The Shrine in the praesidium of Dios (Eastern Desert of Egypt): Graffiti and Oracles in Context

Abstract

In 2009, a remarkably preserved shrine was discovered in the Dios fortlet, dedicated to Zeus Helios Megas Sarapis and the Tyche of the praesidium. Archaeological data and several inscriptions found in the fort show that this shrine, built at the earliest after the reign of Antoninus Pius, is not the original aedes of the praesidium. The Greek and Latin graffiti left in the shrine by visitors are published, as well as a small collection of oracular answers on ostraca, found in the filling of the podium on which the cultstatues were placed. The latter texts are akin, in their style and contents, to the astragaloi-oracles from South-Western Asia Minor.