The Temple of The Oracle

At the entrance

The Temple of The Oracle is built as dedication to the cult of ram-headed sun deity of Amun. It was built during the reign of King Amasis (570-525 BC). The temple housed a famous oracle whose fame was widespread in the East Mediterranean during ancient time. Alexander the Great had visited the temple on 332/331 BC. It is located in the eastern part of Sīwa. Aghurmi clan lives in this area. I was told by a man here that there’s only eleven clans living in Sīwa, in contrary to Sheikh Idris’ claim who said there are fourteen.

Temple of the Oracle as seen from Mountain of the Dead

Other Distinguished Visitors

Cambyses of Persia, son of Cyrus the Great who conquered Egypt between 525 and 522 BC had dispatched an army of fifty thousand of men from Luxor to destroy the temple. It was because the oracle had predicted that Cambyses reign in Egypt would soon falter. The entire army vanished without any trace and buried in the vast desert.

Cimon, a general of Athens, stood at Cyprus in 449 BC awaiting prophecy from the oracle before attacking Egypt. It is said that when his dignitaries reached the Temple, the oracle spoke, "Cimon is already with me." When they returned to Cyprus, the found out that Cimon had died as they were speaking to the Oracle.

Lysander, the great general, tried to bribe the oracle to assist his attempt to be crowned king of Sparta. But, upon the Sīwan priests’ order, a delegation was sent to Greece to prosecute Lysander for his impiety. However, Lysander managed to escape the prosecution thanks to the power of money.

Alexander's Visit

The most famous visit ever made to this temple is by Alexander the Great. After defeating Darius III of Persia in the Battle of Issus in 333 BC, he was acclaimed pharaoh of Egypt. He started his journey from his newly-founded city of Alexandria to Sīwa via Mersa Matruh.

Each of the pharaohs of Egypt's during 28^th Dynasty had traveled to Sīwa to be acknowledged at the temple there as the son of Amun-Ra. Though we do not know for certain about Alexander's intention in making the journey but it may have been a piece of political image-making.

For this purpose, Alexander had to endure the most difficult journey. According to historian Callisthenes, the convoy’s water supply suddenly finished. But somehow, it rained. A sandstorm caused them to lose their way, but two crows were sent to lead them safely to Sīwa.

When he arrives in the Temple, he was welcomed warmly in a celebrated ceremony. Dancers, musicians, priests and worshippers circled in procession in the forecourt of the temple. A manifestation of the oracle was paraded through the city accompanied by eighty priests. Then, Alexander had private audience with the oracle. We can assume Alexander wanted the same declaration of divine power to legitimize his conquest of Egypt and put himself on the same footing as the pharaohs. Some said, he consulted the oracle in order to seek confirmation whether he was really a son of Zeus, therefore a legitimate ruler of all lands he conquered. After his visit to the oracle, he had his image depicted on coins wearing the horns of the ram, symbolic of Amun.

Treasure vault. All of treasures are stolen by colonialists.

Entrance to the sanctuary from the second hall

The oracle's council room

Old mosque

The mosque's well. For ablution and other purpose. Now, it has dried.

Ablution basin for women

Salt lake

Salt lake

Sīwan girls selling handcrafts for souvenirs. You can get it for LE1-LE2. Very cheap. They are shy. I was told to watch my proximity with Sīwan women. So, I sneaked my camera and capture the picture but somehow they noticed.