The Oracle in the Desert
Alexander the Great crossed hundreds of kilometres of desert to consult an oracle, guided, it was said, by crows and talking snakes.
What was reported
Deep in Egypt's Western Desert lies the oasis of Siwa, where the temple of the god Amun gave oracles famous across the Greek world. In 331 BC Alexander the Great made the dangerous journey there. Ancient writers said that when his party lost the way and ran out of water, rain fell, and crows, or in one version two snakes that spoke, guided them on.
Alexander went into the temple alone and never revealed what he was told, but afterwards he was greeted as the son of Amun.
Explanations offered
The journey is historical; the miraculous guides are the kind of story that grew up around Alexander. Siwa itself has a long history of mysteries: the 'lost army' of Cambyses, a Persian force said to have vanished in a sandstorm on its way to the oracle, has been searched for many times without success.
- When
- Visited by Alexander the Great in 331 BC
- Where
- Siwa Oasis, Egypt
- Witnesses
- Alexander the Great and his companions, as told by ancient historians
- Status
- Legend
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.
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