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Could a flock of geese have alerted Rome to a nighttime attack?

According to a famous Roman tradition recorded by Livy, Gallic raiders tried to climb the Capitoline Hill around 390 BCE. The cries of sacred geese supposedly alerted the defenders, helping them respond to the danger.

But the episode is more complicated than the legend suggests. Historians debate how much of this account can be independently confirmed.

Watch this cinematic 3D CGI reconstruction of one of Rome's most unusual military stories—and decide what you think.

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Transcript
00:00Rome's citadel was under threat. According to ancient tradition, its unlikely sentries were not human.
00:08The geese cried out, waking the defenders, just as raiders climbed toward the hilltop in darkness.
00:16Livy preserved the story, but historians still debate how much of this famous warning belongs to legend.

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