Julius Obsequens

Julius Obsequens is known only from his one surviving work, the Prodigiorum liber or Book of Prodigies. He probably wrote in the 4th or early 5th century CE, and nothing is known of his life.

The book lists, year by year, the omens reported in Rome between 249 and 12 BCE: lights and objects in the sky, showers of stones or blood, monstrous births, lightning strikes on temples, and the rites the Senate ordered in response. Most of the entries are excerpted from Livy, and because many of Livy's books are lost, Obsequens preserves material otherwise unknown. He used Livy selectively and sometimes added interpretation.

The text survived in a single manuscript, now lost, and was first printed by Aldus Manutius in Venice in 1508. In modern times it has become a favorite source for ancient-astronaut writers and for researchers cataloging meteors and fireballs in Roman records. Historians caution that prodigy lists record what was reported and officially accepted, not what was verified.