# An Herodotus account possibly confirmed *The Urth list — 3 messages, 3 voices, 12 Nov 2009* > Exported from an unofficial mirror of a public mailing list. Copyright > in each message remains with the person who wrote it. > Email addresses are obscured as `user at host`, the form the original > archive published. This file was rebuilt from parsed fields rather than > retained headers, so it is faithful in content but not byte-exact. --- ### James Wynn *12 Nov 2009, 17:21* http://news.discovery.com/archaeology/cambyses-army-remains-sahara.html "Bones, jewelry and weapons found in Egyptian desert may be the remains of Cambyses' army that vanished 2,500 years ago." "According to Herodotus (484-425 B.C.), Cambyses, the son of Cyrus the Great, sent 50,000 soldiers from Thebes to attack the Oasis of Siwa and destroy the oracle at the Temple of Amun after the priests there refused to legitimize his claim to Egypt. After walking for seven days in the desert, the army got to an "oasis," which historians believe was El-Kharga. After they left, they were never seen again. "A wind arose from the south, strong and deadly, bringing with it vast columns of whirling sand, which entirely covered up the troops and caused them wholly to disappear," wrote Herodotus." The tale of Cambyses' lost army, however, faded into antiquity. As no trace of the hapless warriors was ever found, scholars began to dismiss the story as a fanciful tale." --- ### brunians at brunians.org *12 Nov 2009, 21:12 · in reply to James Wynn* What, again? . > http://news.discovery.com/archaeology/cambyses-army-remains-sahara.html > > "Bones, jewelry and weapons found in Egyptian desert may be the > remains of Cambyses' army that vanished 2,500 years ago." > > "According to Herodotus (484-425 B.C.), Cambyses, the son of Cyrus the > Great, sent 50,000 soldiers from Thebes to attack the Oasis of Siwa > and destroy the oracle at the Temple of Amun after the priests there > refused to legitimize his claim to Egypt. After walking for seven days > in the desert, the army got to an "oasis," which historians believe > was El-Kharga. After they left, they were never seen again. > > "A wind arose from the south, strong and deadly, bringing with it vast > columns of whirling sand, which entirely covered up the troops and > caused them wholly to disappear," wrote Herodotus." > > The tale of Cambyses' lost army, however, faded into antiquity. As no > trace of the hapless warriors was ever found, scholars began to > dismiss the story as a fanciful tale." > _______________________________________________ --- ### John Smith *12 Nov 2009, 22:09 · in reply to James Wynn* Herodotus's Histories is a wonderful book, and readers of Wolfe's "Soldier" books should enjoy this source. The accuracy of the Histories has often been questioned, but many strange tales have been confirmed. Best wishes, Jack --- On Thu, 11/12/09, James Wynn wrote: From: James Wynn Subject: (urth) An Herodotus account possibly confirmed To: "The Urth Mailing List" Date: Thursday, November 12, 2009, 12:21 PM http://news.discovery.com/archaeology/cambyses-army-remains-sahara.html "Bones, jewelry and weapons found in Egyptian desert may be the remains of Cambyses' army that vanished 2,500 years ago." "According to Herodotus (484-425 B.C.), Cambyses, the son of Cyrus the Great, sent 50,000 soldiers from Thebes to attack the Oasis of Siwa and destroy the oracle at the Temple of Amun after the priests there refused to legitimize his claim to Egypt. After walking for seven days in the desert, the army got to an "oasis," which historians believe was El-Kharga. After they left, they were never seen again. "A wind arose from the south, strong and deadly, bringing with it vast columns of whirling sand, which entirely covered up the troops and caused them wholly to disappear," wrote Herodotus." The tale of Cambyses' lost army, however, faded into antiquity. As no trace of the hapless warriors was ever found, scholars began to dismiss the story as a fanciful tale." ---