The year is 329 BC. Alexander the Great leads his army on a quest to conquer the known world. As he prepares his army to cross the Indus River to attack the Indian army, Alexander and all his troops watch in awe as two "great, shining silver shields spitting fire around the edges" appear to emerge from the sky. These two "shields" repeatedly plunged on his army until the war elephants, horses and men panicked and refused to cross the river where the horrible incident occurred. The two "flying shields" disappeared into the sky as quickly as they had appeared. Seven years later, while attacking a Venetian city in the eastern Mediterranean, Alexander and the two armies on both sides of the conflict saw two objects materialize in the sky. Suddenly, one of the objects projected a beam of light onto the city walls, reducing them to dust. The objects disappeared and Alexander's army easily took the city without the wall (Sitchin 4-10). Most historians would consider both of these incidents to be false and dismiss them completely. But why did the ancients bother to document these events if they never actually happened? The answer is: they wouldn't. The truth is that the events experienced by Alexander the Great and his armies were not unique. There are countless accounts from the ancient world of objects appearing and disappearing in the sky (Sitchin 21). Many of these accounts mirror modern reports of UFO sightings. Obviously, extraterrestrial encounters are not a modern phenomenon. They have existed since the time of the first civilizations on Earth (Sitchin 58). All recorded accounts of extraterrestrial encounters throughout human history can be placed into one of the following eight categories. The first of ...... middle of article ......o coincides with a close encounter of the second type (Kean 266). . Finally, an encounter of the eighth type occurs when an unidentified flying object is seen next to or near a government military vehicle. This type of encounter is consistent with a close encounter of the first type which states that the sighting of any unidentified flying object is considered a close encounter of the first type (Kean 267). Reports of extraterrestrial encounters have existed since the dawn of human civilization. . Some cultures considered aliens to be their gods (Sitchin 59). Many legends and myths originate from sightings of unidentified flying objects. In ancient times, experiencing a close encounter was a random experience that was both mystical and terrifying. Today, all close encounters recorded throughout human history can be placed into one of the following eight categories :.