Date: Wed, 2 Feb 2011 08:25:05 +0100 From: A.K. Subject: Hiram the Phoenician 2/4 (historical) ---------------------------- HISTORY OF HIRAM THE PHOENICIAN A short Legend found in the Ancient Mesopotamia By Andrej Koymasky © 2011 Written on August 9, 2002 Translated by the Author English text kindly revised by Richard ----------------------------- USUAL DISCLAIMER "HISTORY OF HIRAM THE PHOENICIAN" is a gay story, with some parts containing graphic scenes of sex between males. So, if in your land, religion, family, opinion and so on this is not good for you, it will be better not to read this story. But if you really want, or because YOU don't care, or because you think you really want to read it, please be my welcomed guest. ----------------------------- 4 - HIRAM BECOMES A POTTER IN THE CAPITAL The caravan crossed a wide desert and after seven days and seven nights reached a small village that stood at the gates of Uruk, the great capital. They were in a borough that was inhabited almost exclusively by potters who made any kind of vessels, small statues of any kind, as well as tiles and bricks. There Hiram, be the power of Melqart on him, met a young man who looked at him with open curiosity and with clear pleasure. They talked a little in a very agreeable way. Looking with appreciation at each other, fresh and strong body, and finally that young man took the beautiful Hiram to his house and they laid together. The two young men gave each other pleasure for a long time, and with growing passion, at first with their lips, tongues and mouths, then offering to each other, they in turn penetrated each other with real pleasure, until each of them unloaded in the warm intimacy of their companion, with youthful joy and strong enjoyment, with their abundant virile seed. Afterwards, the young man listened to Hiram's wonderful story, and he decided to introduce him to his grandfather. His grandfather was the elder and the most skilled of all the potters of that area, end was considered by everybody a real master potter. Anyway he had reached an old age and he was looking for a young apprentice and help, as his son had left home as he didn't want to work any more as a potter, and the grandson was preparing to go on a long journey. Hiram, the power of god be upon him, offered his services to the old man, and told him that he would willingly learn from him the potter's art. The old man hired Hiram, may the hand of Melqart be on him, and Hiram moved that same day to the home and the workshop of the old man. The grandson of the old potter was preparing to go to the land of the Hittites, therefore his road had to cross also Phoenicia. Then Hiram, on which always may the hand of god be, gave him a letter to give to his father in Sidon. The young man assured him he would deliver it without fail. Hiram, the blessing of Melqart be forever on him, since that day lived with the old potter, and admired the skill he had to work the clay and to bake it, and also the delightful little statues and the precious enameling and drawing the old man so masterly executed. Hiram quickly learned to do well, to the great joy of the old potter. One day a messenger came from the court of the capital city Uruk, who ordered a piece that had to be a totally unusual novelty, to make an impression on the ambassador of a bordering nation. It had to be a real masterwork, something unique, never seen before. The old potter sat on a stool and started to think about it, and while he was meditating and trying to imagine something really new, Hiram sat near him in silence. The young Hiram, on which may be Melqart's blessings, all of a sudden had an inspiration. He turned towards the old man and said, "Master, I can possibly help you. One of my uncles was also, in my homeland, a potter and when I was a kid I went once in a while to give him a hand. I remember that once we made a jug in the shape of a big and beautiful virile member, made so that, when one poured water from it, a sound came out like a birds' song, as if a nightingale sang near a waterfall. "This jug was really beautiful and original. My uncle used it to wash the hands of his guests when they came, and also before and after the meals, and the unusual shape caused his guests to have a joyful and astoundingly strong merriment. Possibly something like that could be the right gift for our King Vaylum to give to his noble guest." The old potter really liked this suggestion, and at once they both went to work to make such a jug. They had just finished it when the grandson of the old man came back from his travel to Sidon and gave to Hiram the news of the death of his father Yahas'. Hiram became very sad about his father, and finally understood why he felt his heart was so heavy when he said farewell to his father, almost as if he were oppressed by the premonition that he would never again see his father alive in this life-time. The jug was finally made and delightfully enameled, and only two days were left before the messenger came back to take it to the king, when the old potter laid down on his bed and understood, as at times the old wise men are able to understand, that he would never again get out of it. He called his assistant, the young and wonderful Hiram, and so spoke to him, "Here, my son, as you became such in the short period we lived together here, take this money, and with it buy a cart and an ox and take this jug in person to King Vaylum in my place, as I am no longer able to go. Another king who is much more powerful than our sovereign on this earth is calling me, summoning me at his court." Hiram, the power of Melqart be upon him, took the money and carried out the task. But he then loaded on the cart the old man together with the gift for the king, on a soft straw bed, and led the cart to the capital. When they were in the town, he accompanied the old man to the house of one of his sons. But this son, as soon as he was aware that his father was very ill and needed urgent care, and possibly even the costly assistance of a doctor, didn't want to have anything to do with him and wanted to send him away. But Hiram, notwithstanding that he was indignant for the shameful behaviour of that ungrateful son, managed all the same to find calm and measured words that had the power to stop that son, in spite of his lack of sentiments, "Your father here," he said, "is the master potter of the king, he is an important man and he is travelling for an important task. If something bad happened to him, I would not be the one who answers for it, and I presume that you too would not be him. Your father is carrying precious objects and is expected at the court. It is in your interest to take care of him, because I would not want to be in your shoes when King Vaylum discovers that you are the guilty one." The son, in spite of his great impiety understood this speech, and he greatly feared the possible punishment of the king. He even sent messengers to the royal palace, and an army of doctors and surgeons came to treat his father, the old potter. The king decreed a death sentence on them if their efforts to heal the old man were fruitless. But the old man spoke, and said: "Let me die in peace, o men, none of you can do anything to help me, as my time on earth has come to its end. I will send a message to King Vaylum that none of you have to be punished because of my death, as I am in better hands than those of the most skilled of the doctors. "I leave my potter's workshop and my oven to this young companion and assistant, as he knows the art of the pottery better than my son, and even better than myself at this point. The jug that was made for the guest of our king comes from his hands. Therefore the king should give to him the agreed reward." The old potter smiled once again to Hiram, the blessing of Melqart be on him, then turned his face towards the wall, and his soul left him. The old potter had also established in his testament that he had to be buried in his workshop that he left with all its content to his young companion, Hiram. But the son of the old man was greedy and a perjurer, and he envied the heritage left to Hiram, be on him the joy of Melqart, so he disobeyed his father's testament. The impious son said, "We are the flesh of his flesh, we are of his blood, and we are those who had to toil for years in his potter workshop for years, and now everything is given to the last newcomer who happened to pass by? No, this is not fair, I will appeal against this in the legal ways." Hiram, the power of god be on him, remained calm and didn't dispute with the disowned son. He told him he agreed with all he said, and he even wanted to let him have the potter's workshop, but first he had to take it to the royal palace the piece they made, after which, he assured the impious son, they would eventually discuss the matter. Meanwhile the servants of the king came to take away the jug. Hiram, the hand of Melqart be on him, took the jug and carefully wrapped it in a white cloth, and went with them to the king's palace. The servants of the king had seen what had happened at the deathbed of the old potter, and also the exemplar behaviour of Hiram was noticed. They then escorted him through the streets of the city of Uruk, and Hiram was astounded. He had never seen such a magnificent town, with its wide gardens on the buildings' roofs, that sloped down in terraces towards the main street of the city or towards the wide river. Each building was a masterwork, each corner of the streets was decorated with figures painted with enamels of various colours - everywhere there were decorated turrets, pediments, balconies and facades with plaster decorations and everything was wonderful to see. Hiram, the blessing of god be on him, was totally enraptured by all the sights and thought he was in the heart of the beauty of the kingdom. But one detail hit him above all - all the sentries and the armed guards he saw were wearing only short skirts and footwear that left abundantly uncovered their beautiful, muscled bodies. They carried a kind of axe on their shoulders, be it a real weapon or an insignia of their rank, or else a symbol of their dignity. When they were at the palace, he saw that this symbol of the axe was everywhere. There was no servant, including the gardeners and kitchen slaves, that didn't have it on himself in some shape, embroidered or painted or applied. The young and wonderful Hiram was astounded at that. He thought in his heart, "It is curious that here everybody has on his shoulders the symbol of the axe. Can this be taken back to my ancestor Rohan who destroyed with an axe all the main idols in the city of Uruk, leaving standing only the simulacra of Melqart, and who knows if the servants of the great king carry his symbol in his honour?" Hiram, may Melqart give joy to his soul and pleasure to his body, was led inside the palace, through numberless corridors and vestibules, until he reached a wide waiting room. There the servant left Hiram, the power of the god be on him, totally alone. He looked around in this hall and saw that along the four walls were standing guards who where totally naked, and of a great virile beauty, and they had perfect bodies, and were so totally still and so silent that Hiram was not able to tell if they were living or just carved and painted human figures. Later he came to know that they were real men, but that they were deaf-mute men and totally immersed in their silent world. These guards had been chosen for this particular service in their childhood amongst the most beautiful sons of the common people. The membrane of their eardrum had been broken so that they could hear nothing and they didn't learn to talk, so that they were not able to disclose with anybody the secrets of the court. These guards also carried on their shoulders a short axe. Finally Hiram, be on him the blessing of Melqart, was introduced to the king of the Sumerians, who struck by his beauty, greeted him with much benevolence. Hiram handed to King Vaylum the masterwork and explained to him this peculiarity. The king liked beyond any measure that jug made with real skill and art in the shape of a virile member, as it really was something totally new that nobody in his empire ever saw before. Up to then all the statues and the masterworks in Assyria had in fact a terrifying and dreadful aspect, so that the subjects were continually admonished about the absolute power of their sovereign. This new piece that Hiram was offering to the king of the Sumerians, was instead totally different. It had an agreeable and joyful aspect. It really was something new in that nation! The king interrogated Hiram about his homeland and about his people. The king had already been informed by his servants about what they heard in the house of the son of the potter. So the king offered to Hiram the opportunity to stay in the capital and to assume the place of the old master potter - he wanted him to be the court potter. Hiram, may the blessing of Melqart be on him, accepted that rank with gratefulness, received the promised award for the magnificent jug, and also a beautiful house with a garden nearby the king's palace, with an adjoining workshop totally equipped with everything a potter could need. Hiram, Melqart bless him, so settled in Uruk and lived there for the following three years. He learned well the Sumerian language, but he never let himself become involved in any religious dispute, and always kept himself apart from them. Out of town there was a tall hill that the Sumerians used as a gathering place. On top of it there was room for several thousand people. That area was reserved for the great annual festivals because, it was explained to Hiram, if these festivals were carried on in any of the city temples, the other gods would have been jealous and would make their wrath fall on the population. That problem had been avoided choosing a central point where everybody could go. One day a Sumerian soldier came to Hiram's house who communicated to him he had to prepare himself to meet King Vaylum on the following morning, in the great clearing of the gatherings. The king intended to go to Sidon, and wanted Hiram to accompany him. Hiram, the power of Melqart be on him, was bound by obedience so he promised he would go, but he was greatly astounded by this order and he could not understand what could come from it. Quite early the following morning, Hiram, Melqart may give him all the joys, went to the top of the hill to wait for the royal coach, but nobody came. Hiram, be the peace on him, waited up to noon, but still nobody came, At the end of the day came there only a lone horseman and Hiram, the hand of god be on him, saw that it was the officer that the previous day had ordered him to go to that place. He now came there on his horse to bring Hiram, the blessing of god be on him, to the king's palace. Hiram, the strength of god be on him, followed the man and reached the throne hall of the great Lord of Uruk. The king benevolently smiled, then spoke to him, "O Hiram, my good friend, you are surely perplexed for this happening and can't understand what would come of it for you. I will now explain it to you - you have just passed a difficult test and it showed you are worthy of my kingly trust! "You see, so it is - in this land you are a stranger and when you came amongst us nobody knew you and nobody had any knowledge about your projects and about your intentions. What recommended you was your artistic skill, your unusual beauty, and your evidently good character. On my side I never doubted about your loyalty and reliability, anyway there are many amongst my courtiers and my servants who suspected you; of course, it is their task to single out all the suspect men and to eradicate from our rows the agents and the spies of the stranger nations, therefore I had you shadowed for a long time, even though you never guessed it was so. "Yesterday was the day of the decisive test - I ordered you to prepare yourself at once and without delay to leave, without giving you any explanation. You were in place ready to obey my orders, so that now no more doubts are left about your loyalty. I want to communicate to you that I promote you of rank, and assure you my never-ending friendship. As a sign of this, you will be allowed to know how I treat your enemies." Then the king made a sign to the guards, who led Hiram out of the throne hall, through several long corridors and vestibules, until they were in a foyer where several doors were open. Each of them had an inscription and led to the different parts of the palace. On a door was written something like "Door of the Goods", on another "Door of the Safety", and on another "Door of the Women". They passed several doors until they stopped in front of one where was written "Door of the Torments". Hiram, the blessing of Melqart be upon him, understood that he would visit the rooms where the enemies of the king were tortured, and his heart at that sight felt frightened and frozen. He said to the guards, "Go back to King Vaylum and tell him that assisting in the tortures on another man doesn't give me any joy, and that all this makes me feel a pain as if I were experiencing his same tortures on myself. This is not the custom in my people, and this repels me in the deepest parts of my soul. Nobody has to suffer to give pleasure to me, I forgive completely all my enemies, whoever they could be! I pray the king, in his magnanimity, to free them out of the love he has for me. Go and tell him my words." After this Hiram, be the peace on him, went back to his home and went on living in a serene simplicity and happiness like before. 5 - HIRAM LEAVES URUK - THE GOD MELQART CALLS HIM AS SOOTSAYER Not much time after these facts, Hiram, peace be upon him, met in Uruk a fellow countryman coming from Sidon. He fit well with him and was glad to hear news about his homeland and to speak his own language. Moreover this young man was a believer of the god Melqart, so finally Hiram, the hand of the powerful god be always on him, could lie with this man to give him pleasure and get it from him. This young man not only admired very much Hiram's beauty and also his endurance in taking him for hours and hours before reaching that supreme joy, also giving to him a great pleasure. At the end this newcomer spoke to Hiram, on which be the peace, and said, "What are you doing here, after all, in this foreign land and subject to these pagans without god? Don't we have our land that we rightly call also the Land of Gold, and didn't our god mark us amongst all the peoples so that we are his beloved people? Didn't he send us his revelation thanks to numberless prophets and the soothsayers about the love between men, and is not our way the best of all the ways? What do you have to do here amongst the unbelievers, and why did you put yourself at the service of that stranger king who venerates other gods?" The young and very beautiful Hiram, be upon him the blessing of Melqart, answered to this fellow countryman, "Here it is not at all bad for me, I have a very good work as the royal potter in his court, I am esteemed in the court and King Vaylum is my personal friend." "Thus you became the slave of gold and silver," then said the young man from Sidon, "and you totally forget your familial duties, didn't you tell me your old widowed mother is still alive in our homeland?" After these talks with his fellow countryman, the nostalgia of his home arouse in Hiram, the hand of Melqart be on him, and he felt so agitated that he would willingly leave at once to go back to his homeland with the young man from Sidon. But he, being the royal potter, couldn't leave without the authorization of his king and the man from Sidon could not delay his departure not even for a day. Therefore Hiram went in a great hurry to see King Vaylum trying to get his leave to go back to his country, and explained to him his desire to see again his homeland and his old mother. The king had a full understanding of his feelings, but at the same time he didn't want to deprive himself of such a skilled and beautiful craftsman as was his friend Hiram, may Melqart bless him. The king therefore ordered him, before he could leave, to find a substitute as skilled as himself, who could during his absence hold the rank of court's potter. By chance Hiram had some time ago hired an assistant, a young companion, who was already skilled in his work almost as much as his master. Then Hiram, be the peace be upon him, introduced his assistant to King Vaylum and showed him the beautiful vessels and small statues that his young assistant did. The king was satisfied and gave Hiram the leave to go back to his country, even though he didn't part willingly with him, as he had grown fond of his court's potter. He hoped to see him again soon in Uruk and wished Hiram a good and safe journey. Hiram and his travel companion, may Melqart be happy with both of them, left together, each riding his own camel, and after a day on the road reached a small village. Hiram's companion and other members of the caravan that joined them, wanted to enter in the village to have some rest and to buy new provisions. But when they were closer to the village, they saw that a dead man was taken away on a stretcher. They stepped aside and let the funeral train pass, but they discovered that after it were following other processions with dead people on the stretchers, going towards the burying field. Hiram, be on him the protective hand of god, talked to his travel companions and said, "It seems that in this village is raging with some infective plague. We should pass far from it to avoid being infected. Let's leave at once and go around it." But the other travellers didn't want to lengthen their trip so they said to Hiram, "We already passed several times through this village and up to now nothing bad ever happened to us. Why would the illness infect us this time?" They were doing superficial speeches, not reasoned, and then Hiram answered them, "I was taught to never go into a place where a plague rages, as well as to never leave a land where a plague had burst out, to escape it." And yet nobody wanted to listen to his words. At the end Hiram, upon which be all the blessings, went on alone and camped on a hill not far from the village, from which he could see the village and the access roads. He said to his travel companions he would wait for them there. The caravan instead entered in the village to have some rest and renew the provisions of water, while Hiram, the hand of god be always upon him, passed the night alone on the top of the hill he choose; when on the following morning he looked towards the camp of his companions he could not see any sign of life. He saw instead a new long procession going to the burial field. Hiram, Melqart give him his wisdom and his power, observed from afar for some more time what was happening and he had the feeling as if in the camp of his companions once in a while something did move, something as if a man raised his head from the ground, but there was no real movement to be observed. Hiram remained to watch for six days, and after a week he didn't see any more funeral processions go towards the burial field. So Hiram understood that the whole village had been exterminated by the plague and that none of his travel companions had survived. He sadly saddled his camel and prepared to resume his travel, when he saw a platoon of Sumerian soldiers not far from him. They were marching forward, and he called them, telling them to wait for him. They stopped and when Hiram reached them, he told them about the plague that hit the village and warned them to not pass through it. The Sumerians thanked Hiram, may the hand of god be on him, for his good advice and to show him their gratitude they explained to him how to cross the desert that was in front of him. Hiram, the blessing be upon him, asked them to give his greetings to King Vaylum, then their ways parted. The travel of Hiram led him to cross a mountainous region. He spent a night there and the following morning, after pouring his virile seed in honour of Melqart in his morning prayer, while he was resting some more, his father appeared to him in his dreams. Never during his life had he appeared to him like he was seeing him in his dream, bursting with anger and indignation. The late soothsayer rebuked his son, "What are you doing here? What do you imagine? Do you think, when I sent you to Uruk, that this happened without good reasons and without a deep knowledge? Do you believe that you can do and undo everything as you please? No, my son, it is not so. There were reasons why you were sent to Uruk, and you have only to wait until the times are fulfilled. But you with your youthful impatience will ruin everything! Now go back immediately, turn at once your paces towards Uruk!" Hiram, on which may the benevolence of god always be, woke up really impressed and at once, without the least bit of hesitation he did turn around and took up again the direction from where he came. While he was proceeding in that direction, still trembling from the impression of that terrible vision, he saw a light in the sky that was lowering and aiming directly at him. The light became increasingly bigger and while it was approaching Hiram, the hand of god be upon him, he was able to distinguish as if an image took shape inside it. This vision was on the ground in front of him, and he saw a wonderful young man, totally naked, and a voice resounded, "Peace and blessing be on you, O Hiram. Don't be afraid of me, as I am the messenger of the god Melqart, who sent me to choose and to call you to be his soothsayer and prophet! You have to carry on your task in Uruk, therefore you now have to go back there." Hiram, the power of Melqart be upon him, was overwhelmed by this great honour that the god Melqart was bestowing upon him, and he prostrated himself on the ground, thanked Melqart and prayed to him to give him the strength to carry out that task. He proceeded on his way back and around noon he was near a river. He stopped there to have a short rest, refresh himself, to make the noon ablutions and prayers. But all of a sudden, a young and strong man, came out of the brush on the other side of the river. This man raised his arm to throw a net in the river and meanwhile he shouted, "Come to me, o you small fishes, come to me and in my net! You know that I am your friend and that I will never take more fish than what is owed to me!" After these words he threw the net and at once the little fishes swam inside it, so that the net was soon full. The man abided the word he gave: he chose only two fish and threw all the others back into the river. Hiram was greatly astounded by this behaviour and felt at once the impulse to call that stranger, who signaled him to cross the river and invited him to share the meal with him, as he had already noticed Hiram. This is why that day he kept two fish and not only one as he usually did, because he had to also feed his guest. Hiram, be the benevolence of god on him, crossed the river and sat with that unknown young man for the meal, and during which he came to know his story. The young man came from a nearby village, and when he was an adolescent he fell in love with a cousin, the son of an old Aunt, where he grew up. One day he went into town and when he came back to his village, he found that it had been plundered and set on fire, and a few inhabitants were still barely alive to tell him about the pillaging. Those not killed or mortally wounded had been taken away as a slave, as had happened also to the boy that he loved. The old Aunt was still alive to tell him all this, then she too died. The youth wasn't able to overcome the disappointment for the life and the sadness for having lost his beloved cousin, and after that he was very poorly disposed against life and humankind, therefore he withdrew in solitude and chose as his friends the animals of the wood and as companions the passers-by who stopped for just one hour on his bed, then resumed their way. The day when Hiram met him was exactly five years that he had been living this way. Hiram then talked to him, and wanted to tell him something about his message of the love of Melqart for Tubkhal, but the young man shook his head and said, "In my sad and lonely life, this is already the third time that somebody has preached to me about some different religion. Therefore, I pray, don't take the time to try to overcome my doubts. Spare rather your words, and simply be my guest this night. Come, I want to show you my house and welcome you to my bed!" He took Hiram, the power of god be on him, in a cave. A stream of clear and shining water ran through it. The young man said, "Your eyes are not used to the deep darkness of the night in the wood; come, I will show you how I light the night in my house!" He showed him a point in the cave where a black substance was continually dripping. Then the hermit explained to him how he learned to gather that liquid black asphalt and mix it with sand. He then would light this mix when it was too dark, and the flame lit the night and also his soul. That evening, after they gave each other pleasure for a long time, they sat again side by side and told each other several things. Hiram, the power of god be on him, asked his host if the cavern had ever been inhabited by other men before him, and if he found signs of their previous inhabitants, like bones, terracotta shards, or pieces of weapons. "No," the young hermit answered, "I haven't found anything in this cave but a single hair. I will willingly show it to you. He went and came back with a small bundle and as he unwrapped it, Hiram saw in front of him a thin, very delicate hair of a little child, from which came a wonderful fragrance, that filled the entire cave. Hiram was surprised and astonished by this wonderful discovery, but at once it appeared to him in a prophetic vision the entire and strong truth - he came to know that this hair was a hair from the head of his ancestor Rohan. It came from the time when he was still a little child and lived in hiding in that very cave, cared for by the envoys of Melqart, they fed him with celestial nourishment. He lived for fourteen years in that cave where Hiram and the odd hermit were on that evening! Hiram, the blessing of Melqart be upon him, told the young man this wonderful fact. The hermit listened to him carefully to the end of the story, but he was not able to change his heart, it was so full of the love of the lost boy of his younger years, that no other love could find a place in it, and faith in the god of Hiram remained beyond him. Hiram, Melqart give him protection, peacefully spent the night in that cave, in the arms of the strong and handsome hermit, with whom he again and for a long time made love. Then on the following morning he hurried to resume his way towards Uruk as he had been ordered. The hermit prayed for him to stay with him longer, as he had found a great pleasure in the company of Hiram, but Hiram knew he couldn't allow himself any more delay, so he said farewell to that young man and resumed his way to Uruk. ----------------------------- CONTINUES IN FILE 3 ----------------------------- In my home page I've put some more of my stories. If someone wants to read them, the URL is http://andrejkoymasky.com If you want to send me feed-back, or desire to help revising my English translations, so that I can put on-line more of my stories in English please e-mail at andrej@andrejkoymasky.com ---------------------------