Miracle of the Thundering Legion
E853094
The Miracle of the Thundering Legion is a legendary event in which a Roman army, reportedly aided by a sudden, divinely sent thunderstorm and rainfall, was saved from defeat during a desperate battle.
All labels observed (1)
| Label | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| Miracle of the Thundering Legion canonical | 1 |
Statements (49)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
episode in Roman military history
ⓘ
legendary event ⓘ military miracle tradition ⓘ |
| associatedWithConflict | Marcomannic Wars NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| associatedWithMilitaryUnit | Legio XII Fulminata NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| associatedWithPeople |
Marcomanni
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Quadi NERFINISHED ⓘ Roman army ⓘ |
| associatedWithReligion |
Roman paganism
ⓘ
early Christianity ⓘ |
| associatedWithRuler | Marcus Aurelius NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| culturalSignificance |
episode in the Christianization of Roman imperial ideology
ⓘ
example of divine aid in battle narratives ⓘ |
| describedAs | event in which a Roman army was saved by a sudden thunderstorm and rainfall ⓘ |
| effectOnEnemy |
caused confusion among Marcomanni and Quadi
ⓘ
storm reportedly struck enemy forces ⓘ |
| effectOnRomans |
provided drinking water to the Roman soldiers
ⓘ
revived exhausted troops ⓘ |
| hasAlternativeName |
Miracle of the Hail
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Miracle of the Rain NERFINISHED ⓘ Thundering Legion miracle NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| hasDateApproximation |
late 2nd century CE
ⓘ
reign of Marcus Aurelius (161–180 CE) ⓘ |
| hasDepictionOn | Column of Marcus Aurelius NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| hasIconography | rain god or divine figure pouring water over Roman soldiers ⓘ |
| hasKeyFeature |
hail
ⓘ
heavy rainfall ⓘ lightning ⓘ sudden thunderstorm ⓘ |
| hasLocationApproximation |
region of the Danube frontier
ⓘ
territory of the Quadi ⓘ |
| hasNameOrigin | named for the epithet "Fulminata" (armed with lightning) of Legio XII ⓘ |
| interpretedAs | divine intervention ⓘ |
| interpretedByChristiansAs |
answer to Christian soldiers' prayers
ⓘ
evidence of Christian God's power ⓘ |
| interpretedByPagansAs | favor of pagan gods ⓘ |
| mentionedBy |
Cassius Dio
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Eusebius of Caesarea NERFINISHED ⓘ Tertullian NERFINISHED ⓘ later Christian apologists ⓘ |
| relatedTo |
Roman military religion
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
miracle stories in late antiquity ⓘ |
| scholarlyDebate |
historicity of the event is disputed
ⓘ
identity of the praying group (Christians or others) is debated ⓘ possible natural explanation for the storm ⓘ |
| sourceType | ancient literary sources ⓘ |
| tookPlaceIn | Roman Empire NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| usedAs |
argument in early Christian apologetics
ⓘ
imperial propaganda for Marcus Aurelius ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.