Wonders in the Sky (87 page)

Other texts mention a more complex picture: “Two great stars flashed one after the other in the middle watch.” (R. Campbell Thompson,
The Reports of the Magicians and Astrologers of Nineveh and Babylon
. Luzac & Co., London 1900, 202)

The “dark meteors” were among other mysterious objects described in cuneiform. For example: “If a meteor comes from above the Wagon Star and is dark and passes at the right of the man: that man will see injury.” Since meteorites passing overhead are necessarily luminous or fiery rather than dark it is tempting to retain such quotes as indication of an exceptional phenomenon, but the context is so vague that it is ultimately anyone's guess. To the extent that no date is associated with the observation, we have not retained these cases in our chronology.

Circa 852 BC, Bath, England
Did this English King crash a Druid Airship?

According to writer John Michell (1967), King Bladud is said to have been killed at Troja Nova, in the London area, when riding a “druid airship” that crashed into the temple of Apollo.

Although Bladud is legendary, the story of his flight has some factual basis. The trouble is, the legend doesn't mention a druid airship but only chicken feathers! Bladud, or Blaiddyd, was the legendary founder of Bath. His son was King Lear, whose story William Shakespeare famously adapted for the theater. There is no evidence that Bladud actually existed before Geoffrey of Monmouth named him in his
History of the Kings of Britain
(1135), where he is said to have been the tenth ruler in line from Brutus.

This legend has enjoyed centuries of embellishments. Usually it is said that young Bladud contracted leprosy in Athens and was banished from his native kingdom on return to Britain. Years went by, during which he lived as a swineherd in Swainswick, on the outskirts of present-day Bath, where he discovered by accident that the mud of a bog in the marshy ground could cure skin diseases in pigs. The prince wallowed in the mud himself to see what effect it had on his own lesions, and eventually managed to cure himself completely. He then returned to Court, where he was welcomed. On his father's death Bladud became king himself. He founded the city of Bath and there built the temple of Aqua Sullis, dedicated to Minerva, goddess of healing.

According to this legend, Bladud practiced magical arts, such as necromancy, and this led him to conduct an experiment. He constructed some wings from chicken feathers, and attempted to fly towards (or from) the Temple of Apollo in New Troy, present-day London. Unfortunately he fell and broke his neck. How this quaint legend entered UFO databases is a complete mystery to us! See also Fabyan,
The Chronicles
(1516) f. viii and H. C. Levis,
The British King Who Tried to Fly
(London: 1919).

479 BC, Athens, Greece
What was the flying object at the battle of Salamis?

A “horn-shaped object” is said to have flown over during the battle of Salamis (Salamine) near Athens, Greece, between the Greeks and the Persians. The term “horned star” has often been used to describe comets.

Upon consulting
Cometography: A Catalogue of Comets
by Gary W. Kronk and Brian G. Marsden (Cambridge University Press, 1999, 154) we find that interestingly, these authors do include the Salamis observation in their catalogue, calling it a Cerastes type comet.

Pliny writes in his
Natural History
(Book II, Chapter XXII) that “There are stars that suddenly come to birth in the heaven itself; of these there are several kinds. The Greeks call them ‘comets,' in our language ‘long-haired stars,' because they have a blood-red shock of what looks like shaggy hair at their top. The Greeks also give the name of ‘bearded stars' to those from whose lower part spreads a mane resembling a long beard. ‘Javelin-stars' quiver like a dart; these are a very terrible portent.”

336 BC, Venice, Italy
Alexander the Great, and the UFO that shook Venice

According to a letter he wrote to Aristotle, Alexander the Great seized Venice when an object came down from the sky, shot a beam, and crumbled the walls. This is an entirely spurious account: We traced the story and discovered it was about the use of gunpowder, not an unexplained flying object. The Aristotle letter is a known medieval forgery, only famous because Dante mentions it.

330 BC: Sur (Tyre), Lebanon: Great silver shields

Two strange craft were seen to dive repeatedly at Alexander's army. They looked like great silver shields that went back up into the sky over the Macedonian camp. These “flying shields” flew in triangular formation, led by a large object, while the others were smaller by almost half. In all there were five. They circled slowly over Tyre while thousands of warriors on both sides stood and watched them in astonishment. Suddenly from the largest “shield” came a lightning flash that struck the walls, which crumbled. Unfortunately, no book about Alexander the Great contains the account. The story came from American writer Frank Edwards in 1959, who provided no reference.

Fig. 43: An interpretation of Alexander's “silver shields”

In 1966 Italian writer Fenoglio (the man who invented the Alençon story and many others) embellished the tale. He did not give a reference either, except to say that Alexander's historian recorded the event. The problem is that Alexander's historian was Callisthenes, whose “Deeds of Alexander” are lost.

Fenoglio also states 19th century historian Gustavo Droysen “intentionally does not cite it, believing it to be a fantasy of the Macedonian soldiers.” In 1970 Gordon Creighton referred to the sighting in
Flying Saucer Review
. He mentioned Edwards' name but added details from Fenoglio. He stated that he did not know an original source. In 1976 another English researcher, W. Raymond Drake, interpreted Edwards' and Fenoglio's versions as two separate events, one in Venice and one in Tyre. He misread the article of 1966 and understood Fenoglio had actually quoted from Droysen.

Until some original source can be located, we are left with the suggestion that Alexander's army at Tyre simply witnessed fiery projectiles, some sort of flaming weapon.

Ca. 300 BC, Kun-Lun Mountains, China
The Charioteer of the Moon

According to Professor Couliano, Taoist K'u Yuan (or Qu Yuan) flew with Wang-Shu,” the charioteer of the Moon,” in a chariot drawn by dragons.

Fig. 44: Qu Yuan, from the Ming Dynasty

The lady charioteer crops up in many florid poems, like this one,
The Sorrow of Separation
, by K'u Yuan (340-278 BC). It gave rise to the idea that he traveled with the moon entity, but in fact it is just a well-known poem, full of metaphor. The verse most relevant to our reference is this:

 

I could, for the time being, roam leisurely and remain carefree.

I let the moon-driver Wangshu act as leader

And told the wind-god Feilian to follow closely.

A phoenix acted as vanguard.

The thunder god told me that luggage was not ready.

I ordered the phoenix to fly fast, day and night.

A cyclone gathered around, leading clouds to welcome me.