Volume
Two
‘Volume Two doesn’t just leave you hungry for more, it leaves you starving for it.’
– GBHBL
’10 out of 10′
– Drop the Spotlight
‘Subtle, sophisticated storytelling.’
– Grovel
‘Volume Two doesn’t just leave you hungry for more, it leaves you starving for it.’
– GBHBL
’10 out of 10′
– Drop the Spotlight
‘Subtle, sophisticated storytelling.’
– Grovel
[CODEX ENTRY 3420: LONDON MITHRAEUM]
Beneath the city of London winds the buried river Walbrook, the fresh water source for the Romans. Beside the calverts, a Roman temple, rededicated to Serapis, sits in the basement under Bucklersbury House, across the road from the Bank of England. Only rediscovered in 1954.
[CODEX ENTRY 3420: LONDON MITHRAEUM]
Within the temple, a statue of Mercury, guide to the souls of the dead, and one to Serapis, with the grain-basket of resurrection upon his head. A plaque in Latin reads: “For the Salvation of our lords and the noble Caesar, and to the god Mithras, the Invincible Sun from the east to the west”.
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King Cambyses of Persia, son of Cyrus the Great, held a grudge against the Oracle of Siwa, for it predicted the failure of his conquests in Africa. In 524 BC he dispatched from Luxor an army to destroy the Oracle. It vanished without a trace, buried in the sea of sand. Now, after defeating the Persians, Alexander the Great wished to consult the Oracle too. |
Alexander wishes to confirm his descent from Zeus or Ammon Ra. Leaving the coast, he turned into the desert, and with no access to water, he, and his cohort of 400 cavalry became lost, with no landmarks to guide them. For three days they had followed the flight of birds in the hope it would lead to the famed oasis. |
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Across the Great Sand Sea in the Western Desert, 500 km from Memphis, modern day Cairo, having spotted some goats, Alexander finally arrived at the isolated oasis, home to the famous Oracle of Ammon, its necropolis perched on the small hill of Aghurmi. |
[CODEX ENTRY 5110: ALEXANDER THE GREAT] In attendance were two of Alexander’s most devoted friends and generals, Ptolemy, future King of Egypt, and Hephaestion, Alexander’s lover. At Troy Hephaestion and Alexander had made a joint offering to Achilles and Patroclus, this was denied by the Oracle of Siwa. |
His mother Olympias had told Alexander that he had been conceived when a thunderbolt of Zeus entered her womb. The Oracle confirmed that Alexander was indeed descended from Amun Ra, the Egyptian name for Zeus, and as such, he was the legitimate ruler of Persia and Egypt. Henceforth, Alexander referred to Zeus-Ammon as his true father.
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Luxor was the religious capital of united Egypt. The home of the temples of Karnak, dedicated to the God Amun and, from 1400 BC, the god Amun-Ra (Marduk). Alexander sought the obeisance of the many city kings of Egypt and beyond. |
[CODEX ENTRY 3201: THE HOUSES] Alexander sought legitimacy through marriages to key widows of the regimes he replaced, who all traced their lineage back to Marduk. The House of Molossus was that of Alexander’s mother traced from the demi-god Achilles and Deidamia. The House of Achaemenid that of Cyrus the Great. |
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[CODEX ENTRY 5145: NEBUCHADNEZZAR II] Nebuchadnezzar’s capital was Babylon, and the ancient complex Etemananki, the home of the god Marduk. Nebuchadnezzar rebuilt the great temple of Esagila and the Processional Way for the Festival of Marduk. A road 21m wide that ran from Marduk’s residence out through the Ishtar Gate. The 15m high walls kept out the people and were decorated on the inside with golden animals for Marduk’s pleasure. |
He held a Bakhat Nazar, meaning ‘Winner of Fate’, or ‘God has made him’. Regional rulers offered obeisance to a ‘King of Kings’, living gods directly descended from the Gods of old. At the ceremony in 590BC Jews were accused of worshipping other Gods and not honoring Marduk’s name. Nebuchadnezzar laid siege to Jerusalem, tortured and killed the Jewish King Zedekiah and his sons, before ordering the complete destruction of Solomon’s Temple. |
[CODEX ENTRY 1015: CORNUCOPIA]
The great broken horn of Daniel, the Cornucopia, or Holy Grail, represents prosperity and immortality for those who drink from it. Lost in a maze of symbolism, Greeks tell of the horn broken off the head of an enchanted goat by the infant Zeus. Romans, of the river god, Achelous, losing it to Hercules over a woman. In Christian iconography the Horn of plenty is replaced by a goblet from which Jesus drank at the Last Supper.
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