Ancient History: UFOs of the Roman Republic

 

 According to Plutarch of Chaeronea, a phenomenon—one that could well be characterized as a UFO—occurred during the battle fought between the consul Lucius Licinius Lucullus and Mithridates IV, King of Pontus. In 74 B.C., "a large object appeared in the skies, enveloped in flames and shaped like a wine skin (*pithos*), with the color of molten silver." Authors of the stature of Andreas Faber-Kaiser wrote about the phenomenon's apparent interest in battles—and its tendency to intervene in them on behalf of one side or the other—while Salvador Freixedo observed regarding these intelligences: "If what they desire are human lives violently cut short—and preferably accompanied by bloodshed—then we must agree that war serves as another perfect instrument for their ends."

  In his *Natural History*, Pliny the Elder recounts an intriguing event from 76 B.C.: "In the sky, the fiery flames of a star were sighted; as it descended, it diminished in size until it was no larger than the moon, yet it subsequently soared back up into the firmament, transforming itself into pure light."