Mind-Benders of Greek & Roman History
A philosopher predicted the eclipse that stopped a war
Herodotus reports that Thales of Miletus foretold a solar eclipse. When the sky darkened during a battle between the Lydians and the Medes on 28 May 585 BCE, both armies read it as an omen and made peace on the spot.
How we know
Herodotus, Histories 1.74; the “eclipse of Thales” / Battle of the Halys is dated to the solar eclipse of 28 May 585 BCE. Thales c. 624–546 BCE.
One of many fact-checked wonders across eight traditions at The Spring of Wisdom.