bit stealing game

Chapter 13 Thebes

The ancient Greek historian Herodotus said that "Egypt is a gift from the Nile."

Although the upper reaches of the Nile River are the Blue Nile River in Ethiopia and the White Nile River in Rwanda, they favorably nourished the ancient Egyptian civilization more than a thousand years ago.

Thebes is the old name of Luxor. Homer's epic once used "City of a Hundred Gates" to describe the largest capital city in the known world at that time, the land of the gods.The Nile River, which flows from south to north, runs through it, dividing Thebes into east and west banks.On the east bank are the residences of the gods, Luxor and the Temple of Karnak, and on the west bank is the Valley of the Kings, where the pharaohs rest.

On the way from the airport to the hotel, looking at the lower buildings and more horse-drawn carriages compared to Cairo, Ah Tian sighed: "This place is exactly the same as what I saw in the documentaries of the last century."

Lao Zhang continued: "Isn't it? It feels like the spring breeze of reform and opening up hasn't blown here."

Ali extended a warm welcome to us in his hometown.His family is in a small village on the west bank of Luxor, and it is quite a distance to come and go.We told him that we would go around the neighborhood today, so we don't need him to make a fuss.Ali said that when we go to the Valley of the Kings tomorrow, we must let him drive us as a landlord.

Luxor's city center is a bit tighter and more noisy and human than Cairo's.After lunch, Lao Zhang clamored to go to the Karnak Temple where our archaeological site is located.

Luxor is the city I am most familiar with in Egypt, and the Temple of Karnak is the place I am most familiar with in Luxor.I have come here every winter for the past two years to excavate with the archaeological team, and I am even more emotional than the construction site in Greece.

The Karnak Temple is the most important religious shrine in the Luxor area and even in the whole of ancient Egypt, because it is the palace of the sun god Amon.

Every Opate Festival, the priests will carry the statue of the sun god from the Luxor Temple along the Safinx Avenue to the Karnak Temple, and then cross the Nile, send the statue to the west bank, and complete the statue of the sun god. Journey in the world.It was also the only time of the year that Egyptian civilians could enter temples held by pharaohs and priests.

I was carried across this road on a stretcher after the accidental discovery of the underground temple last year.

Walking along the Saffron Avenue, you can see the statue of Ramses II.This temple has been modified by successive pharaohs, and each pharaoh is clearly portrayed here.

The multi-column hall is the most famous scenic spot of the Karnak Temple. It is said that the first batch of Westerners who walked in at that time were amazed by it. *
Of course, the multi-column hall with strong colors now only has the color peeled off by time, only the lotus flowers on the column caps still have some color.The Egyptians were very good at controlling the light. Although the top of the hall is dilapidated and has lost its original blocking effect, the sunlight can be scattered wantonly.But you can still imagine the sunlight coming in through the narrow windows from different degrees and falling on the statue at different times of the day and in different seasons.

The murals record the scene of the construction of the temple and the glory of the gods to the pharaoh.Walking among the huge stone pillars, the reliefs of figures sway with the light.There are still reliefs and inscriptions on the pillars of the multi-column hall, densely written with the achievements of the pharaoh.

The ancient Egyptians believed that both words and images had magical powers.

Therefore, oaths were written on the murals of the temple, and the pharaoh offered sacrifices to the gods to punish the common enemy of the gods and the Egyptians, and the gods made Egypt prosperous.

In this temple to the gods, pharaohs fought alongside their gods against time and death.

History really flows here.

I pointed to the king's name circle of Ramses II on one of the stone pillars and the reliefs around it and asked Ah Tian and Lao Zhang if they saw anything.

Lao Zhang tilted his head and said, "Is this different from the painting style of the little bee on the side?" I squeezed my fist, resisting the urge to hit him and asked what else?Ah Tian said that it seemed that the circle of the king's name was engraved deeper than the others.

I nodded: "Because this used to be the king's name of another pharaoh, Ramses scratched off his name and re-engraved his own, so this became his devotion to the gods."

Lao Zhang opened his eyes wide in surprise and said, "It's all done, isn't this fooling God?"

Ah Tian smiled quite interestingly, "I don't know whether he believes in God or not."

In fact, I don't know whether Ramses II believed in God or not.I myself am a socialist youth who grew up in a family of proletarian intellectuals, so I have nothing to do with those things that people don't talk about.

But if we can’t prove that the gods are false, then what kind of mood did the priests who used to be here worship the gods who don’t know the truth? Have they experienced miracles? Have they heard the voice of the gods?
For some reason, my hand involuntarily pressed on the stone pillar with the inscription.

The sky suddenly darkened, and the light began to flicker.The place where I just accidentally touched the color has peeled off, but now it has become a bright green.Looking along this piece of green, the bright colors are gradually illuminated by a ray of light.Going up, you can see the roof.I don't know if the painting is a starry sky, the light is very dark and I can't see it clearly.Then the light changed, and I intuited that it was because of the passage of time, and the sun fell on Ramses II's royal circle.

The light continued to flicker.The king's name just now fell off, and became or restored to be Thutmose III.The sunlight now shoots in from the small hole above this space, and shines on the standing god statue.It should be the holy place [holy of the holies].

Then I found that the place I touched became damp, and it was obviously sunny all the time.Then there was more and more water, and I smelled the breath of the Nile.The Temple of Karnak is said to have been originally modeled on the island of creation. At that time, the Nile River flowed across the fields, and only the Holy of Holies and the statue of the sun god on it were the only islands in the water.At first, I only felt the river flowing under my feet, and soon I felt submerged. I wanted to break free, but my hands were firmly fixed on the stone pillar, and I couldn't move.

There seemed to be footsteps.I desperately turned my head to look at the altar, and there was a figure wading through the water, walking on the water as if walking on flat ground.The candlelight in his hand replaced the sunlight that disappeared without knowing when, and the whole hall followed his footsteps from light to light, and finally the light fell on a certain place on the stone pillar.

A jolt followed.

When I came back to my senses, I found that it was Lao Zhang who was shaking my shoulder vigorously.I looked at my hands and couldn't believe what had just happened.Lao Zhang circled around me anxiously for half a circle, but was pushed away by Ah Tian.She rubbed my shoulders, looked me in the eyes and asked what happened.

I saw that Lao Zhang and Ah Tian didn't seem to have entered the 4D theater together, and the surrounding tourists also looked normal.It may just be that I fell into a short fugue just now.But I couldn't understand what was going on, so I had to say: "I seem to have experienced the history of this temple immersively." If it wasn't the kind that almost drowned.

Ah Tian and Lao Zhang stared at me suspiciously.

In order to divert the topic, I led them out of the multi-pillared hall, pointing to the end of the gravel road over the chaotically piled stones and weeds, and said: "The immediate north is our archaeological site. But it's already off work now, even if someone It is not open to the outside world.”

Mingming had already told them, but Lao Zhang still sighed exaggeratedly.Even Ah Tian felt a little regretful: "I still want to take a look at the building you found while no one is going in." She said, her eyes swept around, as if wondering if there was a way to sneak in.Lao Zhang also responded positively: "What are you afraid of, let's go in and have a look, just a look."

I rolled my eyes, fearing that the two masters were really going to take action, so I hurriedly pulled them to the side.

On the wall facing east there is a map of the battle of Ramesses II in Kadesh.Kadesh was one of a series of wars between Egypt and the Hittites for control of Syria, and was worn by Ramses II himself.Pharaohs often engraved scenes of defeating their enemies in the murals of temples, in order to claim credit from the gods: "I defeated your enemies and sacrificed their deaths to you" and so on. *
In short, it is a [This is the country I laid down for you] map dedicated to the gods.

The mural we are looking at now is a typical temple exaggerated style record, which fully reflects the pharaoh's great success.In the mural, Ramses II rides a chariot, draws a bow and occupies the most central position, and behind him is a small and neatly arranged Egyptian army.On the left side of the picture, the fleeing Hittite army is scattered and arranged.I took up the tone of a tour guide again, talking about the artistic and political styles of ancient Egypt:

"Just like the art of our country pays attention to harmony, the art of ancient Egypt pursues order. For example, Ramses in this painting is the absolute protagonist and the only stable figure. The rest are his enemies. Or soldiers, they are all chaotic and disorderly. The reason why Pharaoh would emphasize this is of course the reason why he showed himself. But it is also because the ancient Egyptians believed that constancy is crucial in this life and the next life. For example, they Will say 'permanent as Osiris', which means remain immortal like Osiris. He was the first mummy after all, the first to achieve the resurrection from the dead."

Lao Zhang nodded in convincing, Ah Tian suddenly pointed to some strip-shaped dents on the mural and asked me what these were.Lao Zhang also leaned over to look at it.

It just so happened that I heard people talk about it when I first came and told them they were scratches.

"After the decline of the ancient Egyptian regime, the royal family and religious groups lost control of the temples. But the folk belief in the Egyptian gods has not faded. So they came to the temples that were not allowed to approach, hoping to take away A bit of a sacred mark. These scratches are basically all over the temples of Egypt, and people avoid gods or pharaohs when they dig."

"Then why are some of the scratch marks so high?" A Tian asked, pointing to the marks at a height of more than three meters.I said it was because it was buried by sand for thousands of years after it was abandoned, and only the upper half was exposed, so people could get it by standing on the sand.

Then we went to see the obelisk of Hatshepsut*, a famous monument on the east side of the multi-column hall.The once gold-plated obelisk should be extremely dazzling at sunrise, but now, although it has been stripped of its gold coat, the white body of the stele is also shining in the afterglow.

Old Zhang let out a "huh". "Is there such an obelisk in New York? I'm afraid it was stolen, snatched, and displayed in a grandiose manner."I said that you really wronged the Americans, and it was to thank the Americans for building the Aswan Dam.

"The Egyptians are so fresh, why don't you give cultural relics as gifts?" Lao Zhang didn't quite understand.

Being able to use ancient Egyptian cultural relics to express friendship with Western countries, and then being able to leave Africa and enter Europe, it may not be a safe profit for Egypt now.

The Temple of Karnak actually refers not to a temple, but a group of temples.It is mainly dedicated to the three gods of Thebes: the sun god Amon, his wife, the war goddess Mut, and their child, the moon god Kongsu.

Standing in the Kongsu Temple, Lao Zhang asked: "Is this Kongsu what you said in the pyramid, eating other gods Kongsu?"

I said: "You remember this very clearly." Lao Zhang said yes.

I told them: "In ancient Egypt, the functions and settings of the gods will change with time and needs. It is like Seth who was clearly a good god who helped the sun god Ra to kill the enemy snake Apep, but later became It’s the same as the villain who killed his brother. Kong Su was just a harmless little moon god in Thebes, the good son of Amon and Mutt.”

In fact, the Kongsu Temple is not worth seeing.Just as he was about to greet him and go back home, Lao Zhang suddenly spotted some fruits in a corner of the dilapidated temple.We looked over curiously.The oranges and bananas are neatly stacked there, as if they were put down casually.

Ah Tian asked: "Is this a tribute to Kongsu?"

Lao Zhang also looked at me.Under their staring eyes, I could only say: "Maybe some people here still believe in the gods of ancient Egypt." But as soon as the words came out, I felt ridiculous.In this era, who would still retain the beliefs that have passed away for thousands of years?

We turned around to leave, and when we turned around, we saw a young Egyptian standing behind us.

There are people who arrange jobs for themselves in various scenic spots in Egypt.They each occupy a courtyard in the temple, and if they occupy a tomb in the Valley of the Kings, they will explain it when tourists come to earn some tips.When I see Chinese tourists, I may also ask for some cooling oil.In short, since entering the Temple of Karnak, Lao Zhang spent a lot of money along the way.

The young man looked at us, then at the corner where the 'sacrifices' were placed and asked, "Are you here for tourism?"

Lao Zhang nodded.

The young man gave us a brief introduction to the Erkongsu Temple, and we did not interrupt him.After he finished speaking, Lao Zhang handed him a tip of twenty Egyptian pounds.He took it with a smile and said his name was Socrates.

We smile.Having met so many Muhammads and Alis, I never expected to meet a Socrates.

After we left, we went out, and we heard Socrates say behind us:
"You believe or not, God never leave Thebes.
Believe it or not, the gods never left Thebes. "

This person used Luxor's old name, Thebes.

I turned around in surprise.The young man stood in the dilapidated temple that no longer had the statue of the god, and his body was covered with the sunshine that once belonged to the god.Even though he was lowering his head to collect the money that Lao Zhang gave him, he was inexplicably solemn.I looked at the thin offering again.Occasionally, some people enshrine it, just like the lingering atmosphere of that ancient empire.

Maybe more than 3000 years later, the gods are still watching the temples that the pharaohs built for them.

Passing by the Luxor Temple on the way back to the hotel, just in time for the mosque worship.When the mosque was built, they didn't know that there was an ancient Egyptian temple underneath. This has led to the fact that people who go to the mosque to worship must first pass through the Luxor Temple, and the mosque can be heard in the Luxor Temple. Prayer.

We ate at the hotel in the evening. The accommodation environment here is good, and the supporting meals are also quite good.We picked a seat by the window, where we could watch the Nile while eating.But no one went to see it, because Ah Tian and Lao Zhang were staring at me.I can't avoid it, and I can only look back.

"Now tell me, what happened to you in the multi-pillared hall." Ah Tian stated her problem.

I look at Lao Zhang.Lao Zhang was the one who woke me up from the hallucinations at that time, and now I call the experience at that time hallucinations.

Seeing me looking at him, Lao Zhang hurriedly said, "The Great Sage is asking you something, what do you think I am doing?"

I said, "I'm not going to talk about it right now. You tell me first, why you shook me at that moment."

"Old Wang, are you trying to blackmail people? At that time, you stared blankly at the broken pillar, and then turned your head hard, and your neck was almost twisted, as if you were in a daze. That's fine. In the end, you I don’t know who I’m going to compete with and I’m not out of breath, so what if I don’t shake you and you’re suffocated?” Lao Zhang said angrily, as if he still had lingering fears.

I grinned in embarrassment and looked at Lao Zhang again.He is still out of breath now, as if he has been overwhelmed.I flattered and pushed the dessert I didn't like in front of him, and said, "Hey, why don't I just ask, why are you angry?"

Lao Zhang forked the rice cake with a fork. : "Don't come here, tell me what's going on."

I curled my lips and told about the bizarre experience.Then I added: "Finally I think I saw the candlelight fall on the name of Thutmose III, but I can't be sure."

Both Lao Zhang and Ah Tian listened quietly.

"At first I thought it was just a hallucination, the kind of small theater in my brain that suddenly plays out and then plays automatically, but after hearing what Lao Zhang said, it seems that I really showed it."

Old Zhang muttered in a low voice, "I almost thought you were going to be suffocated by the air."

"I'm fine."

Ah Tian didn't know what he was thinking about, so he didn't answer.

I also wanted to add a few words, but Lao Zhang slapped the table and concluded: "This matter is evil."Then he looked at me seriously and said, "Old Wang, why don't we go?"

I patted the back of his hand and said, "Have you thought of this for a long time?" He withdrew his hand and muttered for your own good.I didn't bother to pay attention to him, and brought the rice cake back with a fork.

At this time Ah Tian asked me: "You just said that you 'smell' the water of the Nile River. How did you know it was the Nile River?"

I was taken aback. "Actually, I'm not sure it's the Nile River, but the Nile River used to flow through there in history, so I subconsciously thought it was the Nile River water."

Then I told them what I knew about the history of the construction of the Temple of Karnak:
The Karnak Temple has different architectural scales in different historical periods.When there were no hypostyle halls, the water of the Nile directly surrounded the shrines where the statues were placed.When the temple was built at the beginning of the first dynasty, it was surrounded by the Nile River, like an isolated island.Later, with the rise and fall of the Nile River and the development of Egypt, it slowly became a group of temples.

"My experience this afternoon is like slowly going back a thousand years ago, and I was able to see the history of this temple. It seems that I went back to the time of Ramses II from the 21st century, and then back to Thutmose In the third life. Going forward, it is estimated that it will be the island of creation, so the surroundings are full of water, and I was submerged."

Ah Tian asked me: "Did you see anything you didn't know?"

I asked her what that meant.

Ah Tian said: "You know the construction history of the creation islands and temples you just mentioned, right?"

I nodded.

"Then did you see anything that you don't know? For example, you said the colors that suddenly appeared, do you know what color they should be? There are also peeling inscriptions, do you know what these inscriptions were originally?"

What Ah Tian wanted to confirm was whether I suddenly recalled what I had known in that situation.When she asked this question, I did overlook some things.

In that involuntary private little theater, I saw big swathes of blue.Spreading from the ceiling, it is like the gradually unfolding night.The greenery full of vitality climbs up from the pillars, and the craftsmen deeply carved the name of the pharaoh on the bionic lotus pillars.There seems to be the sound of chanting, accompanied by the flickering candlelight, which is densely wrapped up.

I didn't feel it when I was immersed in it, but now I can recall it completely.This is different from ordinary dreams.And I can be sure that I have never been exposed to this knowledge.It should be the teaching experience gained in that immersive classroom.

Ah Tian was thoughtful, but didn't ask further.

"Tell me, could this be a miracle?" A stupid remark came out of nowhere.

Sure enough, Lao Zhang didn't let go of laughing at me: "What age are you still so superstitious?"

I blushed and said that this is not superstition, but awe of the unknown.

"Yes, you are right. But don't worry, even if there is a miracle, it will not be shown to people like you and me."

Old Zhang was right.I couldn't help but think, who would be the real audience then?

　*The stone pillar on the right hand side of the multi-column hall is engraved with 1887 and a seal.That was the height of the water level when the Frenchman Gorge Legrian used the water of the Nile to wash the salt grains off the temple building in 1887.The water from the Nile River that was brought in that time was about two or three meters high. While washing away the salt particles, it also destroyed the temple building, making countless cultural relics in it completely nowhere to be found.This was just one of the operations of the gang of predators back then.

　　In ancient Egypt, pharaohs were not only the commanding heights of power and the incarnation of gods in the world, they were also expected to be able to make agriculture prosperous and invincible.This is reflected in the pharaohs depicted on sculptures and coffins with flails and hooks in their hands. The flails can be used to thresh grain, and the hooks are symbols of force and power.

　　Hatshepsut was the first female pharaoh of Egypt and the stepmother and aunt of Thutmose III.When she built this obelisk, she intended to prove that she was the daughter of God Amon, and that she would inherit the great line in a legitimate way.Once Thutmose III was banished by her to the temple, far away from the center of power, until the pharaoh who returned after growing up took back his status.

　　
　　
　
(End of this chapter)