is also referred to by Tibullus, Ovid, and Lucian (poets), Pliny,
Appian, Dion Cassius, and Julius Obsequenes (historians.)[207:8]

When _AEsculapius_ the Saviour was put to death, _the sun shone dimly
from the heavens_; the birds were silent in the darkened groves; the
trees bowed down their heads in sorrow; and the hearts of all the sons
of men fainted within them, because the healer of their pains and
sickness lived no more upon the earth.[208:1]

When _Hercules_ was dying, he said to the faithful female (Iole) who
followed him to the last spot on earth on which he trod, "Weep not, my
toil is done, and now is the time for rest. I shall see thee again in
the bright land which is never trodden by the feet of night." Then, as
the dying god expired, _darkness was on the face of the earth_; from the
high heaven came down the thick cloud, _and the din of its thunder
crashed through the air_. In this manner, Zeus, the god of gods, carried
his son home, and the halls of Olympus were opened to welcome the bright
hero who rested from his mighty toil. There he now sits, clothed in a
white robe, with a crown upon his head.[208:2]

When _OEdipus_ was about to leave this world of pain and sorrow, he
bade Antigone farewell, and said, "Weep not, my child, I am going to my
home, and I rejoice to lay down the burden of my woe." Then there were
_signs_ in the heaven above and on the earth beneath, that the end was
nigh at hand, _for the earth did quake, and the thunder roared_ and
echoed again and again through the sky.[208:3]

"The Romans had a god called _Quirinius_. His soul emanated from the
sun, and was restored to it. He was begotten by the god of armies upon a
_virgin_ of the royal blood, and exposed by order of the jealous tyrant
Amulius, and was preserved and educated among _shepherds_. He was torn
to pieces at his death, when he ascended into heaven; _upon which the
sun was eclipsed or darkened_."[208:4]

When _Alexander the Great_ died, similar prodigies are said to have
happened; again, when foul murders were committed, it is said that the
sun seemed to hide its face. This is illustrated in the story of
_Atreus_, King of Mycenae, who foully murdered the children of his
brother Thyestes. At that time, the sun, unable to endure a sight so
horrible, "_turned his course backward and withdrew his light._"[208:5]

At the time of the death of the virgin-born _Quetzalcoatle_, the
Mexican crucified Saviour, _the sun was darken