fire, tempered by the most attractive sweetness. Her voice was strong and harmonious. Her manly understanding was strengthened and adorned by study.’

An exotic Queen boasting fabulous beauty tutored by the philosopher, Longinus, ruling a wonderful desert city seventeen hundred years ago. Did this alluring siren attract the Spacemen?

The Italian scholar, Alberto Fenoglio, tells a fascinating tale, which we translate with pleasure, if not conviction.

'On a day not determined, to the astounded and terrified eyes of the people of Palmyra and of the merchants, always numerous, since the caravans which traded between Egypt and Persia thus linking Africa and Asia, had to pause in the City of Palms, there appeared two great fiery spheres which rotated one near to the other and than suddenly separated while long flashes criss-crossed. One of the spheres, as if feeling itself in danger, came down passing at lightning-speed over the city, so that the temperature suddenly increased and many palm-trees withered. The duel continued for some time with pursuits and flashing discharges, until one of the globes was transformed into an enormous cloud and from it fell stones or bits of the disintegrated object which sank into the sand, while the other globe disappeared high in the sky.’

Four years later the legions of Aurelian stormed
Palmyra
. Zenobia fled on her fleetest dromedary but was overtaken by Roman cavalry and later displayed in Aurelian's spectacular triumph at
Rome
. The beauteous figure of Zenobia was confined by fetters of gold, a slave supported the gold chain which encircled her neck and she almost fainted under the intolerable weight of jewels. Aurelian presented Zenobia with an elegant villa at
Tivoli
where according to Gibbon she insensibly sank into a Roman matron.

AD 312,
Constantine
, surnamed the Great, Master of the West fought with Emperor Maxentius for possession of
Italy
and marched on
Rome
. Still a pagan he sought support from the Christians. In the graphic words of his biographer, Eusebius, Bishop of Caesarea:

'He called upon this God therefore in his prayers entreating and beseeching him that whatever he was, he would manifest himself to him and reach out his right hand (to his assistance) in his present affairs. Whilst the Emperor was putting up these prayers and earnest supplication, a most wonderful Sign from God appeared, which (Sign) had any other person given a relation of it, would not easily have been received as true. But since the Victorious Emperor himself told it to us who write this history, a long while after, namely at such time as we were vouchsafed his knowledge and converse and confirmed his relation with an oath, who will hereafter doubt of giving credit to his narrative? Especially when the succeeding times gave an evident attestation to this Relation. About the Meridian hours of the Sun, when day was declining, he said he saw with his own eyes the Trophy of the Cross in the heavens, placed over the Sun made up of light and an inscription annexed to it containing the words BY THIS I CONQUER and that at the sight thereof an amazement seized both him and all his Military Forces which followed him as he was making a journey some whither and were spectators of the Miracle.'

Edward Gibbon, somewhat sceptical, grumbles because the credulous Eusebius forgot to question witnesses, yet he grudgingly admits, ‘This amazing object in the sky astonished the whole army as well as the Emperor himself, who was yet undetermined in the choice of a religion, but his astonishment was converted into faith by the vision on the ensuing night Christ appeared before his eyes, and displaying the same celestial sign of the cross, he directed Constantine to frame a similar standard and to march with an assurance of victory against Maxentius and all his enemies.’