<i>Iudicia Dei</i> . Orosius, natural calamities and divine retribution

Abstract Natural calamities, such as earthquakes and plagues, are one of the misera that form the subject matter of the Histories of Orosius. This article makes three points. First, through a range of rhetorical means, Orosius suggests that the common interpretation of his day, that natural disasters are divine retribution for mankind’s sins, is also applicable to man-made disasters: the sins of a society produce warfare and murder, which also are divine punishments. Second, although couched in Christian terms, Orosius stands in a long classical tradition of attributing a dual explanation to earthquakes and other calamities, which are caused by natural causes and convey messages from the divine. Third, whilst Orosius emphasizes retribution as the main mechanism behind natural disasters, some passages reveal a more complex view of nature. His one-sided rhetoric obscures the fact that he shares much more with the classical tradition and his contemporaries.