Oasis Polis ( Greek: Ὄασις Πόλις; literally “Oasis City”) is said by

Herodotus Herodotus ( ; grc, , }; BC) was an ancient Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus, part of the Persian Empire (now Bodrum, Turkey) and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria ( Italy). He is known f ...

(''Histories'', III.26.1-3) to be an ancient Greek colony from

Samos Samos (, also ; el, Σάμος ) is a Greek island in the eastern Aegean Sea, south of Chios, north of Patmos and the Dodecanese, and off the coast of western Turkey, from which it is separated by the -wide Mycale Strait. It is also a separate ...

in the

Egyptian Egyptian describes something of, from, or related to Egypt. Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to: Nations and ethnic groups * Egyptians, a national group in North Africa ** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of years of ...

Desert. The oasis that would fit in with Herodotus's story here (the conquest of Egypt by Persian king

Cambyses II Cambyses II ( peo, 𐎣𐎲𐎢𐎪𐎡𐎹 ''Kabūjiya'') was the second King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire from 530 to 522 BC. He was the son and successor of Cyrus the Great () and his mother was Cassandane. Before his accession, Cambyses ...

in 525 BCE) is the so-called Small or

Bahariya Oasis El-Wahat el-Bahariya or el-Bahariya ( ar, الواحات البحرية "''El-Wāḥāt El-Baḥrīya''", "the Northern Oases"); is a Depression (geology), depression and a naturally rich oasis in the Western Desert (Egypt), Western Desert of Egypt ...

. Herodotus is describing a military campaign from Thebes via "Oasis Polis" westward towards the "Ammonians" (Ἀμμώνιοι, i.e. the

Amun Amun (; also ''Amon'', ''Ammon'', ''Amen''; egy, jmn, reconstructed as (Old Egyptian and early Middle Egyptian) → (later Middle Egyptian) → (Late Egyptian), cop, Ⲁⲙⲟⲩⲛ, Amoun) romanized: ʾmn) was a major ancient Egyptian ...

sanctuary at the

Siwa Oasis The Siwa Oasis ( ar, واحة سيوة, ''Wāḥat Sīwah,'' ) is an urban oasis in Egypt; between the Qattara Depression and the Great Sand Sea in the Western Desert (Egypt), Western Desert, 50 km (30 mi) east of the Libyan Egypt–Li ...

). An oasis due west from Thebes and at the appropriate distance from Thebes of "a seven days' journey" is the Great or Kharga Oasis, and this Great Oasis apparently is the oasis that Herodotus had in mind. However, the usual route from Egypt to the Siwa Oasis was via the so-called Small Oasis; a route via the Great Oasis would be an improbable detour through inhospitable desert terrain. Herodotus's report has therefore been characterized as "hopelessly confused", confusing the Great and Small oases. Though it might ''a priori'' be considered extremely improbable for a desert oasis to be colonized by seafarers from the island of Samos, the link is taken serious by modern historians. There certainly were many Greek communities in Egypt at the time, especially Ionians (among them Samians) and

Carians The Carians (; grc, Κᾶρες, ''Kares'', plural of , ''Kar'') were the ancient inhabitants of Caria in southwest Anatolia. Historical accounts Karkisa It is not clear when the Carians enter into history. The definition is dependent on c ...

, for example as mercenaries or traders. In particular, the Samian tribe that Herodotus mentions as living in Oasis Polis, the Aeschrionians (“τῆς Αἰσχριωνίης φυλῆς”), bear a name that is also known from Samos (Αἰσχρίων, Aeschrion). The Siwa Oasis was a famous

oracle An oracle is a person or agency considered to provide wise and insightful counsel or prophetic predictions, most notably including precognition of the future, inspired by deities. As such, it is a form of divination. Description The word '' ...

site of the Egyptian god

. In the 7th or 6th century BCE the cult of this Amun became established in the Greek colony of Cyrene, where Amun was equated with the Greek god

Zeus Zeus or , , ; grc, Δῐός, ''Diós'', label=Genitive case, genitive Aeolic Greek, Boeotian Aeolic and Doric Greek#Laconian, Laconian grc-dor, Δεύς, Deús ; grc, Δέος, ''Déos'', label=Genitive case, genitive el, Δίας, ''D� ...

("Zeus Ammon"). Samians were prominently present in ancient Cyrene, so they might be the missing link who brought the cult of Amun to Cyrene—a major caravan route led from Minya on the Nile via Siwa to the West, where it reached the sea at Cyrene. This route came in use ca. 650 BC, that is, at the same time as or slightly before the foundation of Cyrene in 632/1 BCE.

References

Populated places in Egypt Former populated places in Egypt Geography of ancient Egypt {{AncientGreekWorld-stub