Steve Bennett takes 'mystery' as a point of departure for a well 
elaborated piece of historical fiction.

A visit to the artist's website shows that he has an interest in mixing 
various states of reality, from inner experience, throught to the 
metaphysical, the mythic and the legendary.  He picks an interesting 
moment to depict.  A real life mortal living in an age of oracles, is 
recorded as journeying to visit one, before he goes on to epic 
achievements in his life and in history.

Bennett takes an illustrator's approach to telling the story, choosing 
to show a precise moment during the event.  Having just finished his 
consultation, Alexander strides toward greatness, and the oracle, caught 
in midstep, drops a small golden vessel.  We are given a fictional 
moment in a real event.  But it makes our experience intimate.

The picture is a texture-mapping tour-de-force. The temple chambers at 
Siwah are depicted as sumptuous with every surface covered in painted 
murals or reliefs. Massive pillars frame a wide low space. Richly 
decorated statues guard the portal to an inner chamber. A curtain of
jewels spans the foreground. Vases and a carpet lush with detailing 
occupy the foreground. Fictional lighting highlights the opulence of the 
scene and alludes to the possible metaphysics at work.

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