St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1899-01-28

darkness had fed, and the full moon
was flooding The snowy peaks Of Le-'
Damon, and still against the mountains
OF whiteness stood the six huge col
umns. their glorious capitals just COM
ing into the mysterious light. 1t
seemed as if they reached up TO the
very stars. The people who built them
disappeared thousands of years ago.
and their history has been forgotten;
but the grandeur OK their IDEA remains.
and men Of to-day travel weary miles.
as we did. 10 come in touch with the
handiwork of men who never dreamed
that America existed.
The rame Heliopclis Getty Of the
Sun'O is little confusing when used
in connection with the Baalbec OF which
we are talking, because the former. you
will remember, is the name of the old.
CID city in the north of Egypt where
Joseph and Mary took the child Jesus
for safety at the time of the persccu-
ton of Herod. The story goes that the
Romans, who wn-shiped, among other
6eities, the lord of the sun, Baal. stole
the golden god from the defeated Egyp-
tians. and carried it far up north into
the mountains of Arti-Lebanon, in
Syria. There they built great acrop-
ellis on the foundations of much older
structures of the Phenicians. with tenn
pies. courts and columns by the thou
sands. and called It Eeliopolis. the City
of the Sun. The tenacious natives con-
tinued, nevertheless. 10 use their own
namc for the place. Baalbec. Baal was
a sort uf double divinity, both Jupiter
and the sun-beartiless. life-sized fig
ure of solid gold. holding in his right
hand whip TO symbolic his driving
the horses of the chariot of the sun). in
his LETT hand thunGerbolt and ears OF
wheat.
Syria. rs well rs northern Egypt. wa.
given up at one time to the worship of
Baal. and Baaltec was the center of that
worship. could not but sympathize.
in part. with the symbol Of their wor-
ship. Our camp was pitched in the
courtyard CT one of the great temples.
For two weeks, without q cloud, each
morning at sunrise the snow peaks of
the Lebanon glowed like molten metal
against the green-blue sky. the first
herald of the god Of day.
The worship must have been an im-
posing one. The rising sun was waited
for by the priests of Baal. who watched
the summit Of Dhahr el Khodib. upon
whose western slope are situated the
ceiars of Lebanon. The moment the
first rose-colored rays struck the snow
peaks. the great daily ceremony OF the
grandest temple of apcient or modern
times began.
Imagine the long line Of priests,
trumpeters and choristers waiting and
watching, their faces turned 10 catch
the first flush Upon the snow peaks.
which was annotnced by mighty blast
upon q hundred trumpe;s.
The moment the glowing edge APP
pcared above the eastern hills. 500
voices OF the choristers broke into
grand hymn TO the sun-the god Of
Gay. the lord Ct life.
Speaking of the structures, an en-
;nent writer upon such matters calls il
the "boldest Plan ever attempted in
architecture" Nothing that can Say
OF draw-alas.-wil give you an Idea
cf the overpowcring immensi,y OF the
buildings, particularly the great Tenn
pie of the Sun. with its enormous nute9
golden columns. that helped TO reflect
the glory of the coming day. Many
people describe Baa;bec us being buiIf
of white marble, but it is really in
durated thardened) limestone. that has
retained the wonderfully delicate de-
tail Of column and peristyle as sharply
as though it hGd been finished yester-
day. And it is thrilling thought tina,
cur obelisk in Central park nay have
'ooked-nay did. in its far-off Egyptian
infancy. look into the very Temple Of
the Sun, and saw our golden god n
Reliopolis thousands Of years ago.