HEAVEN'S GATES

"two are the gates of shadowy dreams, one is fashioned of horn and one of ivory"
"Thus, also, Proserpine, who is the inspective guardian of everything produced from seed, is
represented by Orpheus as weaving a web, and the heavens are called by the ancients a veil, in
consequence of being, as it were, the vestment of the celestial Gods." 1

The veneration of stellar gates in the night sky reveals the traces of a prehistoric star worship
that predates the formulation of writing and the formalization of human religions. One such
gateway can be reconstructed from the text of Virgil's 'Aeneid.'

The concept of a gate of false dreams originates with Homer. A gate created from ivory is the
gate of false dreams and a gate of polished horn becomes the gate of true or prophetic dreams.
"For two are the gates of shadowy dreams, one is fashioned of horn and one of ivory. Those
dreams that pass through the gate of sawn ivory deceive men, bringing words that find no
fulfilment. But those that come forth through the gate of polished horn bring true issues to
pass, when any mortal sees them."2

Souls are likened by Virgil to the autumnal falling of leaves, a sign of death and regeneration.
Virgil describes the entrance to the afterlife where an Orphic elm spreads its ancient arms
reflecting a metaphor of the trunk of the Milky Way penetrating the night sky.

"In the midst an elm, shadowy and vast, spreads her boughs and aged arms, the home which,
men say, false Dreams hold, clinging under every leaf… And many monstrous forms besides of
various beasts are stalled at the doors, Centaurs and double-shaped Scyllas, and the
hundredfold Briareus, and the beast of Lerna, hissing horribly, and the Chimaera armed with
flame, Gorgons and Harpies, and the shape of the three-bodied shade, Geryon." 3

A stellar veil is drawn across the heavens containing the souls nourished in a whitish gelatinous
substance. The Milky Way is seen as containing the souls of humans and this veil of stars is said
by Pythagoras (according to Porphyry) to contain the people of dreams. This is the context in
which an ancient elm becomes a stellar tree with dreams clinging to each leaf or star of the
Milky Way.

"According to Pythagoras, also, the people of dreams, are the souls which are said to be
collected in the galaxy (the Milky Way), this circle being so called from the milk with which souls
are nourished when they fall into generation."4

The mysteries celebrated the liberation of the souls of the initiates from their entrapment in
corporeal bodies. Anubis was a guider of souls and performed their ritual weighing ceremony at
the entrance to the afterlife. In this sense the god was a psychopomp as was the Greek deity
Hermes. The two deities were fused to create Hermanubis, an entity that was worshipped at
Cynopolis (the 'City of the Dogs'). Thus there is a direct equivalence between these gods
assigned the role of guides of souls and the appearance in the sky of Sirius, the Dog Star.

In contrast to the beneficial influence Sirius had in Egypt in summoning forth the inundation of
the Nile, the star was seen to have a malign influence in Greek and Roman myth. The name
given to Seirios (Sirius) literally expresses the concept of 'scorching' because of its intense
brightness. An ability to challenge and augment the strength of the sun’s rays during its heliacal
rising was a testament to the power of the star. Virgil refers to plague and pestilence that were
the consequence of the penetrating light.

The additional name that was attached to Sirius was the 'Dog Star.' There is a clear equivalence
between the star and a dog that is prevalent in Egyptian temple depictions. Anubis, the canine
or jackal-headed god of the underworld, reflects the domain of Sirius as the gateway to the
afterlife. Appearing low on the horizon, beneath the ascending Orion's Belt, Sirius appeared to
symbolize the hound that guarded the gates of the heavenly precinct.

According to Homer the star was a "sign of evil" that inflicted humans with a great fever. "That
star (Sirius) which comes on in the autumn and whose conspicuous brightness far outshines the
stars that are numbered in the night's darkening, the star they give the name of Orion's Dog,
which is brightest among the stars, and yet is wrought as a sign of evil and brings on the great
fever for unfortunate mortals."5

Virgil confirms this characterization of Sirius as bringing drought and plague to humans
sheltering from the virulent rays of late summer.

"... bright as the Dog Star, Sirius, bearing plague and thirst to affected mortals, rises up to
shroud the sky with gloom."

"... or the Dog Star glows, which rises to bring drought and pestilence to hapless men, and with
ill-omened ray saddens the sky."6

The name of Seirios (Sirius), meaning a fierce glittering or scorching light, was originally a
generic name given to all shining heavenly entities but became exclusively applied to Sirius. This
indicates the origin of the star as the representative of the sun during the night. This was not
the benign reflective light of the moon but a coruscating brightness that was more potent than
any other star. This midnight sun was invoked in the mysteries. Apuleius claimed to have
witnessed the sun in the depths of midnight.

"I approached the confines of death; and having trodden on the threshold of Proserpina
returned, having been carried through all the elements. In the depths of midnight I saw the sun
glittering with a splendid light, together with the infernal and supernal gods; and to these
divinities approaching near, I paid the tribute of devout adoration."

In the Eleusinian Mysteries the rabid nature of Sirius was a perfect metaphor for the curse that
was inflicted on the fields of Eleusis by the vengeful goddess. Human plague and the
destruction of the life-sustaining corn and the consequent famine are equated. The infliction is
carried both to the crops and the humans themselves.
"... when suddenly
a pestilence from some infectious sky
o'er trees and crops a fatal year of plague.
Some breathed their last, while others weak and worn
lived on; the dog-star parched the barren fields;
grass withered, and the sickly, mouldering corn
refused us life."7

Sirius is therefore a star that ravages the earth bringing drought and pestilence. An intercession
to propitiate the power of the star was evidently made at the temple of Ceres in Eleusis during
the celebration of the mysteries. "The culmination of this star (Sirius) at midnight was
celebrated in the great temple of Ceres at Eleusis, probably at the initiation of the Eleusinian
Mysteries…"8

A role as the guider of souls through the afterlife was assigned to the goddess Hecate. Hounds
were associated with the goddess and their baying signalled her looming presence in the
Aeneid. "But just before the rays and dawning of the early sun the ground rumbled underfoot,
the wooden ridges began to quiver, and through the gloom dogs seem to howl as the goddess
(Hecate) drew nigh."9
"and across the gloom the hounds seem to howl
at the goddess coming closer."

The Aeneid appears to have been inspired by the mysteries especially in regard to the gateway
to the afterlife. Virgil imagines this gateway as guarded by monstrous shapes including the
triple-bodied hound of Cerberus that traditionally guarded the gates of the afterlife. "These
realms huge Cerberus makes ring with his triple-throated baying, his monstrous bulk crouching
in a cavern… opening his triple throat in a ravenous hunger…"10

The sixth book of the Aeneid contains several metaphors around the concept of a trinity. The tri-
formed goddess Hecate is invoked as the stage is set for the dark night that heralds the
unfolding of the mysteries. Aeneas raises an "altar into the dark night" and summons the
spectre of the threefold goddess. This occult three-headed or three-formed goddess is
described as supreme both in the heavens and the underworld.

Here guarding the entrance to the afterlife are more three-formed entities. The Chimaera is a
threefold hybrid being formed from a lioness, or lion, with the central part of the beast
consisting of a goat and a serpent forming the tail at the rear. Here also is the "triple-bodied
Geryon," a demonic figure depicted with three heads.

The consistent metaphor of three-formed beings is linked to the description of the dark night at
the turn of summer into winter. This period coincides with the presence of the Orion
constellation, and specifically the euphemistically termed asterism of the three stars of Orion's
Belt. Virgil defines the scene that is set in the Aeneid as taking place "as the leaves of the forest
that at autumn's first frost drop and fall…" The sixth book of the Aeneid is believed to allude to
the Eleusinian Mysteries mirroring the time of the year during which the greater mysteries were
performed. Hesiod specifically defines this moment as marking the setting of "strong Orion."

"But when Orion and Sirius are come into midheaven, and rosy-fingered Dawn sees Arcturus,
then cut off all the grape-clusters, Perses, and bring them home. Show them to the sun ten days
and ten nights: then cover them over for fire, and on the sixth day draw off into vessels the gifts
of joyful Dionysus. But when the Pleiades and strong Orion begin to set, then remember to
plough in season: and so the completed year will fitly pass beneath the earth. But if desire for
uncomfortable sea-faring seize you when the Pleiades plunge into the misty sea to escape
Orion's rude strength, then truly gales of all kinds rage."11

Dionysus was a central deity of the mysteries symbolizing the fertility of plants and the potential
resurrection of human souls. Diodorus Siculus states that there were three deities called
Dionysus, two of which had archaic prehistoric roots. The most ancient deity has an association
with ivory due to his mythical origins that lay in India.

"The most ancient Dionysus was an Indian, and since his country, because of the excellent
climate, produced the vine in abundance without cultivation, he was the first to press out the
clusters of grapes and to devise the use of wine as a natural product…" 12

"Then he (Dionysus) made a campaign into India, whence he returned to Boeotia in the third
year, bringing with him a notable quantity of booty, and he was the first man ever to celebrate a
triumph seated on an Indian elephant. And the Boeotians and other Greeks and the Thracians,
in memory of the campaign in India, have established sacrifices every other year to Dionysus,
and believe that at that time the god reveals himself to human beings." 13

At the temple in Hierapolis ivory tusks are described by Lucian as symbols of Dionysus. "There
are in the temple many tokens that Dionysus was its actual founder; for instance, barbaric
raiment, Indian precious stones, and elephants' tusks brought by Dionysus from the
Aethiopians."14

Another ancient emanation of the god is perceived by Diodorus Siculus as a bearded horned
deity. This second Dionysus was depicted with horns and was associated with the mysteries by
being born to Zeus and Persephone. "The second Dionysus, the writers of myths relate, was
born to Zeus by Persephone, though some say it was Demeter… And as a special symbol and
token the painters and sculptors represented him with horns…"15

A prehistoric entity such as this originates in the stars and the prominent constellation of Orion.
Diodorus Siculus associates this god with the earliest human civilization and the ability to rear
herds of cattle and yoke oxen.

"Some writers of myths, however, relate that there was a second Dionysus who was much
earlier in time… For according to them there was born of Zeus and Persephone a Dionysus who
is called by some Sabazius and whose birth and sacrifices and honours are celebrated at night
and in secret, because of the disgrace resulting from the intercourse of the sexes. They state
also that he excelled in sagacity and was the first to attempt the yoking of oxen and by their aid
to effect the sowing of the seed, this being the reason they also represent him as wearing a
horn."16

The third Dionysus was Boeotian and was characterized by having a second birth through the
'thigh' of Zeus. This more recent emanation is described in recognizable terms as a beardless
youth identified with fertility and vegetation. The concept of the Christian Trinity of God the
Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit appears to have been inspired by the three emanations of
Dionysus. "The third Dionysus, they say, was born in Boeotian Thebes of Zeus and Semele, the
daughter of Cadmus."17

The Gate of Horn and the Gate of Ivory are therefore both associated with the symbols of
Dionysus. Zagreus is identified with the archaic horned emanation of Dionysus. The Titans had
slaughtered him (Zagreus/Dionysus) and then, with sharp knives, dismembered the god. It was
this deity that presided over the Samothracian Mysteries. According to Clement of Alexandria
the phallus was preserved in a chest and became an object of worship.
"Those Corybantes also they call Cabiric; and the ceremony itself they announce as the Cabiric
mystery. For those two identical fratricides, having abstracted the box in which the phallus of
Bacchus (Zagreus/Dionysus) was deposited, took it to Etruria - dealers in honourable wares
truly. They lived there as exiles, employing themselves in communicating to precious teaching of
their superstition, and presenting phallic symbols and the box for the Tyrrhenians to worship." 18

Zagreus was a deity associated with the Orphic Mysteries but the myth of his dismemberment
by the Titans was fused with those surrounding Dionysus/Bacchus and Osiris. The phallus of this
deity was recovered by the Cabeiri and enshrined in a cave on the island of Samothrace. This
sacred myth became the central inspiration of the Samothracian Mysteries.

The myth of a god's dismemberment and the worship of the mutilated phallus strongly parallels
Egyptian myths of the slaughter and dismemberment of Osiris. The Titans constructed a coffin
and after tricking Osiris to lay in it, fastened it with nails, then sent it out into the open sea
through the Tanitic Mouth of the Nile. Plutarch clearly establishes the stellar origin of the myth
by reference to the sun passing through (the constellation of) Scorpion.

"... then Osiris got into it (the chest/coffin) and lay down, and those who were in the plot ran to
it and slammed down the lid, which they fastened by nails from the outside and also by using
molten lead. Then they carried the chest to the river and sent it on its way to the sea through
the Tanitic Mouth. Wherefore the Egyptians even to this day name this mouth the hateful and
execrable. Such is the tradition. They say also that the date this deed was done was the
seventeenth day of Athyr, when the sun passes through Scorpion, and in the twenty-eighth year
of the reign of Osiris; but some say that these are the years of his life and not of his reign." 19

Ancient Egyptians depicted boats sailing to the stars in the afterlife. The reference to the
journey taking place "when the sun passes through Scorpion," this being the constellation
associated by myth with Orion, proves that the origin of the myth of the coffin of Osiris is set in
the stars. In this vision the three stars of Orion's Belt become the phallus of the deity
imprisoned in the chest or coffin formed by the four other major stars of the Orion
constellation. These four stars create a rectangular coffin around the three Orion's Belt stars.
The ultimate form of cosmic death and resurrection was encapsulated in the phenomenon of
the totality of solar and lunar eclipses. Plutarch directly links the myths surrounding the Apis
bull with the phenomenon of eclipses. "The Apis, they say, is the animate image of Osiris, and
he comes into being when a fructifying light thrusts forth from the moon and falls upon a cow in
her breeding season… There are some who would make the legend an allegorical reference to
matters touching eclipses; for the moon suffers eclipses only when she is full, with the sun
directly opposite to her, and she falls into the shadow of the earth, as they say Osiris fell into his
coffin. Then again, the moon herself obscures the sun and causes solar eclipses…" 20

The coffins or sarcophagi of the Apis bulls at the Serapeum of Saqqara in Egypt are roughly in
the proportions (two by one) of the stellar coffin that contains Orion's Belt. The Apis bull was
seen as the animate image of Osiris and the coffins on earth reflected that in the night sky.
"Some explain the origin of the honour accorded this bull (the Apis) in this way, saying that at
the death of Osiris his soul passed into this animal, and therefore up to this day has always
passed into its successors at the times of the manifestation of Osiris…"21

The earliest tombs of the Apis at Saqqara indicate that the bull was sacrificially devoured before
being interred. These sacrificial rites correspond to the myths of Dionysus being torn to pieces
by the Titans. Within the dark labyrinth of the sky is the coffin of the deity marking the gateway
to the afterlife.

The horned emanation of Dionysus (or Zagreus) has an association with Crete and therefore
with the Labyrinth of Knossos and the Minotaur. This deity was celebrated by Orpheus and
inspired the initiatory rites of the mysteries. "This god was born in Crete, men say, of Zeus and
Persephone, and Orpheus has handed down the tradition in the initiatory rites that he was torn
in pieces by the Titans."22
1. Porphyry - Cave of Nymphs 6
2. Homer - Odyssey 19
3. Virgil - Aeneid 6
4. Porphyry - Cave of Nymphs 13
5. Homer - Iliad 22
6. Virgil - Aeneid 10
7. Ibid. 3
8. Richard Hinckley Allen - Star Names
9. Virgil - Aeneid 6
10. Ibid. 6
11. Hesiod - Works and Days
12. Diodorus Siculus - Library of History 3.63
13. Ibid. 4.3
14. Lucian of Samosata - De Dea Syria
15. Diodorus Siculus - Library of History 3.64
16. Ibid. 4.4
17 Ibid. 3.64
18. Clement of Alexandria - Exhortation to the Heathen 2
19. Plutarch - Isis and Osiris 13
20. Ibid. 43-44
21. Diodorus Siculus - Library of History 1.85

22. Ibid. 5.75