Solar and lunar eclipses happen with reasonable frequency (on average, two or three solar and two lunar per year), but at any fixed point on Earth, a total solar eclipse is rare. On average, any spot on the surface sees a total solar eclipse every 375 years or so. That's why they ended up so heavily logged in chronicles, myths, and calendars.
Battle of Halys (May 28, 585 BCE). Lydians and Medes had been fighting for five years. During a battle, a total solar eclipse darkened the sky. The two armies stopped, read it as a divine sign, and made peace the same day. Herodotus records that the philosopher Thales of Miletus had predicted the eclipse, although details of the prediction are disputed.
Christopher Columbus's eclipse (February 29, 1504). Columbus was stranded in Jamaica and depended on food provided by the local indigenous people. When supplies were cut off, he checked astronomical tables, saw a total lunar eclipse coming, and announced to local leaders that God would punish the tribe by darkening the Moon. The eclipse happened, and the food came back.
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