ABSTRACT
Lightning has played a prominent part in almost all ancient religions and has a great deal of mystery and mythology surrounding it to this day, both because it is difficult to study and because it is so wondrous and awe inspiring when it occurs. Lightning appears prominently in the Buddhist, Druidic, and ancient Egyptian religions. It was used by Jove, Jupiter, and Norse Thor to express their power and often their anger in the ancient Greek, Roman, and Norse religions, respectively. Priests used storms and lightning as omens to interpret the wishes of the gods and control matters of state. Even in Judaic and Christian writings, it was seen as a sign of a superior being's presence, being noted several times in the Old Testament. Fortunately, the idea of vaporization and spontaneous combustion is the figment of several science fiction writers' and sensationalists' imaginations and has no basis in fact.
