Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1883-06-20
Temples of the sun.

/ In Persia, IN ancient times, they ha
| temples which they called "rempes Q
the Sum-" and they worshIped the su
always They felt that II was he VIII
presided over the destimes of mankind
who gave them the light of day an
also warmth, who was the founder O
their empire, and ir nearly every cit
temples dedicated to the sun were raised
They acknowledged a Supreme Being
a Creator of the world in fact, but h
did not seem to hold the first place Il
their hearts. for only one small tempt
was erected to him. The grandest ten
pie of all was In the city of Cuzco aud l
was such a rich temple that it was callet
"Coricaacha, which meant "The Plac
of Gold" IL was buil. of hewn stsne, s.
beautifully put together, the place of join
ing could not be discovered, and 1t con
sisted of chief building with chapel
adjoining, and several other inferior
buildings, and covered quite an area
Everything inside the temple was gorgeous
OeyoOd description. On the western wal
the Sun Deity was represented. 1t CON
sisted Of human face surrounded by ray.
of light. This face and figure was en-.
graved on an immense plate OF gold
massive and heavy and thIckly bestrewr
with diamonds, emeralds and other pre-
ciOus stones. When the sun rose in the
morning, the figure was so placed in the
temple the light fell full upon it, making
a most dazzling effect, and all the gold IN
the room land the walls were adorned and
inald and Overlaid with gold) caught up
the glory and reflected it, and everywhere
were shining plates of gold and heavy
ornaments of the precious metal and those,
too, sent back food of light as the sun
beams fell upon them. One of the
smaller chapels was dedicated to the moon,
the next deity of Importance, styled the
Mother of the lncas." All the decora-
tons of this room, as well as the figure
representing the moon, and the FURNISHED
plates, etc., were of silver. Then there
were other chapels-one consecrated 20
the stars, another to the RAINBOW, and au-
other TO thunder and lightning. All these
belonged, you must remember, to the
Temple of the Sun. Everything used in
connection with the worship OF the sun
was of gold and silver. There were
dozen or more silver vases Of immense
size, standing on the floor of the main
room, filed with Indian corn. "The
censers for the perfumes, the ewers which
held the sacred water, the pipes which
conducted it through subterrsnean chan
nels into the buildings, the reservoir that
received 1t, were all of gold or silver.
Then there were artificial gardens outside,
with plants in them, cunously constructed
of silver and gold AMI precious stones;
there were ANIMALS of gold, life size, and
even the agricultural implements used IN
the garden were of the precious metal.
The rame of Inca was applied tJ the
SOyereIgns of Peru as well as TO all those
males who descended from them. The
Sovereign was far. above his people, even
the ncblest Of the Inca nobility could not
enter INTO the presence of the reigning
Inca without making bare his feet and
carrying slight burden 10 signify homage.
The Inca was considered the suns repre-
sentative, and he claimed TO be vastly
superior to all others, and lived and
dressed in grand style He had mum
Der of wives, a great many children and
devoted attendants. When an Inca died,
his wealth did not descend TO his heir, |
1ut all his treasures renamed Just as he !
lad left them, and all his palaces ex-
;ept one were closed up forever. They |
believed the spirit would return some |
ley and would require all his personal
fleets. The funeral was an occasion /
or grand display, and sometimes thOus-
them his wives and attend |
sacrificed on his tomb. The
)ody OF the Inca WAS enbalmed, and |
obed IN royal attire, placed on q gold
;haIr, taken to the Temple of the Sun.
There all the dead Incas sat with their |
lands crossed and their heads inclined |
n the midst of all the gold and silver,
he men on the right and the queens on
he lett of the blazing effigy of the Sun. |
The one palace or mansion of the Inca
hat was not closed up was kept just as if |
he owner had gone for a day and was
expected to return at any moment. The |
,uard was retained, the servants were all
1t their posts and everything went on as
)efOre. Sometimes entertainments were |
provided IN the name OF a dead Inca by |
he Captain Of the guard stationed in the
lnclosed house of the Inca. Then the
,Ody of the Inca would be brought out |
nto the public square with great pomp |
md ceremony, aud the display of gold and |
liver plate and Jewels was something far
head of anything we can now imagine.
The Peruvian process of enbalming bodies
was as successful as the Egyptian, but it
s supposed that 1t was much more simple
Ind brought about by exposing the body
o the action of the peculiar and rarIfed
atmosphere; and they were as
perfect as life, land not even the hair of
IN eyebrow lacking" while their counte-
lances retained their natural, somewhat
warthy hue. A portion of the body. the
ntestiHes, etc., were buried and with
hem quantity of treasure, and 1t was at
his time and place their wives and attend
Ints were sacrificed.