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Maryl C. Levine

The Oracle of the Temple of Amun (shown here), founded in the sixth century B.C., was one of antiquity’s most holy mysteries. It was consulted by kings and princes from all over the ancient world—including Alexander the Great, who visited the oracle in 331 B.C. to confirm his divinity as the son of the Amun (the Egyptian equivalent of Zeus). The Temple remained an important religious center until it was closed by the Byzantine emperor Justinian in the sixth century A.D.