Text #3707
. History of the Peloponnesian War. Vol. 1[Thuc. 6.70. Translated by Benjamin Jowett. Clarendon Press. 1900 p. 232]
The armies met, and for a long time the issue was doubtful. During the battle there came on thunder and lightning, and a deluge of rain; these added to the terror of the inexperienced who were fighting for the first time, but experienced soldiers ascribed the storm to the time of year, and were much more alarmed at the stubborn resistance of the enemy1.
In 415, Athens launched the Sicilian Expedition, its Vietnam War. During the first attack on Syracuse, as the Athenians and Syracusans fought, rain, lighting and thunder terrified the Syracusians, probably helping to break their spirit. In spite of the omens, the Athenians continued to fight and the Syracusans and their allies fled: Kagan, The Peloponnesian War, 2003, p. 275-279 [nE] ↩