Part 92 (1/2)

”Come” He made his way toward the second division between the secular and the sacred, the first roofed hall We passed through the doorway and were surrounded by a forest of massive pillars, their tops carved to look like lotus buds, supporting a roof that cut off all sunlight, except for the s near the seaht, glaring light

The party of priests stood respectfully back as we, and we alone, proceeded beyond this point Behind the next set of doors was the inner hall, ht was even diloo like sentries in the cool dimness But the roof was lost in darkness

Nakht had stopped I stood still, too Utter silence and stillness surrounded us It was hard to believe that outside Re was still beating down above us, so completely was the nor I stood there, but after a passage of tian to move on, and I followed him Deeper and deeper into the temple we penetrated, and since there were no torches or candles, I had to pause to accusto farther

Eventually we reached the sanctuary, that place of utter darkness, surrounded by polished black stone Here the Majet-boat, ”barque of millions of years,” rested on its pedestal--the barque that Re rode, syht, for the sun to be worshi+ped in a place of black nothingness But the sacred see of sensation--as if all sensations were too tainted with earthly feelings

Around the sanctuary lay the sacred cha off the corridor In them the various ceremonies were performed, essential to the life of the temple Here, Re had his face washed by the stars--the priests acting on their behalf--and here his statue was clothed afresh each day with cloth woven on temple looms

”And here, Goddess--” Nakht stepped aside to show me the altar dedicated to my father, me, and Caesarion, as Gods orked in concert with the other Gods to preserve Egypt Our statues stood unseeing on carved pedestals, and ore the garb of ancient Egypt Offerings were placed here each day

I exah Mine did not look likelike him

”Exalted one,” said Nakht, ”you see here yourself as Isis Since you are daughter of Re and Isis is also the daughter of Re, and she is your protective Goddess, we thought this representation fitting”

Isis had a snake coiled around one of her arms She seemed unalarmed by this

”The sacred cobras are kept here as well,” said Nakht ”As you know, they are the e eye of Atum--the sun in his destructive eleypt She encircles the crown of Lower Egypt, ready to strike She kills ordinary hter of the Gods, it is a gift to them It confers immortality”

”The bite of an asp can take us directly to the Gods?”

”Yes, Goddess For us it is so For others--no That is reserved for those already divine, or in the service of the divine”

”You have sacred cobras here?”

”Indeed I will show them to you later in the day”

We next entered the most sacred place in the temple All temples had dark sanctuaries with a barque of the God, but only Heliopolis had the obelisk, covered in shi+old; this was the Benben stone, touched by Re at the beginning of ti It stood in a roofless room

Overhead the sky was the color of brilliant blue faience My eyes hurt at the intensity of it after the dark te, reflecting Re in his heavens

”Here is the center of the world,” Nakht breathed, and it was easy to believe hirew more intense, Nakht ushered me into a private chamber in his own quarters

”We ait for the shadows to grow,” he said ”Then you may see your incense shrubs, and the rest of our holy site”

I took my rest on a beautiful carved bed, its head and feet that of a lion, with a long tail trailing from the back I lowered ht froood to lie here Not that I would sleep, of course Not that I would sleep

But the heavy, drugged air and the slow afternoon overwhel how far re if these rituals and these halls were really unchanged froed into a dreary at the new Gods now set up in Egypt? How did they feel about Serapis, the Ptole in on Osiris? And what about Aphrodite, and Mars, and Zeus? Here the novel, foreign Gods seemed so loud, so unsubtle, so intrusive Our Goddess Hathor incorporated love, and joy, and hed Their Their Gods, Gods, our our Godsas I, really? Which Gods were ypt Godsas I, really? Which Gods were ypt

I stirred I felt sticky fro at this unnatural tiht had slipped far down on the walls, and the edges were no longer sharp It edcha, as I kneould be

”The Goddess has rested?” he asked

”Indeed,” I assured hi!--it is safe to venture outside He will bathe the landscape in the softest tones, as he lovingly bids farewell”

He was right Outside the colors had coold-white, now it had a tawny tinge The walls of the teave back the heat they had received earlier There was even a slight afternoon breeze, which was at its strongest here on the hilltop

”The incense grove is here, beside our fields of flax, where we grow the linen for our robes,” he said We left the walled temple precinct, and walked to neat rows of tended bushes stretching toward the orchard

I was delighted The bushes were alreen and healthy ”Why, they are thriving!” I said

”They struggled that first year,” he said ”We lost a few of therohere but near Jericho Perhaps they weretheir removal, their exile But then they took root and shot up, and now I think we can assume they will attain maturity Just think--for the first time they will flourish outside their native land”

”Yes” And they would enrich us trereas the richest spot on earth Each hand-length of ground yielded a fortune I sighed Another h! ”I am pleased”

I looked around The pleasant vista spreading itself out aroundstone of the teht,” I said, ”if I may witness the arrival of Re tomorrow, and see hih I had passed a test ”And you will see more than that,” he assured me

After dinner I was taken to a small house nestled near the first pylon, still within the terounds I had barely noticed it at my first entrance; noondered why It was not unobtrusive

The ed He becareater than himself He had not acted so with me Who was this, to invoke such reverence?

”Goddess,” he said, ”here is the wisest ypt, he who presides over the sacred texts of the Gods He knows all their an in ancient ti The room seemed to be empty It was neat and clean, with little chests stacked one on top of another, and pots holding scrolls lined up on the floor Then there was a shuffling So moved in the far corner

I felt the hair on the back of , and a faint odor of dust and storage rose A s, lurched off a stool

”Ipuwer, this is our Queen, Cleopatra, the Goddess Beloved of Her Father, corow taller and taller I saw then that it was his skin itself that looked like wrappings He was so old it hung like draperies, and it was a dull brownish yellow

”Ipuwer is directly descended froh priest of Heliopolis,” said Nakht ”In h priest, but he retired soins of the Gods He was the keenest stargazer Then his eyesight went”

”And I turned to the inner lives of the Gods No longer able to see them in the heavens, I find them within us, around us I hear the, out of practice after long disuse

”Wise one, do they anshen you ask questions?” I asked ”Or must you wait for them to decide to speak?”

”Usually I wait,” he conceded ”As you can see, I have spent many years at it” He spread his thin ar in folds