It’s catastrophic because it’s a last minute thread, and because it deals with catastrophe. When the Romans suffered terrible defeat upon terrible defeat at the hands of Hannibal, they went looking for what went wrong. After Trasimene, it was obvious to them that there had been ritual negligence going on and the defeat itself was a prodige. So they remedied this, and consulted the Sibylline books, which resulted in numerous prayers, processions and assorted lectisterns (banquets offered to the gods), and, should Rome’s military situation improve within five years, a Sacred Spring: all the living creatures born in a Spring would belong to the gods (with the exclusion of men). After Cannae, an unprecedented massacre, there was much dismay. At the same time, says Livy, it was discovered that two Vestals had broken their obligations, which was also considered a prodige. Not only were the Sibylline books consulted once more, but the Romans sent an embassy to Delphi to get a response from the oracle. The Sibylline books’ prescription was unusual: a couple of Gauls and a couple of Greeks were to be buried alive on the Forum Boarium. This was only the second time it happened in Roman History, and Livy, which tells us this, expresses some shock and distaste at this, calling it “rather un-Roman”.
Anyway, in these times of epidemic, let us reflect upon weird rituals.