Heliopolis
Summary
Heliopolis was the name Ernest Littlefield gave the library/meeting place of the Four Races of the Great Alliance.
Historical Earth References
Heliopolis was a city in Ancient Egypt. The name in Greek was translated as "town of the sun", apparently because of the large amount of sun worshipping (of Horus and/or Ra) there . In Egyptian hierogylphs, Heliopolis also was referred to as "lunu", meaning "place of pillars."
Heliopolis was the capital of Egypt for some time, and thus where much of the winter grain was stored, making it a rich city in the ancient world. A library was stored at the temple of Ra, and the priests were renowned for the education. It became a center for philosophy, astronomy and science, housing such great ancient minds as Plato, and Pythagoras. Eventually Heliopolis's prominence was eclipsed by Alexandria, when the influence of Ra waned over the Egyptian people.
Stargate References
The Stargate library of Heliopolis was located on P3X-972/PB2-908. Here the ancient race alliance of the Furlings, Nox, Asgard, and Ancients met in their quest for mutual understanding and knowledge (as Dr. Littlefield later hypothesized, like an alien United Nations). Each wall of one chamber of Heliopolis was inscribed with language of the respective races. Another device in the same chamber contained three dimensional images of all sorts of knowledge, including graphical representations of one hundred forty-six basic elements that make up the universe--essentially sharing the common, universal language. Thousands of pages of information were stored in the device. Eventually, for unknown reasons, Heliopolis was abandoned by the alliance.
Centuries, if not millenia, later, Ernest Littlefield was stranded on P3X-972. During the fifty years he was there, he discovered and studied this place and wrote in his journals as to what the purpose of this place could be. The overwhelming repository for philosophy and astronomy reminded him of the ancient Egyptian city of Heliopolis, the center for knowledge and leadership.
When SG-1 came to rescue him, Dr. Littlefield shared his theories with Daniel Jackson, calling the place "Heliopolis." Daniel Jackson immediately recognized the reference: "People would come from everywhere to gather there. Scholars. Community leaders. It was also the central place of worship for Ra." Dr. Jackson's concern about the references to Ra were soon overshadowed by his fascination with the knowledge of Heliopolis: a way to discover the "meaning of life." Although Heliopolis was destroyed during one of the planet's annual storms, Dr. Littlefield's journals and Dr. Jackson's video recordings of the place have been a source of knowledge to Stargate Command.
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--Aurora 07:45, 26 January 2007 (PST)