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Temple of the Sun

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For other uses, see Temple of the Sun (disambiguation).

The Temple of the Sun, also known as the Grail Temple,[3] was the location that housed the Holy Grail and the Grail Knight who protected it,

History[]

Origins[]

The Temple of the Sun was built into the wall of the Canyon of the Crescent Moon in Hatay[1] in the year 1000 around a pre-existing Greco-Roman facade by a secret society of Aramaic-speaking Semites, carved into a sheer, rose-colored wall of sandstone.[2] The entire structure was around 150 feet tall,[4] situated over a fathomless abyss that had claimed the lives of many bridge builders.[2] To reach the temple it was necessary to pass through an entrance "broad enough for only one man".[5]

The Three Challenges[]

"Three devices of such lethal cunning."
―Henry Jones, Sr.[src]

A Great Seal lay at the entrance to the temple in which a series of challenges were designed to prevent most seekers of the Grail from finding the room in which it was stored. The three challenges included:

BreathDodge

The Breath of God.

  • The Breath of God - "Only the penitent man will pass." The object of the first challenge was to kneel before the breath of God. At the start, a person would feel the wind (the Breath) blow through the chamber's thick cobwebs. He would then have to kneel quickly in order to avoid being decapitated by two huge circular blades sharp enough to cut through steel. Indiana Jones was able to neutralize the booby trap by throwing a nearby rope around one of the gears that controlled it. [1]
FloorTiles

The Word of God.

  • The Word of God - "Only in the footsteps of God will he proceed." The second challenge had a series of lettered tiles on the floor. The object was to figure out and step on the correct spelling to the Word. The answer was "Jehovah", but was to be spelled as "Iehova",[1] written as it was in Latin when the temple was built.[2] Incorrect tiles would break through, causing the seeker to plunge into a deep chasm below the floor.[1]
Indy on the invisible bridge

The Path of God.

  • The Path of God - "Only in the leap from the lion's head will he prove his worth." In the last of the challenges, the person must take a "leap of faith" from a sculpture of a lion's head across a huge canyon, when in reality there is a hidden path that is painted or carved to look like the depth of the canyon. The object was for the person to believe they can cross whether or not they could see the path. After he'd crossed the bridge, Indy tossed a double handful of gravel on the span, making it visible.[1]

In Henry Walton Jones, Senior's Grail diary, he abbreviated the three challenges in Latin as "The Pendulum", "The Cobbles" and "The Invisible Bridge".[6]

Although presented as having only three challenges to claim the Grail, the final one was, according to the Grail Knight, to "choose wisely" among a set of many cups, plates, and bowls to drink spring water from. Finding the true Grail brought eternal life, which lasted until crossing the Great Seal, the price for immortality. The one who found the Grail was expected to use their eternal life to guard and protect the Grail. Choosing a false Grail and drinking from it would cause instant death.[1]

Guardian of the Grail[]

In the late 11th century,[7] a French knight and his two brothers journeying through the Holy Land, discovered the Holy Grail. They endeavored to protect it for 150 years, using the Grail's power to extend their natural lifespans. Eventually the knight was chosen to remain behind as the Grail's sole guardian because he was the bravest and most worthy, while his brothers traveled back to Europe, leaving behind two markers leading to the Grail's location.[1] The Knight lived in a side chamber off from the inner sanctuary of the Temple[2] and had a book to read by firelight. Though drinking from the Grail had kept him alive, the centuries spent in isolation had sapped his strength.[1]

The Last Crusade[]

ElsaCrack

The temple floor cracks.

In 1938, the Grail Temple was reached by two parties led by American archaeologist Indiana Jones and Walter Donovan, respectively, in search of the Cup.[1] Faced with the entrance "broad enough for only one man", Donovan simply dynamited a larger gap into the wall that sheltered the site.[5]

Indiana Jones went through the challenges by using his father's Grail diary in order to save his father's life after Donovan shot him. Donovan, along with Dr. Elsa Schneider followed Indy into the Grail chamber. Donovan died after drinking from a False Grail. Indy acquired the true Grail and used the spring waters to heal his father's wounds. Elsa attempted to take it beyond the Great Seal which caused the temple to collapse,[1] triggering an earthquake.[2] She and the Grail fell into the chasm which divided the atrium, forcing the bystanders to escape as the temple finally collapsed.[1]

Legacy[]

One year after the Last Crusade, Indiana Jones would spot the sealed Temple of the Sun as he flew out of Sudan while fleeing from his German rival Magnus Völler and his German Desert Commandos, who had encountered him in the Sudan Temple.[8]

Behind the scenes[]

The exterior of the Temple of the Sun was filmed at Al-Khazneh, also known as "The Treasury", a building carved out of a sandstone rock face in the ancient city of Petra, Jordan. The main cast completed their scenes after 63 days of filming.[9] At Al Khazneh, unlike the edifice seen in the film, there is nothing inside the entrance other than a small room. The temple was previously used in Sam Wanamaker's film Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger.

In Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: The Graphic Adventure, Walter Donovan is beheaded by the rotating blades at the Temple, as Jones doesn't block the blades' mechanism[10] like in the film.[1] Nevertheless, Indy himself will suffer[10] Donovan's original fate[1] if he drinks from the False Grail. Also, if Jones retrieves the Grail before Elsa can grab it, the temple is not destroyed, and Elsa's life is saved. Even if the temple collapses and Elsa falls into the chasm, Indiana Jones can still retrieve the Grail with his whip and return it to the Grail Knight.[10]

For the Breath of God test, Jones first kneels and quickly bends to roll over in order to avoid a second saw that comes from the ground. This is an allusion to the prostration prayer position in another Abrahamic religion, Islam; the religion's adherents, called Muslims, prostrate by kneeling first and bending forward for their foreheads to touch the ground.

Continuity[]

The Temple of the Sun makes a brief cameo reappearance in Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings as Indiana Jones flies out of the Sudan, like as an easter egg[8] (as in the case of another Flying Wing in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle).[11]

Appearances[]

Non-canonical appearances[]

Sources[]

Notes and references[]

  1. ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Indiana Jones: The Ultimate Guide
  3. ↑ From Star Wars To Indiana Jones - The Best of the Lucasfilm Archives
  4. ↑ Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade junior novel (2008)
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade comic
  6. ↑ Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade novel
  7. ↑ The Grail Knight was described as a knight of the First Crusade (1095-1099).
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings
  9. ↑ The Complete Making of Indiana Jones, Chapter 10: "The Professionals: May 1988 to May 1989", p. 204—229
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: The Graphic Adventure
  11. ↑ Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
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