Throwing thunderbolts upon Sparta

Sparta, Greece · 272 BCE

in his sleep, dreamed that he threw thunderbolts upon Lacedaemon, and set it all on fire, and rejoiced at the sight

Original text — Lives of the Noble Grecians and Romans (Dryden trans., rev. Clough), Plutarch; trans. John Dryden et al., rev. A. H. Clough

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Source: Lives of the Noble Grecians and Romans (Dryden trans., rev. Clough) — Plutarch; trans. John Dryden et al., rev. A. H. Clough, c. 100 / 1859 (revision). Life of Pyrrhus
Rights: Public domain (author died 100+ years ago)
Record type: Literary dream
Place: Sparta, Greece · Ancient Greek
Date: 272 BCE
Uncertainty: High — From Plutarch’s Lives (Dryden translation, revised by Clough); a reported dream.
Imagery: Storm · Fire · City · War
Feelings: Joy · Awe

How traditions have read this kind of dream

Psychological

Storms, mountains and gardens in dreams are often traced to the day’s impressions or the sleeper’s physical state — Ellis connected a dreamed cyclone to a windy night.

Ellis (1911), ch. IV

Mythological

Sacred mountains and world-trees connect earth and sky in many traditions, from Olympus to Yggdrasil to Mount Kunlun.

Comparative mythology

Chinese traditions

Landscape — mountains, rivers, mist — is the setting of countless Chinese dream journeys, where the dreamer’s wandering mirrors the shan-shui painting tradition.

Li Bai, Dreaming of Tianmu

These are cultural lenses, not a diagnosis.

Dreams that share its images

A goddess put lightning in my hand Near Rome, Italy · 88 BCE
A thunderbolt fell on my father’s house Mesopotamia · 401 BCE
A friend at the bedside, like a breath of wind Scheria (setting) · c. 8th century BCE
The general’s buried sword Shouchun, Anhui, China · Tang (undated)
Three branches and Pharaoh’s cup Egypt (narrative setting) · undated narrative
Riding with Achilles Vienna, Austria · c. 1900