Ancient Worlds - BBC Two Episode 4 “Return of the King”The Siwa Oasis, deep in the Sahar

Ancient Worlds - BBC Two

Episode 4 “Return of the King”

TheSiwa Oasis, deep in the Sahara desert, is known primarily as the site of an Oracle temple dedicated to the Egyptian sun god Amun, the famous Temple of the Oracle.

The temple was built during the 26th Dynasty (though the Oracle’s origin is reputed to be much older. Some scholars maintain that the temple existed as early as 1385 BC) and its Oracle flourished well into the Greek and Roman periods. The temple can still be seen on the hill of Aghurmi, which is a few kilometers East of the modern town area. Besides the temple there is and old mosque (picture n. 5). There was another temple dedicated to Amun at Siwa, Umm Ubayda.

Alexander the Great visited the Oracle in 332 BC. His expedition to Siwa is considered as one of the most fascinating and enigmatic events of his reign and it was widely publicized in antiquity. He risked his army and his life to travel across the endless desert to consult the oracle when he conquered Egypt. It was said that Perseus and Heracles had consulted it. Alexander was seeking to trace his birth back to Ammon, just as mythology traces that of Heracles and Perseus to Zeus. The oracle supposedly confirmed Alexander as both a divine personage and the legitimate Pharaoh of Egypt, as well as the future ruler of the whole world.

Siwa Oasis, Egypt