Cosmic Winter Ch.1 Extended Summary
Summery by Lee Vaughn – Myth Of Ends
CATARACTS OF FIRE
Long ago, the Greeks and Romans wrote about strange lights and fire falling from the sky. In The Iliad, Homer described how the goddess Pallas (Athena) came down from the heavens like a blazing star, throwing out sparks—a warning or a sign to people below.
In The Aeneid, Virgil told of a star that flashed across the night sky while thunder rolled. The star lit up the roof of a house and filled the air with the smell of burning sulfur before vanishing into the forest. The people were so shocked by what they saw that they immediately stopped and prayed to the gods.
Another ancient writer asked: “If Earth and the sky have always existed, why do we only have stories about events like the Trojan War? Why are there no records of older times?” His answer was simple: he believed that the world was made recently—or that, if there was a world before this one, it was destroyed in a fiery disaster, like a global firestorm or a massive earthquake.
He warned that if Earth has been hit by disasters before, it could happen again. All it would take is something violent from space—like a giant comet or meteor storm—to shake the whole planet and destroy it. In the past, he said, fire once won the battle and took over everything.
A long time ago, people told stories about a terrible fire from the heavens. One legend said it happened when Phaethon, the son of the Sun god, tried to drive the Sun’s chariot across the sky. But he lost control. The horses pulling the chariot ran wild, dragging the burning Sun off its path and scorching the Earth.
The gods were angry. So, the chief god (Zeus) struck Phaethon down with a thunderbolt. The Sun then took back control, calming the horses and putting the sky back in order. That was how the ancient poets explained a time when Earth was burned by fire from above.
But one Roman philosopher, Lucretius, said something different. He believed the real danger came from space—tiny fiery particles slowly building up until one day they unleashed destruction. He warned that Earth could be burned to a crisp and everything could end in fire.
Another prophecy, from the Sibylline Oracles, described a future disaster where the sky would roll up like a scroll, the stars would fall, and fire would pour endlessly from the heavens, melting everything—the land, the sea, even the stars themselves. Nothing would remain. No more seasons, no more stars, no more day or night.
One Oracle also warned of a comet—a bright star in the west—saying it would be a sign of war, famine, and death.
Some ancient thinkers didn’t even agree on what comets were. Some said comets weren’t real stars but just lights created when other stars came close together. Others believed comets had their own paths and came back after long periods. Still, others thought they weren’t true celestial bodies because they vanished so quickly.
But everyone seemed to agree on one thing: fire from the sky was real—and when it came, it changed everything.
Signs from the Sky and Disasters on Earth
People from different times and places have told stories about strange and terrifying events in the sky.
The Roman philosopher Seneca said people were always amazed when bright lights suddenly flashed in the sky—like glowing fireballs or fiery streaks. Sometimes, stars even shone during the day, when they normally shouldn’t be visible. It was seen as a miracle or a bad omen.
An old Chinese report from the Han Dynasty described a clear day when a loud rumble was heard. A huge red-and-white meteor, as big as a pot and as long as a tall building, flew across the sky from beneath the Sun. Smaller meteors rained down like bright falling eggs and bowls, lighting up the sky until sunset.
In England, around the year 793, the people of Northumbria were terrified. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle said they saw fiery dragons flying in the sky, with whirlwinds and lightning storms. Not long after, a terrible famine hit the land.
In the 1300s, Europe was hit by one disaster after another. People saw frightening signs in the sky and felt something terrible was coming. In 1337, a giant comet appeared, spreading fear among the population. Then, for three years in a row, massive swarms of locusts flew over the land, destroying crops and causing famine.
There were also floods, thick fogs, and earthquakes. Many people believed the world was being punished for its sins. And then came the worst of all—a deadly disease. The plague spread so fast and killed so many that entire towns were abandoned. Sometimes, there weren’t even enough people left alive to bury the dead.
The Black Death and the Fear of Fire from the Sky
The disease known as the Black Death was the most deadly disaster Europe had ever seen. It hit London hard, killing about 100,000 people. Across all of England, it’s estimated that one-third to one-half of the entire population died—out of a total of maybe 3 to 5 million people at the time.
In all of Europe, around a quarter of the population was wiped out. The worst years were 1348 and 1349, but the plague came back again in 1361–62 and once more in 1369.
The deaths weren’t the only problem. Society itself began to fall apart. Families and friends abandoned each other. Some people, feeling helpless, turned to religion. They believed God was punishing them and that they needed to suffer to gain forgiveness.
Fanatic groups formed—hundreds of men and boys marched through the streets, whipping themselves with ropes and chains, hoping to show their sorrow to God. They carried torches, sang sad hymns, wore white hats with red crosses, and even whipped each other in public. Women joined in too, beating themselves and collapsing in city squares.
Today, we often think that those old fears—like the idea of fire raining from heaven—were just myths or superstitions. But we can’t ignore the fact that this fear shows up again and again throughout history. It seems to be a deep part of human thinking.
Even five thousand years ago, in ancient Mesopotamia (where writing and cities first developed), people lived under a sky they felt was full of power and danger—not just peaceful stars and seasons. The same might have been true for Egypt, too, even if it’s less often mentioned.
Living Under a Dangerous Sky
A modern historian tried to compare the ancient lands of Mesopotamia and Egypt by saying the rivers there behaved differently. He said the Tigris and Euphrates were wild and unpredictable, while the Nile was more calm and regular. But he also pointed out how harsh life in Mesopotamia could be—blazing hot winds filled the air with choking dust, and sudden rains turned solid ground into thick, impassable mud.
People living there felt small and powerless. They saw nature as a battle between giant forces, and they often feared what might come next. They didn’t just observe the weather—they felt it deep in their bones, like it was a matter of life and death.
For example, when drought ended and rain came, the Sumerians didn’t just say “a weather system moved in.” Instead, they said a mighty storm-bird called Imdugud had saved them. Its wings filled the sky with black clouds, and it destroyed the Bull of Heaven, whose fiery breath had burned their crops. These stories weren’t meant for fun. The people believed they were describing real events—real battles between forces of destruction and salvation.
The historian suggests maybe the ancients were just turning everyday weather into dramatic stories. But even if that’s true, it doesn’t change the fact that people truly felt at the mercy of the skies. They believed the world followed some kind of order, but it was still dangerous.
Because of this, they filled their temples with priests, fortune-tellers, and astrologers—experts who tried to read the signs of the heavens and protect their people from whatever might come next.
Watching the Sky Out of Fear
Long ago in Babylon, people used a giant book of omens called Enuma Anu Enlil—which means “About the Beginning of Anu and Enlil,” two of their gods. This book listed events in the sky (like eclipses, storms, or strange stars) and matched them with disasters on Earth, such as floods, droughts, disease, and famine. These disasters were believed to be messages or punishments from the gods.
Even in early Sumerian and Babylonian times, people thought that the gods sent the Great Flood, along with other catastrophes. So when they saw patterns in the sky repeat, they began to believe those patterns might warn them about the future. It wasn’t just superstition—they were trying to understand the natural world.
Some stories tell us that people like Ziusudra (the Sumerian version of Noah) could sense when disaster was coming and used special ways to predict it. Another figure, Emmeduranki, a king of ancient Sippur, was said to have received tools and secrets of divination (predicting the future) directly from the gods.
This means the first form of astronomy wasn’t about stars and planets like we think of today—it was about reading signs in the sky to tell if the gods were angry or pleased. These signs included things like strange lights, weird weather, or huge storms. Over time, they also began using the sky to help with farming, calendars, and sailing.
But the real driving force behind early skywatching was fear—fear of what might happen if the signs were ignored. And believe it or not, that same habit of closely observing the heavens has continued over thousands of years.
So while today’s science may seem calm and rational, it actually began in a world full of fear and awe. Our modern understanding of space comes, in part, from ancient people desperately trying to survive by watching the skies.
Were the Ancients Just Superstitious?
Some modern thinkers say ancient people only believed in astrology and sky omens because they were scared and superstitious. They argue that early civilizations were controlled by their imagination, not reason, and that we shouldn’t take their beliefs seriously.
One scholar joked that if a future archaeologist found one of our modern newspapers, they might think we followed astrologers too—just like the ancient Babylonians. His point was that only uneducated people cared about astrology, and that smart people back then ignored it. According to him, astrology was nothing more than a scam to trick gullible people into paying money.
That sounds nice—it makes science look clean and separate from superstition—but it’s not true.
In reality, both the kings and the common people in ancient Mesopotamia believed deeply in astrology. They didn’t just use it for fun—they based government decisions and major life choices on what the astrologers said. These sky watchers were not seen as frauds—they were trusted advisors.
So, if we put aside our modern ideas for a moment and look at what the Babylonians truly believed, it’s clear that they thought the sky held real dangers that could affect the future of entire nations. They were so convinced of this that no one even questioned it.
This raises a big question: Why did smart people long ago believe the universe was so dangerous and unpredictable, when we don’t see it that way today?
There are only two ways to explain this:
The sky really was different back then, with more violent and scary events.
Modern humans are simply smarter and more realistic than people in the past.
Most modern scientists prefer the second answer. One of them even said that belief in powerful forces controlling the universe slowly faded over time, and people came to believe in a better, more logical universe.
Is the Sky Really Safe?
Today, scientists see the universe as calm, stable, and ruled by natural laws—not by wild forces or angry gods. Modern astronomers assume the sky doesn’t suddenly break its rules or behave like a cruel king handing out punishments. Without that belief, they wouldn’t be able to study the universe with much confidence at all.
That sounds logical. It’s a clear way of thinking and shows how modern science tries to stay grounded and serious. But how do we know this idea is really true? How can we be sure the sky never changes or sends down a massive firestorm?
At first, that question might seem silly. After all, ancient people had professional sky-watchers, and we still have their records today. Surely, if something as huge as a sky full of fire had happened, modern experts would have noticed it in those writings.
Most of us trust that scholars have studied the ancient records carefully and come to honest, balanced conclusions—that the sky back then was just like it is now. So it doesn’t seem like the kind of thing that needs to be re-examined.
But history, like science, isn’t just a bunch of solid facts. It’s also made up of guesses and interpretations. Sometimes records can be misleading—especially if we don’t fully understand what the original writers meant.
So we have to ask: Are we totally sure we understand what ancient Babylonian astrologers were really trying to say? Could we have misread their meaning?
For a long time, nobody thought this was a very important question. People believed that serious ideas about the universe didn’t begin until the ancient Greeks. But that idea has been challenged—especially by Otto Neugebauer, a famous historian of science and math. He showed that Babylonian sky-watching was not silly or irrational. Even though it changed a lot over time, it was still based on real observations and serious thought.
Did Ancient People Really Think the Sky Was Safe?
The ancient Greeks once believed that planets moved in perfect little loops called epicycles, and that these were attached to invisible crystal-like spheres that spun around the Earth. Over time, they convinced themselves that these spheres were real—and that nothing dangerous from space could pass through them to hurt the Earth below.
Later scientists realized those ideas were wrong. The crystal spheres and epicycles were just imaginary models, not real parts of the universe. But when rejecting those Greek ideas, some scholars also dismissed earlier Babylonian astronomy—assuming it was just as flawed. That’s not fair.
According to expert Otto Neugebauer, the Babylonians were actually very realistic. They didn’t make up complicated systems. Instead, they described the sky just as they saw it—directly and clearly. If something strange or dangerous appeared in the sky, they believed it could absolutely harm the Earth.
So if the Babylonians were so straightforward, and if their astrologers were serious about studying the sky, why don’t we just look at their actual records to understand what kind of sky they were describing?
Babylon: Where Science and Religion Grew Together
The city of Babylon rose to importance in the early 2nd millennium BC, when a group of Semitic people blended with the older Sumerian culture. The Sumerian knowledge wasn’t lost. Instead, it became the foundation for a new kind of learning in Babylon—especially in language, religion, and even mathematics.
As Babylon developed, a powerful new religious group formed around the god Marduk. He didn’t completely replace the old gods like Anu, but he did take over as the central divine figure. Other gods like Enlil (possibly symbolized by a bull) and Ea (possibly a ram) were pushed aside.
The priests of Marduk weren’t just religious leaders—they were also scholars. They studied the stars, kept records, and helped build what would become some of the first systems of science and astronomy.
Reading the Sky—And the Sheep
In ancient Babylon, the priests of Marduk weren’t just religious leaders—they were also early astronomers. They were the first to develop a system of astrology based on sky omens. Their main goal was to predict what might soon happen to the kingdom—especially anything that might affect the king or the government.
They watched the skies for the appearance (or absence) of planets or other bright objects. From these signs, they predicted things like enemy attacks, floods, or storms. But they didn’t use astrology the way we think of it today—there were no horoscopes based on a person’s birthday. Instead, Babylonian astrology was more like weather forecasting, using real-time sky events to predict major changes.
Their system was based on the idea that sudden or unusual events in nature—like strange lights in the sky—were signs that something big was about to happen. In this way, their work actually followed the same logic used in modern science: observe a pattern, then use it to predict future events.
But while the method sounds reasonable, some of their actual practices seem strange to us. The priests often looked for signs in unusual places—like the bodies of sheep. They studied the livers and other organs of sacrificed animals, especially newborn lambs. Thousands of clay tablets have been found where these observations were carefully recorded—sometimes down to the fleece or delivery time.
This may sound odd or even gross to us today, but we have to remember: these priest-astronomers weren’t just scientists. They were also believed to speak for the gods, especially during a time when kings claimed they ruled by divine right—by permission of the sky gods who were said to have come down from heaven with their flocks after the Great Flood.
So maybe, in their eyes, each sheep symbolized something in the heavens. If those heavenly “sheep” (like comets or stars) acted strangely—breaking apart or showing up in odd ways—it might mean another disaster like the Flood was coming. Watching the real sheep down on Earth was, to them, a way of watching the sky.
Sheep in the Sky: Taking Ancient Symbolism Seriously
To us, it might seem strange that ancient priests studied sheep organs to predict disasters—but maybe it’s not so strange when you realize how closely they linked sheep and stars.
In Babylonian writing, the word for a “wandering star” (what we now call a planet) was lubat, which literally means “stray sheep.” And the part of the sky where these “sheep” moved—the zodiac—was seen as a fenced-in pasture, a kind of cosmic sheep meadow.
In their minds, the sky was filled with sheep-like stars moving around in a pen. Sometimes, these stars developed “illnesses” or behaved oddly—and when that happened, it meant bad things could happen down on Earth too. Their records don’t draw a hard line between the stars in the sky and the sheep on the ground—they were all part of the same living system.
So why don’t modern scholars take this at face value? Why do they insist it was either just superstition or primitive sacrifice? Probably because they can’t match this sheep imagery with any known space event that looks dangerous—like a comet breaking up or meteor storms. Without that link, they’ve dismissed the idea as symbolic or silly.
But we can better understand what those ancient astronomer-priests were doing by looking at how their sky-watching traditions grew over time.
Even after Babylon lost political power, its knowledge and culture stayed strong for over a thousand years. By the first millennium BC, people from many cultures—including Persians, Jews, and Greeks—came to Babylon to study “Chaldean” science (another name for Babylonian wisdom). It became a hub of learning, kind of like an ancient version of the Renaissance.
Events in the sky likely helped trigger this renewed interest in astronomy and astrology. Babylon’s influence was so strong that legendary figures like Zarathustra, Pythagoras, and even Abraham were later claimed by their own cultures to be the inventors of science, astrology, and sacred number systems. Each was presented as the original teacher of humanity.
In later chapters, this story will continue, tracing how science moved from Babylon through Greece, Rome, and eventually into the modern world.
The Sky’s Warnings—Ignored or Misunderstood?
At the start of the modern era, people still used the word “fleece” to describe comets, just like in ancient times. More importantly, the knowledge of Babylonian astrology didn’t stay in Babylon—it traveled east through Persia and India, finally reaching China, where it had another big revival near the end of the first millennium AD.
In China, it’s very clear what the astrologers were focused on. They were especially interested in spotting “guest stars”—which we now know were mostly comets—and in counting fireballs, which were the bright meteors we now understand as broken pieces of comets.
A modern historian named Schafer pointed out that, while today’s scholars care about things like exact measurements of the Earth’s tilt or how long the year is, Chinese astrologers during the T’ang Dynasty were more focused on the meanings behind what they saw—like whether a bright object in the sky was a good sign or a bad omen.
Even today, some sky-watchers still follow this tradition. They track comets and meteor showers, continuing a line of observation that began thousands of years ago. But most modern people don’t think about what the ancients were really doing when they looked at sheep organs or counted omens. We rarely ask: what if those ancient records were warnings about comets breaking apart and becoming dangerous meteor swarms?
Today’s thinking doesn’t make room for that idea. We treat the old shepherd-kings and their cosmic sheep as nothing more than myths. But maybe we shouldn’t be so quick to dismiss them.
The real issue is how we interpret the past. The ancient Babylonian astrologers did describe danger in the sky. And across history, people have connected disasters on Earth with strange things in the heavens.
Scholars who study cuneiform writing know the early sky-watchers were shepherds. But even with that knowledge, many still hold onto the belief that the sky has never posed any real danger. In the chapters that follow, we’ll explore where this belief came from, and whether it’s really based on truth—or just wishful thinking.
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