Babylonians believed that eclipses signaled divine displeasure and foretold disasters such as rebellion, war, or even the king’s death.
If an eclipse predicted the king’s demise, he would temporarily go into hiding, and a substitute, often a prisoner or a simpleton, would be installed in his place. Once the danger passed, the substitute would be executed to appease the gods.
The Babylonians, in the second
millennium B.C., viewed celestial phenomena as prophetic. Eclipses, in
particular, were interpreted as angry messages from the gods....<<<Read More>>>....
