# The Black Pyramid explained — The Tour

> Chapter companion for The Tour by Louis Couperus.

## What happens

The travelers approach Memphis and the pyramids at sunset. Caleb boasts about the pyramids, including a black pyramid he claims is Cleopatra's tomb, but Thrasyllus corrects him, attributing it to the hetaira Doricha. The priest-custodian tells the legend of Rhodopis, whose sandal was carried by an eagle to a king who married her. Lucius, deeply affected, stays behind and asks the priest to use Ilia's sandal to reveal her kidnapper. The priest describes a tall, broad-shouldered man clad as a sailor, confirming Lucius's suspicion of a Cypriote sailor.

## Themes in this chapter

### Grief and Healing

Lucius's grief over Ilia's disappearance is palpable as he trembles and seeks answers from the priest.

### Mortality and Transience

The priest's reflections on vanished mummies, sarcophagi, and the eventual disappearance of the pyramids underscore the theme of impermanence.

### Deception and Survival

Catullus's skepticism about the sandal being a tourist attraction hints at deception, while Lucius's quest for truth involves uncovering the kidnapper's identity.

## Character check-ins

### Publius Lucius Sabinus

Trembles upon hearing the legend of Rhodopis's sandal, seeks the priest's help to find Ilia, and is consumed by rage and grief.

### Caleb

Rides his camel with swagger, boasts about the pyramids, and pays the priestly fee.

### Thrasyllus

Corrects Caleb's claim about Cleopatra's tomb, attributing the black pyramid to Doricha.

### Catullus

Skeptically comments on the sandal as a tourist attraction.

### Rhodopis

Legendary figure whose sandal led to her marriage with a king; her story deeply affects Lucius.

### Ilia

Lucius seeks her through the priest's divination; her sandal is the only clue.

## Key lines

> The golden noonday sky paled; the blinding topaz of the heavens melted away into amber honey; and the sands of the desert stretched out wide, far and endless to the last glittering streak of the horizon, on which the sun had set.

The bright midday sky dimmed, turning from golden to amber, as the desert sands extended endlessly to the sunlit horizon where the sun had just set.

_Sets the atmospheric scene of the travelers approaching Memphis at dusk._

> Everything vanishes, all is vanity: thy wisdom alone, O Neith, is needful to man!

All things fade away and are meaningless; only the wisdom of the goddess Neith is essential for humanity.

_Reflects the priest's philosophical lament about the transience of earthly achievements._

> The sandal, which the king ever worshipped, was preserved by a miracle. Behold it.

The sandal that the king revered was miraculously kept intact. Look at it.

_Introduces the relic that triggers Lucius's emotional response and his subsequent request for divination._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_tour_se/chapters/xvii
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_tour_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_tour_se/chapters