Throughout the ages, a great deal of mythology has been associated with the presence of comets. Because of their unusual shape and sudden appearance, comets were commonly viewed as omens, both good and bad. A comet appearing in 44 B.C. shortly after Julius Caesar was killed was thought to be his soul returning. In A.D. 451, the Romans felt that a comet's appearance was responsible for the defeat of Attila
the Hun, and in A.D. 684 a comet was blamed for an outbreak of the plague. People used to print and distribute pamphlets every time a comet was coming, some with titles such as "News of the Terrible and Fearsome Comet." Aristotle, the famous Greek philosopher and scientist from the third century B.C., mistakenly believed that comets were atmospheric phenomena and that they were a sign of coming weather.
