t these islands of fertility and verdure
are always _small_. Some of them are very extensive, and contain a
considerable population. There is one called the Great Oasis, which
consists of a chain of fertile tracts of about a hundred miles in
length. Another, called the Oasis of Siwah, has, in modern times, a
population of eight thousand souls. This last is situated not far from
the shores of the Mediterranean Sea--at least not very far: perhaps
two or three hundred miles--and it was a very celebrated spot in
Alexander's day.

The cause of its celebrity was that it was the seat and center of the
worship of a famous deity called Jupiter Ammon. This god was said to
be the son of Jupiter, though there were all sorts of stories about
his origin and early history. He had the form of a ram, and was
worshiped by the people of Egypt, and also by the Carthaginians, and
by the people of Northern Africa generally. His temple was in this
Oasis, and it was surrounded by a considerable population, which was
supported, in a great degree, by the expenditures of the worshipers
who came as pilgrims, or otherwise, to sacrifice at his shrine.

It is said that Alexander, finding that the various objects of human
ambition which he had been so rapidly attaining by his victories and
conquests for the past few years were insufficient to satisfy him,
began now to aspire for some supernatural honors, and he accordingly
conceived the design of having himself declared to be the son of a
god. The heroes of Homer were sons of the gods. Alexander envied them
the fame and honor which this distinction gave them in the opinion of
mankind. He determined to visit the temple of Jupiter Ammon in the
Oasis of Siwah, and to have the declaration of his divine origin made
by the priests there.

He proceeded, accordingly, to the mouth of the Nile, where he found a
very eligible place, as he believed, for the foundation of a
commercial city, and he determined to build it on his return. Thence
he marched along the shores of the Mediterranean, toward the west,
until he reached a place called Paraetonium, which will be found upon
the map. He then left the sea-shore and marched south, striking at
once into the desert when he left the sea. He was accompanied by a
small detachment of his army as an escort, and they journeyed eleven
days before they reached the Oasis.

They had a variety of perilous adventures in crossing the desert. For
the first two days the soldie