Titus entered the Holy of Holies after conquering Jerusalem and committed an act of deliberate sacrilege. According to Gittin 57a, he unrolled a Torah scroll on the altar, brought two prostitutes into the sacred space, and committed acts of depravity upon the altar itself. Then he took a sword and stabbed the curtain of the Holy of Holies.
Blood poured out.
Titus believed he had killed God. The Talmud records that he thought he had slain the divine. He declared himself victorious over the Almighty.
His arrogance extended to the sea voyage home. Carrying the Temple vessels as trophies, Titus taunted God: "The God of these people draws His power from water. He drowned the Egyptians in water. Let Him come fight me on dry land." A heavenly voice responded: "Wicked one, son of a wicked one. I have a small creature—go ashore and fight it."
When Titus landed, a gnat entered his nostril and bored into his brain. For seven years, the insect tortured him. Every time he passed a blacksmith's shop, the sound of hammering gave him temporary relief. Eventually, the hammering stopped working too. When he died, they opened his skull and found a creature the size of a bird—or, some say, the size of a two-pound young pigeon—with claws of iron and a beak of bronze.
The man who stabbed the Temple curtain and thought he defeated God was brought down by a gnat—fulfilling the principle that "pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall" (Proverbs 16:18). The Talmud's message is unmistakable: earthly power is an illusion. The smallest of God's creatures can destroy the mightiest of empires.
Before his death, Titus left instructions to be cremated and his ashes scattered across the seven seas—so that the God of Israel would never find him for judgment.