oracles A deity’s response to a query, delivered by
a messenger of the divine, such as a statue of a god,
the practice was widespread throughout ancient Egyp-
tian historical periods and part of all major cult
centers, even in the Libyan OASES, especially at SIWA.
Oracles were always popular with the people, who had
an innate curiosity about the future and daily affairs.
They were used in conjunction with lucky and unlucky
days.
On festival days, the statues of the gods were carried
through the streets of the cities or floated on barges to the
local shrines and necropolis regions. The people flocked
to the processions, anxious for the statues to reach the
STATIONS OF THE GODSthat were erected on street corners.
These stations were small stages, slightly elevated so that
the people could view the statue of the deity on display.
There the gods were asked questions about the future,
and the devoted faithful, in turn, received ritualized and
traditional responses.
The statue of the god moved on its pedestal or in its
shrine in response to questions, or the entire shrine
swayed to one side or another when the queries were
posed to it. A movement in one direction indicated a
negative response, and a movement in another direction
provided a positive reply. In some cult centers the stat-
ues “spoke” to the faithful, as priests could be hidden
within the shrine and could provide a muffled but audi-
ble response. Some of these priests offered sermons to
the people as the “mouth of the god” and repeated time-
honored wisdom texts for the edification of the specta-
tors.
The sacred BULLS of Egypt, the THEOPHANIES of
some deities, were also used as oracles in their own tem-
ples. An animal was led into a vast hall crowded by
faithful onlookers. The people posed their questions
and the bull was loosed. Two doors opened onto cham-
bers containing the bull’s favorite food in order to elicit
a response. One door signified a negative response to
the question posed at the time and the other a positive
reply. The bull entered one chamber or another, thus
rendering its divine judgment on the matters under dis-
cussion.
The most famous oracle in Egypt was in Siwa Oasis,
located 524 miles northwest of modern Cairo. The tem-
ple at Aghurmi in the Siwa Oasis had an ancient oracle
site that was used by pilgrims. The temple of Umm
Ubayd also had an oracle that welcomed visitors in all
eras. ALEXANDER III THE GREAT (r. 332–323 B.C.E.),
the Spartan general Lysander, the poet Pindar, and the
Greek geographer STRABOall attended oracle ceremonies
in Siwa.
Orbiney, Papyrus d’ A text of the Nineteenth
Dynasty, dating to the reign of SETI I(r. 1306–1290 B.C.E.)
and supposedly a copy of an earlier document, the
papyrus contained the TALE OF TWO BROTHERS, the legend
of good and evil, that dated to ancient historical periods.
A memorandum from the workshop of a scribe named
Ennana is also included. The PAPYRUSwas purchased by
Madame d’Orbiney of Italy, hence the name. She sold it to
the British Museum in London.Orion This heavenly body was deemed significant to
the ancient Egyptians, particularly in the early periods.
Orion was deemed important when the cosmogonic, or
creation traditions that dominated Egyptian cultic prac-
tices, were being formulated by the priest astronomers on
the Nile. The PYRAMID TEXTS, dating to the Fifth
(2465–2323 B.C.E.) and Sixth (2323–2150 B.C.E.) Dynas-
ties, recount the orbital path of Orion and the role of that
heavenly body in the divine plan of the universe and of
humans on the earth.
See also ASTRONOMY.Osireion The name given to the CENOTAPHof SETI I
(r. 1306–1290 B.C.E.) at ABYDOS, erected to serve as his
vast mortuary temple in OSIRIS’s holy city, the structure
was unfinished at the time of Seti I’s death. His grand-son
MERENPTAH (r. 1224–1214 B.C.E.) completed it in his
honor, and the temple stands as a remarkable example
of Egyptian architectural and artistic advances. The cus-
tom of erecting cenotaphs, or false, secondary tombs,
in the holy city of Abydos dates to the earliest eras on
the Nile.
Seti I’s temple reflected this tradition but added the
elements of the artisans and builders of his era. The walls
of this temple were covered with passages from the BOOK
OF THE DEAD, the Book of Gates,astronomical treatises,
and other texts. A unique feature of the Osireion was an288 oraclesA view of the tomb of Seti I at Abydos, a cenotaph temple that
honors the deity Osiris and eternity.(Courtesy Steve Beikirch.)