Comets

• The Romans believed Comets and Meteor Showers were Portents of things to come.

Caesar’s Comet (44 BCE)

• Roman writers described an exceptionally bright seven day Cometary event known as the Sidus Iulium, (Caesar’s Star) or Caesaris Astrum (Caesar’s Star), which started to appear on coins in 44 BCE.
• The Romans believed that the Comet, which became dramatically visible shortly after the Assassination of Julius Caesar, demonstrated that Caesar had ascended to become a God.

Halley’s Comet

• Halley’s Comet appears every 75 or 76 years and was first recorded by the Chinese in 240 BCE, however it is not mentioned in Roman Sources until 451 CE, despite being visible to them.

Meteor Showers

• Cassius Dio describes the observation of Comet Stars in 30 BCE.
• The Perseid Meteor Shower appears annually in August. They were first recorded by the Chinese in 36 CE, but were officially mentioned in 286 CE, as representing the martyrdom of the Christian St. Lawrence.