Various tales have come down from the past about dreams that changed
the course of history. Alexander the Great, while involved in a rather
drawn-out siege of Tyros in 332 BC, dreamed of viewing a satyr (satyros)
dancing on a shield. His interpreters noticed that it was a phonetic dream
- the letters of satyros could be split to make Sa Tyros : 'Tyros is thine'.
Alexander was influenced by the dream to continue the siege, and was victorious.
Julius Caesar decided to march across the
Rubicon to attack Rome after experiencing a dream of incest with his mother.
It was interpreted as a dream of territorial conquest.
Adolf Hitler, when a 28 year old NCO in the
first war world, apparently dreamed of being buried by a shell. It was
the Somme, and all was quiet at the time. Disturbed by the clarity of the
dream, he left the bunker and wandered into no-man's land - which was dangerous.
Suddenly, a shell hit the place where he had been sleeping, killing all
his comrades. This dream, and his fortuitous avoidance of death, may have
convinced the future Fuhrer and despot that he was especially protected
and chosen for a major political role.