Alexander at one time visited the temple of Jupiter Ammon, which was situated in an oasis in the Libyan desert, and the _Oracle_ there declared him to be a son of the god. He afterwards issued his orders, letters, decrees, &c., styling himself "_Alexander, son of Jupiter Ammon_."[127:3] The words of the oracle which declared him to be divine were as follows, says Socrates: "Let altars burn and incense pour, please Jove Minerva eke; The potent Prince though nature frail, his favor you must seek, For Jove from heaven to earth him sent, lo! Alexander king, As God he comes the earth to rule, and just laws for to bring."[127:4] _Ptolemy_, who was one of Alexander's generals in his Eastern campaigns, and into whose hands Egypt fell at the death of Alexander, was also believed to have been of divine origin. At the siege of Rhodes, Ptolemy had been of such signal service to its citizens that in gratitude they paid _divine honors_ to him, and saluted him with the title of _Soter_, _i. e._, Saviour. By that designation, "_Ptolemy Soter_," he is distinguished from the succeeding kings of the Macedonian dynasty in Egypt.[127:5] _Cyrus_, King of Persia, was believed to have been of _divine origin_; he was called the "_Christ_," or the "_Anointed_ of God," and God's messenger.[127:6] _Plato_, born at Athens 429 B. C., was believed to have been the son of God by a _pure virgin_, called Perictione.[127:7] The reputed father of Plato (Aris) was admonished in a dream to respect the person of his wife until after the birth of the child of which she was then pregnant by a god.[127:8] Prof. Draper, speaking of Plato, says: "The Egyptian disciples of Plato would have looked with anger on those who rejected the legend that Perictione, the mother of that great philosopher, a pure virgin, had suffered an immaculate conception through the influences of (the god) Apollo, _and that the god had declared to Aris, to whom she was betrothed, the parentage of the child_."[128:1] Here we have the legend of the angel appearing to Joseph--to whom Mary was betrothed--believed in by the disciples of Plato for centuries before the time of Christ Jesus, the only difference being that the virgin's name was Perictione instead of Mary, and the confiding husband's name Aris instead of Joseph. We have another similar case. The mother of _Apollonius_ (B. C. 41) was informed by a god, who appeared to her, _that he himself should be born of her_.[128:2] In the course of time she gave birth to Apollonius, who became a great religious teacher, and performer of miracles.[128:3] _Pythagoras_, born about 570 B. C., had divine honors paid him. His mother is said to have become impregnated through a _spectre_, or Holy Ghost. His father--or foster-father--was also informed that his wife should bring forth a son, who should be a benefactor to mankind.[128:4]