Nicator wrote:I don't know what kind of scholarly research has been conducted on the Siwa shrine, but an interesting book I read a couple of years ago indicated that the Siwa oracle was founded by two black doves that carried an olive branch from the Dodona oracle in Alexander's backyard. In my opinion, too little is made out this connection.
Hi Nick,
The tale of the two black doves is from
Herodotus 2.54-57. He has more to say on the matter though, because the priests of Egyptian Thebes had told him a tale about how two women of the temple were kidnapped by Phoenicians. According to this legend, one was sold and sent to Libya and the other to the Hellenes, and these women were the first to found oracles in the two nations. Herodotus then goes on to theorize that the Egyptian women were the GÇ£dovesGÇ¥ GÇô itGÇÖs quite interesting to see him break down and analyze one legendary tale only to replace it with another.
I wasnGÇÖt aware of the Siwah oracle being founded during the reign of Ramses III, as ScottOden quoted from The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt, but I did know that there is an inscription from this pharaohGÇÖs reign which describes how the barque was used to answer questions, and even tells how the priests prepared themselves before delivering an oracle. This survives as part of a record of a plot by harem women against Ramses. Unfortunately, I donGÇÖt know the name of the inscription so I havenGÇÖt been able to find a translation online (if it exists). Further to this, and according to Jona LenderingGÇÖs
Ammon page, the sanctuary was dedicated by the pharaoh Amasis (570-526).
As for Greece, Pausanias tells of various temples and statues of Ammon there, including a sanctuary of Ammon in Sparta and a legend linking Lysander with Ammon. Pausanias says the Spartans GÇ£seem to have used the Libyan oracle more than anyone else in Greece from the beginning.GÇ¥ (3.18.3). Then there was another shrine in Elis where again, GÇ£they appear to have used the Libyan oracle from a very early period.GÇ¥ (5.15.11). Also, Jona tells of a temple in Athens along with a center of worship in the Macedonian town of Aphythis where a statue of Ammon stood. (DonGÇÖt know the source for this GÇô could be Pausanias, although I didnGÇÖt find this during a quick scan.)
. . . Olympias would have been well acquainted with the legend of Siwa and its connection to her primary place of religious worship. If anything, it gives us a rare glimpse into the religious background at the Pella court and the ties between mother and son. I.e...we can possibly infer that Olympias informed Alexander at a very young age about the Siwa shrine.
All in all, there seems to have been considerable veneration of Ammon in Greece, making me think it wasnGÇÖt likely to have been Olympias who familiarized Alexander with the god. In fact, I do wonder if Alexander was as susceptible to her influence as people think. Actually GÇô sticking my neck out here GÇô I doubt that the tales said to have originated with Olympias (especially the one about AlexanderGÇÖs conception) even existed during AlexanderGÇÖs childhood. I simply canGÇÖt accept that Philip would have stood idly by while it was suggested that Alexander wasnGÇÖt his offspring. It doesnGÇÖt matter that Alexander was supposedly born of a god, Philip would have still been a cuckold! (And if anyone doubts that he would have felt this way, check out any Greek myth that tells a similar tale. The mortal husbands were NOT happy with the events.) The claims that Olympias spread these stories shortly after AlexanderGÇÖs birth are linked with the supposed animosity between her and Philip, yet thereGÇÖs no evidence for this until shortly before PhilipGÇÖs death. Philip had a chryselephantine statue built of Olympias (along with himself, his mother, and Alexander) and placed at Olympia - not something you would have done if you were at odds with your wife for almost twenty years, IMO. My belief is that the stories didnGÇÖt exist until after PhilipGÇÖs death, and perhaps came into being as late as AlexanderGÇÖs visit to Siwah. I can envisage them being used as support for AlexanderGÇÖs new-found god-like status, rather then them being the
reason for his visit.
I could use Plutarch (Alexander 3.1.2) to support my argument: GÇ£Moreover, Olympias, as Eratosthenes says, when she sent Alexander forth upon his great expedition, told him, and him alone, the secret of his begetting, and bade him have purposes worthy of his birth. Others, on the contrary, say that she repudiated the idea, and said: GÇ£Alexander must cease slandering me to Hera.GÇ¥ Now if she told Alexander GÇô and ONLY Alexander GÇô just before he left for Asia, then this tale was definitely not going the rounds before PhilipGÇÖs death. On the other hand, right before this statement Plutarch (Alexander 3.1.1) tells of Philip sending a messenger to Delphi and receiving a warning he would lose the eye that had seen the god, in the form of a snake, bedded down with Olympias! (Dean mentions this in his post.) So from this weGÇÖre supposed to believe that Philip *knew* Alexander wasnGÇÖt his GÇô and so, apparently, did Chaeron of Megalopolis who received the oracle! Hmmmm. As IGÇÖve said, I have difficulty accepting this. However, according to the story, Philip was also instructed by the oracle to sacrifice to Ammon. So earlier connections to Ammon can definitely be found GÇô the problem is separating the truth from the legend.
Best regards,
Amyntoros
.
Aw shucks, I have been away too long, so don't know if there is still interest in this subject or not. First of all, one had to believe in Zeus. Does anyone today believe in Zeus? As for the oracle, only Alexander is supposed to have known what was said and done there, if he spoke, if the oracle spoke, etc. Supposedly, a dim memory of some reading suggested that someone could actually hide and listen in, and thus, one might learn of what transpired there, but I have long forgotten whose suggestion that was.
