Ascletarion is an ancient Roman astrologer-predictor who lived in the second half of the 1st century. n. e. He gained worldwide fame thanks to the accuracy of his predictions. He accurately predicted how the emperor of Rome Domitian would die and knew that he himself would soon be inevitable death.
To date, very little information has come down to this predictor. It is not known exactly when and where he was born. The name Ascletarion is of Egyptian origin. Perhaps he belonged to the group of Egyptian astrologers who were extremely popular in Rome at that time. The works of this great prophet have not reached our time, but many astrologers and soothsayers who lived later referred to them at different times.
In 96, the Roman emperor Domitian learns that Ascletarion predicts his imminent death. Domitian himself practiced astrology, however, took this prophecy extremely seriously and ordered the arrest of the prophet.
The ancient historian Suetonius wrote how Ascletarion was reported. They said that he was able to predict the future very accurately. The soothsayer said about himself that he knew for sure what kind of death he himself would have. He said he would be torn apart by a pack of dogs. For Domitian, the oracle also prophesied a very unenviable death. He argued that the emperor would die as a result of a conspiracy and be put to the curse of memory.
In Rome, the curse of memory was applied to state criminals and usurpers of power. After death, all material evidence of the existence of the criminal was destroyed: statues, wall frescoes, any inscriptions and mentions in the annals.
When the soothsayer was taken to Domitian's palace, the emperor ordered that Ascletarion be killed immediately, but the funeral ceremony was carried out very carefully in order to dispel his prophecies. However, at the time of the execution, simply incredible events took place: suddenly a powerful storm flew in, which scattered the funeral pyre. The charred body of the prophet was torn apart by a flock of dogs that appeared from nowhere.
These events made a strong impression on Domitian, who was killed less than a month later. Ascletarion was able to accurately describe the death of the emperor. Everything happened exactly as predicted.
