Roman Empire: Flashes of fire — 62 BC
Dio Cassius, in his Roman History (c. 229 AD), writes “in the west flashes of fire darted up into heaven.” There are many such reports in records of that period, and they are often quoted in UFO chronologies. However they are so vague that they could describe several natural phenomena, including meteors, comets or auroral displays. July 43 BC: The Comet of Murtine, Croatia Pliny the Elder tells that Augustus wrote “On the very days of my games, a comet was visible over the course of seven days, in the northern region of the heavens. It rose at about the eleventh hour of the day and was bright and plainly seen from all lands. The common people believed that this star signified the soul of Caesar had been received among the spirits of the immortal gods. On this account, it was added as an adornment to the head of the statue of Caesar that I, not long afterwards, dedicated in the Forum.” Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus included Augustus’ account in his book The Lives of the Caesars, and Seneca also mentions it in Quaestiones Naturales, stating the phenomenon appeared at the 11th hour of the day. Plutarch, Siculus and Obsequens all wrote about it, as well as Servius in his commentaries on Virgil’s Eclogue and Aeneid in the 4th century. Servius relates the phenomenon was observed in the daytime and lasted for three days, but he was writing long after the event. Astronomers believe there could be a link with a comet recorded in the Han Shu for May and June 43 BC.
Source: Case: W465