The adjoining room, at the southwest corner of the colonnade (5), is irregular in shape and of an entirely different character. It seems to have been regarded as a sacred place, and to have been used for secret ceremonies. It was entered from the colonnade by a narrow door, which could be securely fastened. Large, sketchy pictures of gods were painted on the walls on a white ground,--Isis, Osiris, Typhon,--with sacred animals and symbols relating to the myth which to us are unintelligible. The excavators found here the remains of four wooden statues with marble heads, hands, and feet, one of a male figure, the other three female; there were besides a statuette of an Egyptian god made of green stone, on which were hieroglyphics; a statuette of white clay, covered with a green glaze; a sphinx of terra cotta, fragments of terra cotta statuettes of Egyptian figures, different kinds of vessels of clay, glass, and lead, and a bronze knife, evidently intended for use in sacrifices. At the left near the entrance is a small reservoir, reached by three steps. On the north side is a niche that apparently formed part of a small shrine. A kind of alcove opens off from the southeast corner of this room, the entrance to which could be closed by a curtain. From this a few steps and a door led into a storeroom, in which were found about three dozen vessels of various shapes, an iron tripod, and no less than fifty-eight earthen lamps. The lamps were in part provided with iron rings, so that they could be suspended; there were also iron rods, which the excavators supposed to be lamp holders. A rear door connected the storeroom with the small area of irregular shape between the Palaestra and the Theatre. These arrangements suggest the celebration of secret rites by night; we may well believe that novices were here initiated into the order of the Servants of Isis. Obscure hints in regard to the ceremonies connected with the consecration to the service of the goddess are thrown out by Apuleius. 'The initiation,' said the priest to him, 'is conducted under the image of a voluntary death, with the renewing of life as a gift from the deity.' Of his own experience he says merely: 'I came to the borders of death, I trod the threshold of Proserpina, then came back through all the stages to life. In the middle of the night I saw the sun shine brightly; I entered into the immediate presence of the gods above and the gods below, and worshipped them face to face.' Renunciation of past life, and a second birth to a new and purified existence, were the main ideas underlying the ceremonies, which as presented here must have been far less splendid and impressive than in Rome, where they were witnessed by Apuleius. CHAPTER XXVI _THE TEMPLE OF ZEUS MILICHIUS_