| Before Christ. | ||
|---|---|---|
| 754 | July 5 | But according to an old Calendar this Eclipse of the Sun was on the 21st of April, on which day the Foundations of Rome were laid if we may believe Taruntius Firmanus. |
| 721 | March 19 | A total Eclipse of the Moon. The Assyrian Empire at an end; the Babylonian established. |
| 585 | May 28 | An Eclipse of the Sun foretold by Thales, by which a peace was brought about between the Medes and Lydians. |
| 523 | July 16 | An Eclipse of the Moon, which was followed by the death of Cambyses. |
| 502 | Nov. 19 | An Eclipse of the Moon, which was followed by the slaughter of the Sabines, and death of Valerius Publicola. |
| 463 | April 30 | An Eclipse of the Sun. The Persian war, and the falling off of the Persians from the Egyptians. |
| 431 | April 25 | An Eclipse of the Moon, which was followed by a great famine at Rome; and the beginning of the Peloponnesian war. |
| 431 | August 3 | A total Eclipse of the Sun. A Comet and Plague at Athens[[74]]. |
| 413 | Aug. 27 | A total Eclipse of the Moon. Nicias with his ship destroyed at Syracuse. |
| 394 | Aug. 14 | An Eclipse of the Sun. The Persians beat by Conon in a sea engagement. |
| 168 | June 21 | A total Eclipse of the Moon. The next day Perseus King of Macedonia was conquered by Paulus Emilius. |
| After Christ. | ||
| 59 | April 30 | An Eclipse of the Sun. This is reckoned among the prodigies, on account of the murther of Agrippinus by Nero. |
| 237 | April 12 | A total Eclipse of the Sun. A sign that the reign of the Gordiani would not continue long. A sixth persecution of the Christians. |
| 306 | July 27 | An Eclipse of the Sun. The Stars were seen, and the Emperor Constantius died. |
| 840 | May 4 | A dreadful Eclipse of the Sun. And Lewis the Pious died within six months after it. |
| 1009 | ---- | An Eclipse of the Sun. And Jerusalem taken by the Saracens. |
| 1133 | Aug. 2 | A terrible Eclipse of the Sun. The Stars were seen. A schism in the church, occasioned by there being three Popes at once. |
Plate XI.
J. Ferguson delin.
J. Mynde Sculp.
The superstitious notions of the antients with regard to
Eclipses.
[PLATE XI].
329. I have not cited one half of Ricciolus’s list of potentous Eclipses; and for the same reason that he declines giving any more of them than what that list contains: namely, that ’tis most disagreeable to dwell any longer on such nonsense, and as much as possible to avoid tiring the reader: the superstition of the antients may be seen by the few here copied. My author farther says, that there were treatises written to shew against what regions the malevolent effects of any particular Eclipse was aimed: and the writers affirmed, that the effects of an Eclipse of the Sun continued as many years as the Eclipse lasted hours; and that of the Moon as many months.
Very fortunate once for Christopher Columbus.
330. Yet such idle notions were once of no small advantage to Christopher Columbus; who, in the year 1493, was driven on the island of Jamaica, where he was in the greatest distress for want of provisions, and was moreover refused any assistance from the inhabitants; on which he threatened them with a plague, and that in token of it there should be an Eclipse: which accordingly fell on the day he had foretold, and so terrified the Barbarians, that they strove who should be first in bringing him all sorts of provisions; throwing them at his feet, and imploring his forgiveness. Ricciolus’s Almagest, Vol. I. 1. v. c. ii.
Why there are more visible Eclipses of the Moon than of the Sun.