On this day in ancient history, Romans celebrated the Megalesia.
At first, Rome was just one small city-state in the area of Latin-speaking people known as Latium, on the west side of the peninsula of Italy. She soon spread out, dominating the peninsula. Rome was an almost unstoppable force.... Until Hannibal and the
Second Punic War.
Carthage was an obstacle to Italy's control of the Mediterranean and Hannibal's troops were defeating the Romans in battle and terrorizing the countryside. The Romans learned from Hannibal and adapted his techniques. Eventually they defeated him militarily, but before that, they tried a religious technique. They consulted the Sibylline Books, which contained prophecies to guide the Romans. One prophecy concerned a certain Phrygian goddess whose cult in Rome included the April Megalesia.
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