The Carthaginians had not re-entered their houses when the clouds accumulated more thickly; those who raised their heads towards the colossus could feel big drops on their foreheads, and the rain fell.

It fell the whole night plentifully¹, in floods; the thunder growled²; it was the voice of Moloch; he had vanquished³ Tanith; and she, being now fecundated, opened up her vast bosom⁵ in heaven’s heights. Sometimes she could be seen in a clear and luminous⁶ spot stretched upon cushions of cloud; and then the darkness would close in again as though she were still too weary and wished to sleep again; the Carthaginians, all believing that water is brought forth⁷ by the moon, shouted to make her travail⁸ easy.

The rain beat upon the terraces and overflowed⁹ them, forming lakes in the courts, cascades¹¹ on the staircases, and eddies¹² at the corners of the streets. It poured in warm heavy masses and urgent streams; big frothy jets leaped from the corners of all the buildings; and it seemed as though whitish cloths hung dimly upon the walls, and the washed temple-roofs shone black in the gleam of the lightning. Torrents¹³ descended¹⁴ from the Acropolis by a thousand paths; houses suddenly gave way, and small beams, plaster, rubbish, and furniture passed along in streams which ran impetuously over the pavement.