Cassius Dio on the Teutoburg Forest
Cassius Dio (164-c.235) was a Greek by birth and a Roman by conviction, and one of the great historians of Antiquity. He became a senator during the reign of the emperor Commodus, was made consul by Septimius Severus (204), served as governor in Africa and Pannonia Superior, and had the rare distinction of being made consul twice, together with the emperor Severus Alexander (229).
Dio started his literary activity in the 190's and wrote his Roman History in the years 211-233. It is a marvelous book. Where we can compare it to other historical studies (e.g., the reign of the emperors Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and Nero can be read with Tacitus' Annals), Dio is often better, and for certain periods (e.g., the reign of Augustus and the second century), he is our most important source.
Chapters 18-24 of Book 56 of Dio's Roman History are here presented in the translation by Earnest Cary.
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[5.24.4] and numerous comets appeared at one and the same time; spears seemed to dart from the north and to fall in the direction of the Roman camps; bees formed their combs about the altars in the camps; a statue of Victory that was in the province of Germania and faced the enemy's territory turned about to face Italy; |
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[5.24.5] and in one instance there was a futile battle and conflict of the soldiers over the eagles in the camps, the soldiers believing that the barbarians had fallen upon them. |