Case file · Apparition / miracle
Earthquake and phantoms against the Gauls at Delphi
When a Gallic army under Brennus attacked Delphi in 279 BC, Greek writers said an earthquake, thunderbolts, a night frost and the ghosts of ancient heroes drove the invaders back.
279 BCE · 38.48, 22.50 · status: legend
The account
Pausanias (10.23) names the heroes Hyperochus, Laodocus, Pyrrhus and Phylacus as appearing in arms, and describes a panic in which the Gauls killed one another in the dark. The victory was celebrated with a new festival, the Soteria.
The sceptical view
The Gauls did retreat and suffered heavy losses, but the supernatural details belong to the Delphic tradition of divine defence already used for 480 BC.