View source for Heliopolis

{{Plane
| image             = 
| caption           = 
| name              = Heliopolis
| othernames        = City of the Sun<ref name="L&L-p92">{{Cite book/Legends & Lore 2nd edition|92}}</ref>
| symbol            = Arcadia.png
| demonym           = 
| natives           = [[Divine minion]]s,<ref name="MBoF-HotH">{{Cite web/Hate of the Cobra}}</ref> [[petitioner]]s,<ref name="OHG-p86,88" /><ref name="PoL-Arc2e-p19-21" /> [[angel]]s, [[lillend]]s,<ref name="PGtF-pp156-157" /> [[mummies]],<ref name="PoL-Arc2e-p19-21" /> [[oceanus dragon]]s<ref name="DF3e-p11" />
| languages         = 
| basicrefs         = 
| type-GW           = Realm
| shape-size-GW     = 
| gravity-GW        = 
| time-GW           = 
| morphic-GW        = 
| element-energy-GW = 
| alignment-GW      = 
| magical-GW        = 
| layers-GW         = 
| layer-number-GW   = 
| location-GW       = [[Buxenus]]
| refs-GW           = <ref name="OHG-p86,88">{{Cite book/On Hallowed Ground|86,88}}</ref><ref name="PoL-Arc2e-p19-21">{{Cite book/Planes of Law/Arcadia|19-21}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book/Planes of Law/Map-Arcadia}}</ref>
| type-WA           = 
| shape-size-WA     = 
| gravity-WA        = 
| mutability-WA     = 
| element-energy-WA = 
| alignment-WA      = 
| magical-WA        = 
| layers-WA         = 
| layer-number-WA   = 
| location-WA       = 
| refs-WA           = 
| type-WT           = [[Neutral Plane]]
| shape-size-WT     = 
| gravity-WT        = 
| time-WT           = 
| morphic-WT        = Alterable morphic<br />Divinely morphic
| element-energy-WT = Mixed<ref name="drag291-p108">{{Cite dragon/291/Sage Advice|108}}</ref>
| alignment-WT      = Mixed<ref name="drag291-p108" />
| magical-WT        = 
| faith-WT          = Mild
| layers-WT         = 
| layer-number-WT   = 
| location-WT       = 
| refs-WT           = <ref name="PGtF-pp156-157">{{Cite book/Player's Guide to Faerûn|156-157}}</ref><ref name="PGtF-p141">{{Cite book/Player's Guide to Faerûn|141}}</ref>
| inhabitants       = yes
| deities           = 
| locations         = yes
| organizations     = 
| settlements       = 
| based             = 
| usethe            = 
| useon             = 
}}
'''Heliopolis''' was a [[plane]] that across [[cosmologies]] was considered the home for a number of deities within the [[Pharaonic pantheon|Pharaonic]]<ref name="OHG-p86,88" /><ref name="PoL-Arc2e-p19-21" /> and [[Mulhorandi pantheon]]s.<ref name="PGTF-p156-157">{{Cite book/Player's Guide to Faerûn|156-157}}</ref><ref name="P&P-p109,114,120">{{Cite book/Powers and Pantheons|109, 114, 120}}</ref><ref name="FRCS3e-258">{{Cite book/Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting 3rd edition|258}}</ref>

==Cosmography==
Under the [[Great Wheel cosmology|Great Wheel]] model, Heliopolis was said to be a single [[divine realm]] that resided on [[Buxenus]], the second layer of the plane of [[Arcadia]]. Jointly ruled by [[Ra]], [[Isis]], [[Osiris]], and [[Horus-Re|Horus]]<ref name="OHG-p86,88" /><ref name="PoL-Arc2e-p19-21" /><ref name="PoL-Arc2e-p8">{{Cite book/Planes of Law/Arcadia|8}}</ref> (later known as [[Horus-Re]], following his father Ra's death at the hands of [[Gruumsh]] during the [[Orcgate Wars]]).<ref>{{Cite book/Volo's Guide to All Things Magical|96}}</ref> While under the [[World Tree cosmology|World Tree]] model, it was considered to be one of the [[Neutral Planes]] that were connected to the [[World Tree]] and the home of all members of the Mulhorandi pantheon.<ref name="PGTF-p156-157" /><ref name="FRCS3e-258" />

==Geography==
===Great Wheel===
[[File:Heliopolis-GreatWheelDivision.png|thumb|273px|''The three equally divided realms of Heliopolis, according to the Great Wheel.'']]
Under the Great Wheel cosmology, this realm was said to be an immense burning desert of bright sand that was laid out like a triangle, divided into three equally sized domains. It was touched at every corner by a scorching sun, which was guided across the sky by Ra's solar barge ''[[Matet|Manjet]]''.<ref name="OHG-p86">{{Cite book/On Hallowed Ground|86}}</ref><ref name="PoL-Arc2e-p19">{{Cite book/Planes of Law/Arcadia|19}}</ref> This was in contrast to the rest of Arcadia, which received light from the '''Orb of Day and Night''', though the time of day for both coincided. When the time for day to end came Ra's barge became a funeral barge, referred to as ''Mesketet'', and briefly provided light to the realm of Osiris.<ref name="PoL-Arc2e-p19" /> 

Whenever the sun faded in Heliopolis the temperature would drop dramatically.<ref name="OHG-p86" /><ref name="PoL-Arc2e-p19" /> However, the overall temperature varied between the three domains that each deity governed. The domain of Ra was the hottest of three, the heat striking even indoors and in shadowed area.<ref name="PoL-Arc2e-p19" /> Fauna were almost never seen out during the day in his realm, due to the unbearable heat of the sun.<ref name="OHG-p86" /><ref name="PoL-Arc2e-p19" /> The valley that Osiris presided over was the coolest of the three, even when standing beneath the sun. And the sloping domain of Isis between them was moderate in temperature.<ref name="PoL-Arc2e-p19" /> With its moderate temperature, this domain was where all wildlife and most plants were found, being spread over with thick [[grass]] and dotted with [[fig]] and [[palm]] trees.<ref name="PoL-Arc2e-p20">{{Cite book/Planes of Law/Arcadia|20}}</ref>

Creatures that were known to inhabit Heliopolis included [[lion]]s,<ref name="OHG-p86" /><ref name="PoL-Arc2e-p19" /> [[camel]]s,<ref name="PoL-Arc2e-p19" /> [[serpent]]s, and [[scorpion]]s.<ref name="OHG-p86" />
===World Tree===
Much like the Great Wheel conception of the plane, the Heliopolis of the World Tree was said to predominantly be a great arid, desert realm where Horus-Re sailed a solar barge across the sky each day. A body of [[holy water]] known as the [[River Isis]] flowed through the desert, irrigating it and providing a source for all life in the plane.<ref name="PGtF-pp156-157" /> It was also home to [[oceanus dragon]]s.<ref name="DF3e-p11">{{Cite book/Dragons of Faerûn|11}}</ref> The land along its banks were a fertile valley named [[Succor (realm)|Succor]], covered in thick grasses and dotted in both figs and palm trees.<ref name="PGtF-pp156-157" />

Further out beyond the rivers one could find all manner of monuments dotting the desert landscape &mdash; mausoleums, obelisks, pyramids, sphinxes, and temples. In the middle of the desert stood a mountain range, the sole source for the rocks used for the plane's monuments.<ref name="PGtF-pp156-157" />

==Realms==
===Great Wheel===
Ra and Osiris were considered to be the dominant powers of Heliopolis, while Isis and Horus held secondary realms.<ref name="PoL-Arc2e-p8" /> They shared the role of leader depending upon what pressing business they had to attend to. Horus wandered between all three realms, rather than having a realm of his own,<ref name="PoL-Arc2e-p19" /> at least up until his change in station.<ref name="P&P-p109">{{Cite book/Powers and Pantheons|109}}</ref>

The Great Wheel model also claimed Heliopolis to once be home to the Pharaonic deities [[Set]],<ref name="OHG-p38">{{Cite book/On Hallowed Ground|38}}</ref> [[Geb]],<ref name="TIP-p36">{{Cite book/The Inner Planes|36}}</ref> and [[Nut (Deity)|Nut]].<ref name="OHG-p90">{{Cite book/On Hallowed Ground|90}}</ref> The former was banished for his transgressions,<ref name="OHG-p38" /> while the latter two chose to leave after the god [[Shu]] forbade their marriage.<ref name="TIP-p36" /><ref name="OHG-p90" />
* [[Thekele-Re]], the First Realm of Heliopolis, was the domain of Ra.<ref name="OHG-p86" /> Following the death of Ra's Mulhorandi incarnation Re, his son Horus received both his powers and divine realm, taking up the new name of Horus-Re.<ref name="P&P-p109" />
* [[Gizekhtet]], the Second Realm of Heliopolis, was the domain of Isis.<ref name="OHG-p88">{{Cite book/On Hallowed Ground|88}}</ref> The [[Mystara#Religion|Mystaran Immortal]] [[Noumena]] stayed there as well.<ref>{{Cite book/Warriors of Heaven}}</ref>
* [[Memphiria]], the Third Realm of Heliopolis, was the domain of Osiris.<ref name="OHG-p90" />

===World Tree===
The only Mulhorandi god that was not said to reside on the plane was [[Sebek]], who spent much of his time lairing on [[Toril]] and in the realm of Set.<ref name="PGtF-pp156-157" />
* [[Amun-thys]], the divine realm of [[Nephthys]]. Located in an uncultivated part of the fertile valley, it was full of temples and tombs.<ref name="PGtF-pp156-157" />
* [[Ankhwugaht]], the divine realm of Set, was the harshest region of the Heliopolis desert and the only one where Horus-Re's light did not shine.<ref name="PGtF-pp156-157" />
* The divine realm of [[Hathor]] was a single village within the valley of Succor.<ref name="PGtF-pp156-157" />
* The [[Caverns Under the Stars]], the divine realm of Geb, was a great cave complex at the root of the mountains of Heliopolis.<ref name="PGtF-pp156-157" />
* '''Gizekhtet''', the divine realm of Isis. It had a [[Gizekhtet (city)|great city]] whose center the River Isis flowed through, making the land around the city the most fertile and lush in all of Heliopolis.<ref name="PGtF-pp156-157" />
* '''Memphiria''', the divine realm of Osiris, was an immense necropolis in the desert reaches of Heliopolis.<ref name="PGtF-pp156-157" />
* [[Netaph]], the divine realm of [[Anhur]]. It was situated between the arid desert and fertile valley.<ref name="PGtF-pp156-157" />
* [[Thebestys]], the divine realm of [[Thoth]], was a great city that stood in a marshy area along the river banks. Several smaller villages stood around it.<ref name="PGtF-pp156-157" />
* The skies of Heliopolis served as the divine realm of Horus-Re, though his [[petitioner]]s lived on the ground in a city named '''Thekele-Re'''.<ref name="PGtF-pp156-157" />
* The goddess [[Bast]] had a small, unnamed divine realm in this plane, which was linked by a ''portal'' to her realm of [[Rapture (realm)|Rapture]] in the plane of [[Brightwater]].<ref>{{Cite book/Player's Guide to Faerûn|146}}</ref>

==Inhabitants==
According to the Great Wheel model, the realm of Heliopolis was home to petitioners from all many worlds across the [[Prime Material plane]].<ref name="OHG-p86,88" /><ref name="PoL-Arc2e-p19-21" /> The World Tree model, being more Torilian-centric, was said to only host petitioners that were [[Mulhorandi]] in origin. These petitioners appeared as they did in life, but at their healthiest and most robust.<ref name="PGtF-pp156-157" /> Additionally, in both models the petitioners of Osiris wandered his realm as [[undead]] of [[good]] [[alignment]],<ref name="PoL-Arc2e-p20" /><ref name="PGtF-pp156-157" /> who were treated as no different from the living by the realm's other petitioners.<ref name="PoL-Arc2e-p20" />

Beyond petitioners, one could find the pantheon's unique [[divine minion]]s throughout Heliopolis.<ref name="MBoF-HotH" /> Some [[angel]]s and [[lillend]]s served the [[good]] deities of the plane. And a diverse array of horrible creatures could be found in Set's plane of Ankhwugaht.<ref name="PGtF-pp156-157" />

==Rumors & Legends==
Some legends claimed that the great serpent [[Apep]] was buried beneath the sands of Heliopolis.<ref name="OHG-p86" />

Others claimed that the [[Draconic pantheon|Draconic goddess]] [[Tiamat]] had a home on this plane and maintained a ''[[portal]]'' to another home on the plane of [[Dragon Eyrie]].<ref name="FRCS3e-258" /><ref name="QfEG.2015-p7">{{Cite web/Candlekeep forum/Questions for Ed Greenwood (2015)/Tiamat's Many Homes}}</ref> But when members of the [[Twisted Rune]] one day sought her lair they discovered this to be a ruse, finding in Heliopolis only a cave with a disturbed [[lichnee]] [[netherese]] [[archwizard]] spellbound inside, known as the Listener of the Fiveheaded.<ref name="QfEG.2015-p7" />

==Appendix==
===References===
{{Refs}}
===Connections===
{{Arcadia}}
{{Cosmologies}}
[[Category:World Tree planes]]
[[Category:Neutral planes]]
[[Category:Planes of existence]]
[[Category:Outer Planes]]
[[Category:Divine realms]]
[[Category:Locations in Buxenus]]
[[Category:Locations in Arcadia]]
[[Category:Locations in the Upper Planes]]
[[Category:Locations in the Outer Planes]]
[[Category:Locations in the Great Wheel planes]]
[[Category:Locations]]