The opening chapter sets the scene for Egypt of the Saite Pharaohs, 664–525 BC by considering the political turmoil, disunity and events in Egypt prior to the 26th Dynasty, the Saite Period. The invasions and settlements of western tribes (‘Libyans’) into Egypt were a factor in the origin and later rise to power of the Saite rulers. The process of how the ‘Libyan’ leaders rose from being merely local chiefs in a foreign country to eventually being independent rulers of mini-states in northern Egypt is considered. In time one of these states, the Kingdom of the West, centred on Sais, developed and became the largest of these independent polities. Further expansion into the Delta and central Egypt was halted by the invasion of the Kushites from Nubia, the country to the south of Egypt, who already had some presence in the southern part of Egypt. The Kingdom of the West, although defeated, was able to retain its original territory, and its rulers later declared themselves kings and became known as the 24th Dynasty.

This essay pursues an ontological understanding of consultations at Dodona. The premise of this investigation is that if we are to understand a divinatory consultation as the Greeks themselves did, then we need to put aside our own Western Post-Enlightenment (largely secular) ontological assumptions concerning the existence of supernatural beings and view the world through the ontological assumptions of the Greeks themselves. This is a much more radical suggestion than the traditional injunction of putting on the cultural filters of the ancient Greeks, in as much as that step is then invariably followed by an act of cultural translation (which all too often is a ‘mistranslation’). The practice of divination, therefore, should be analysed in emic terms and then described in those terms as well, rather than being re-described in our own terms. Nevertheless, the emic understanding of a consultation can be enhanced by the application of Actor-Network Theory and an Object-Oriented Ontology, since they reveal the implicit social dynamics involved in consulting and interpreting oracles.

Soon after the death of Ahmose II, the Persian Empire, which had been increasing in size and power for a number of years, invaded Egypt. Ahmose’s son, Psamtek III, the new ruler of Egypt, fought the Persians, under Cambyses II at Pellusium. The Egyptians retreated and following a siege at Memphis were defeated and Psamtek was taken prisoner. Cambyses conquered Egypt, sent expeditions to the oases, campaigned in Nubia and consolidated his control over the whole country. The celebrated statue of Udjahorresnet, an Egyptian naval officer and dignitary, who served under both Ahmose II and Cambyses II, provides information for this period. Psamtek III reputedly committed suicide following a failed attempt to foment a rebellion against the Persian occupiers. In 525 BC Cambyses was declared King of Egypt and incorporated Egypt into the Persian empire. The Saite Period was over and Egypt was an occupied country.

Dodona is among the best-known Greek oracles, with thousands of lead lamellae relating the questions asked to Zeus. But understanding how they were used, relying on epigraphy, with the literary tradition and its usual stereotypes about oracles, proves impossible. Literary sources emphasise the ambiguity of questions and answers, while the engraved questions, ignored by the literary tradition, are obviously formulated to be answered by ‘yes’ or ‘no’. From this basis, this essay explores when these questions (and the answers that we do not possess) were written and used in some ritual way(s). This could have been at the beginning or the end of the consultation, or somewhere in between. We do not know if the texts transpose the question asked orally verbatim, nor if all the consultants were following a strict procedure. Most of the questions are too short to be understood by the officials, and the consultation was partly if not fully oral. Some detours about quasi-identical questions, abecedaries and lot oracles clarify this picture, but this enquiry highlights our ignorance about the procedure and warns against simplistic interpretations drawn from incomplete documentation.

The final chapter considers the significance of the 26th Dynasty in relation to the history of ancient Egypt. The dynamic nature of the period, and the achievements of the Saites in the political, economic, administrative and cultural spheres are highlighted. Far-reaching administrative changes throughout the country, changes in ownership and tenancy of land, temple reform, the introduction of Demotic, religious ideology developments are major factors during this period. On the international front, for a brief period, Egypt occupied territory in Syria–Palestine, although much of the Saite Period was a struggle against her more powerful neighbours to the east. Trade was promoted with the Greeks and Phoenicians and Egypt became part of the wide-range trading networks that linked the Mediterranean cultures. Egypt realigned itself in the Mediterranean world, heralding the Hellenistic age; a time of transformation from the Bronze Age to the Classical era.

This essay draws conclusions from a quantitative analysis of the thousands of lead tablets from Dodona published by Dakaris, Vokotopoulou and Christidis in 2013. It argues that the use of lead tablets in the divination process grew rapidly in the fifth century due to the increased availability of lead in particular from Attika. The tablets would have been left in visible locations after use before being cleared away to be ready for reuse after a period of time. This practice of displaying low-value metal objects is compared to the modern phenomena of coin-trees and love-locks. The use of tablets appears to decline rapidly through the fourth century, with few inscriptions dating to the period after 300 BCE. A number of explanations are offered: the monumentalization of the sanctuary in the third century making the practice of leaving tablets on display less acceptable; the changing role of the sanctuary leading to a change in clientele and consultation practice; and the need for lead for the construction of the large stone buildings resulting in the melting down of lead tablets, with more recent tablets being disproportionately affected.

1–125 After his reconquest of Babylon, and when Asia is ‘flourishing because of its many men’ (the *ominous prosperity casting a dark light on the expedition right from the start), Darius marches against Scythia as he had announced (3.134.4), because, as the narrator now explains, he wants to punish the Scythians for their invasion of Media in the past (1–4).