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When Alexander was conducted by the priests into the temple and had regarded the god for a while, the one who held the position of prophet, an elderly man, came to him and said, "Rejoice, son1 take this form of address as from the god also." [2] He replied, "I accept, father; for the future I shall be called thy son. But tell me if thou givest me the rule of the whole earth." The priest now entered the sacred enclosure and as the bearers now lifted the god and were moved according to certain prescribed sounds of the voice,2 the prophet cried that of a certainty the god had granted him his request, and Alexander spoke again: "The last, O spirit, of my questions now answer; have I punished all those who were the murderers of my father or have some escaped me?" [3] The prophet shouted: "Silence! There is no mortal who can plot against the one who begot him. All the murderers of Philip, however, have been punished. The proof of his divine birth will reside in the greatness of his deeds; as formerly he has been undefeated, so now he will be unconquerable for all time." [4] Alexander was delighted with these responses. He honoured the god with rich gifts and returned to Egypt.3

1 Curtius 4.7.25; Justin 11.11.2-12; Plut. Alexander 27.5.

2 It is not clear whose voice this was which uttered "symbols." Perhaps the automatic movements of the bearers were symbols which could be interpreted in oral responses.

3 Curtius 4.7.27-28; Justin 11.11.9; Plut. Alexander 27.3-4.

Diodorus Siculus. Diodorus of Sicily in Twelve Volumes with an English Translation by C. H. Oldfather. Vol. 4-8. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann, Ltd. 1989.

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  • Cross-references to this page (1):
    • A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities (1890), ORA´CULUM
  • Cross-references in notes from this page (4):
    • Plutarch, Alexander, 27.3
    • Plutarch, Alexander, 27.5
    • Curtius, Historiarum Alexandri Magni, 4.7.25
    • Curtius, Historiarum Alexandri Magni, 4.7.27
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