Book 1, Chapter 23

46 “Now let us return to foreign lands. Heraclides of Pontus, a learned man who heard Plato and studied under him, writes that Phalaris’ mother dreamed she saw the images of the gods she herself had consecrated in her house. Among them Mercury seemed to pour blood from a bowl he held in his right hand. When it touched the earth, it seemed to seethe until the whole house overflowed with blood. Her son’s monstrous cruelty fulfilled his mother’s dream. Need I bring forward from Dinon’s Persian History the magi’s interpretation for the great Cyrus? Dinon writes that, when Cyrus slept, the sun appeared at his feet. Three times he reached for it in vain: the sun rolled away, slipping from his hands and departing. The magi, a class held wise and learned among the Persians, told him that his three attempts to grasp the sun foretold a reign of thirty years. And so it happened: he reached his seventieth year, having begun his reign at forty.

47 “Surely there is something that foreknows and divines even among foreign peoples. Consider the Indian Calanus. As he went to his death and mounted a burning pyre, he said, ‘What a glorious departure from life, when, as happened to Hercules, the mortal body burns away and the soul goes out into the light!’ Alexander asked him to say if he wanted anything. ‘All is well,’ he said. ‘I shall see you very soon.’ And so it happened: Alexander died at Babylon a few days later. I turn aside briefly from dreams, to which I shall soon return. It is an established fact that on the very night the temple of Diana at Ephesus burned down, Alexander was born to Olympias; and at daybreak the magi cried out that the night just past had brought forth Asia’s scourge and destruction. So much for the Indians and the magi.

46 “Now let's return to examples from other countries. Heraclides of Pontus, an educated man who heard Plato teach and became his pupil, writes about Phalaris' mother. In a dream she seemed to see the statues of the gods which she herself had dedicated in her home. Of these gods, she saw Mercury pouring blood out of the bowl in his right hand. On reaching the ground, it seemed to bubble up until the whole house was overflowing with blood. Her son's monstrous cruelty confirmed his mother's dream. Need I quote from Dinon's Persian History the interpretation the Magi gave the famous King Cyrus? According to Dinon, Cyrus dreamed of the sun at his feet. He reached out with his hands three times to catch it, always in vain: the sun rolled away, slipping out of reach and disappearing. The Magi, who were regarded among the Persians as a class of wise and educated men, told him that his three attempts to seize the sun foretold a reign of thirty years. That is what happened. He reached seventy, having begun to reign at forty.

47 “Clearly even foreign nations have some power to foresee and divine. Calanus the Indian spoke as he went to his death, stepping onto a pyre already alight: ‘How splendid leaving life will be, once my mortal body is burned away and my soul has gone out into the light, as it was for Hercules!’ Alexander asked him to say if he wanted anything. ‘Very good,’ he said. ‘I will see you soon.’ That came true: Alexander died at Babylon a few days later. I am leaving dreams for a little while, but I will soon return to them. Everyone agrees that the fire which destroyed Diana's temple at Ephesus occurred on the night Olympias gave birth to Alexander. At daybreak the Magi cried out that the plague and destroyer of Asia had been born during the night just past. So much for Indians and Magi.