80 THE MAGIC OP JEWELS AND CHARMS
Athenian fleet at AEgospotami in Thrace, and Plutarch writes, in his life of Lysander,16
that a stone which fell from the heavens a short time before the battle
was regarded by many as a portent predicting the dreadful slaughter
that was to ensue. At the time Plutarch wrote (circa 150 a.D.) this
stone could still be seen at AEgospotami, where it was regarded with
great veneration by the Chersonites. The Greek philosopher Anaxagorus
is said to have predicted the fall of this meteorite, as he had
observed certain perturbations in the movements of the heavenly
bodies. As Anaxagorus died in 428 b.c., his prediction must have long antedated the fall of the meteorite.
A
detail given in one of the early recitals might possibly have
constituted the basis of a prediction by some contemporary physicist.
In the latter part of his account of the phenomenon Plutarch quotes
from a Treatise on Relig-ion, by a certain Daimachus, to the effect
that, for seventy-five days before the fall of the meteorite, a vast
fiery body was seen in the heavens, in appearance "like a flaming
cloud." This well describes the appearance of a great comet, and might
be regarded as significant when we consider the latest modern theory
of the origin of meteors, according to which these bodies are detached
particles of a cometary aggregation. Of this meteoric mass said to have
fallen at .AEgospotami, Pliny states that it was as large as a wagon
and of a dusky hue, adding that a brilliant comet was visible at the
time of its fall. Regarding the assertion that Anaxagorus predicted
the occurrence, Pliny declares that this prediction, if true, was a
greater miracle than the fall of the meteor. A portion of the stone was
preserved as a venerated relic in the town of Potidaea.1·
"Plutarch!,
"Vite," Lipsise, 1879, p. 394; Lysander, 12. "C. Plinii Secundi,
"Historie naturalis," Venetiie, 1607, foL 8, recto; Ub. ti, cap. 60.
