Thundering Legion
a Roman legion containing some Christians, which (A. D. 174) fought under Marcus Antoninus against the Marcomanni. The Roman army was shut up in a defile and ready to perish with thirst, when a thunderstorm with heavy rain relieved them of their distress, and so terrified the enemy that a complete victory was gained. The Christians attributed the deliverance to the prayer. The heathen also considered the interposition supernatural, but ascribed it to Jupiter, Mercury, or to magic. Also a legion composed of Christian soldiers raised in the Thebaïs, and led by St. Maurice. The name existed long before it was applied to either of these two legions.