Dagon-Ja the potter, who lives in the city of Phaistos on the isle of Chthonia, hears of the queen's pottery challenge and begins making a calendar in hopes of winning it. Still an apprentice potter, she accepts the challenge and wonders if the time has come to create her masterpiece - pottery art she keeps constructing in the secrecy of her thoughts. She hopes her master does not notice she sometimes is not making the commissioned pieces but is working on something else. She makes it very small so she can hide it from him. It is intricate and beautiful.
All her life, even from childhood, Dagon-Ja felt separated from a world she could only visit through her art. She dreams of going to Kemet to see Khufu's Tomb. She has only heard descriptions of it but she can see it clearly in her mind. She knows she has as much chance of going to Kemet as she does of standing in front of the queen of Chthonia. These things are impossible.
One day, as an adult, she realized the way into the larger world is to become a master potter, of which she also has little chance. In that moment she heard the voice of Ja telling her that help was available in creating her masterpiece and she had but to ask. She doubted she could create pottery so beautiful as to bring her out of her small world but she was thankful to the voice and she changed her name to Dagon-Ja in honor of it and begin working on her secret pottery piece.
Her masterpiece complete, and with her master's permission to attend the Festival of Dionysis in Knossos, she begins her journey, carefully cushioning her masterpiece in her bag. As she walks along she receives a vision of her destination from Ja. It is the famed Palace of Minos at Knossos. But what if no one likes her masterpiece when she gets there, what then? She chooses not to think of that but to have faith in Ja.
Dagon-Ja meets travelers along the way to the palace: a fellow potter named Ja-Ra, a sailor named Theseus, and a bull-leaper named Ariadne. They talk of the festival and how many people will be there from all over the island. As they cross the viaduct leading to the palace, the discussion takes a more serious turn. Ja-Ra, a namesake of Ja and the sun god Ra, joins in the conversation with Ariadne and Theseus. Ariadne says, "Ur Nammu will be there."
This is the new god the people create as they turn away from the old ones. Theseus says, "And so will his daughter Ur Darukin be there." Ja-Ra says, "Ur Troda, his son, will come, too. Him I worship." Dagon-Ja says nothing. She is not a follower of the new gods. She still worships Ja and Re-Ah, the old ones. Re-Ah is the goddess of the night sky and mother of Ja, the creator god. She shines above as the blue star, her blue eye twinkling always. The shining ones, the planets, spin around her, and with their shields they keep her safe.
The group is astonished to be met by the great inventor Daedalus on the steps of the palace. What could account for it? Dagon-Ja had to be informed of his identity. Although she had heard of him - everyone has heard of him - she had no idea as to his appearance. His legend is about his inventiveness and not his outward appearance. She was even more amazed to learn he was there to meet her. How could he have known of her journey? She became a little frightened but she kept the faith. He told her he had come to meet her and to take her to his workshop where she can show him her masterpiece.
Dagon-Ja thinks she has been transported to another world when she follows Daedalus into his workshop. "This is my workshop," he tells her. "Everything you see here has come to me from Ja, and there he stands with his wide blue wings that hold the Whorl afloat in the ocean of Re-Ah." Daedalus points to the statue of Ja by the pyramid. Dagon-Ja also recognizes it as Ja.
Daedalus arranges for a room for Dagon-Ja and tells her he will speak with the queen about her masterpiece. He has studied it closely and is amazed by its intricacy. "It is a revelation!" he tells her. She is grateful to find acceptance from the greatest inventor the world will ever know. She begins to work on copies in her room near the palace, as Daedalus has commissioned them. She can hardly believe she is creating commissioned pieces of her own masterpiece. It has all become a dream come true and more than she had ever hoped for. She gives thanks to Ja and feels thankful that she kept the faith. She tells Daedalus her pottery piece is called the Masterpiece of Ja because Ja's voice encouraged her to create it.
The calendar contest has commenced and the potters' works are on display throughout the palace. Daedalus commissions a large replica of the Masterpiece of Ja and places in a prominent place where all can see it. It soon gains popularity and is becoming well-known in Knossos. Bets are being placed that it will win the pottery contest. It might even become the centerpiece of the Festival of Dionysis. As the festival-goers begin to enter the city, many of them stand in line to view Dagon-Ja's masterpiece.
Daedalus tells Dagon-Ja that everything is going as planned and the queen has chosen her masterpiece to take the honored place at the Festival of Dionysis. Dagon-Ja is astonished but wonders why Daedalus looks so dismayed. "Because," he tells her, "you cannot go to court as you are. You must become better dressed and more sophisticated in appearance in order to stand before the Queen of Chthonia. It is the way things are." Dagon-Ja is confused by this information. She had not considered this. "Do not worry," Daedalus tells her. "I have arranged for someone to come help with your dress and appearance." Dagon-Ja feels anxious.
"Also," Daedalus tells her, "you are not to name it the Masterpiece of Ja. You must name it Dagon-Ja's Masterpiece." "I cannot," says Dagon-Ja. "You must," says Daedalus, "if all is to go well. It is not so much to ask, because by your own hands you did create it." Dagon-Ja sees the logic in this but it still feels like a betrayal of Ja. "Understand this," Daedalus says. "It is not a presentation you will give but a performance. You will leave yourself behind, the country girl who created the masterpiece, and take up another self, the city girl who performs the masterpiece. Can you do it?" Dagon-Ja thinks a moment and tries to imagine it. "Perhaps," she says. "I will try. For Ja, I will try my best."
Queen Pasiphae tells Dagon-Ja she understands she is only an apprentice potter, but because of the quality of her work and her respectable appearance she will admit her into her presence, if only for a moment. Queen Pasiphae begins her review of Dagon-Ja's Masterpiece and asks Dagon-Ja to describe it to her. Dagon-Ja, struggling to assume an air of modernity, explains to the queen that the masterpiece is a pottery art disk with two sides, both similar but not the same. The queen is fascinated and requests Dagon-Ja to appear before her on another occasion outside the palace and explain to her how the calendar works.
Dagon-Ja meets Queen Pasiphae in front of the palace and begins her explanation of her calendar, telling her it describes the Battle of Tho and Ra. She tells the queen the first side shows 12 moonths on the outside spiral, each the length of time for the four faces of Tho to appear. The faces are preparing for battle with Ra, each face losing ground against Ra until one face pushes Ra completely away. On the other side on the outside spiral are the 12 horas when Ra rides his chariot each day, counting forward from the crossover from the moonth side. Then, counting back forward to the moonth side, Ra is chased away by Tho for 12 horas when Tho rules the nighttime. Then, Ra returns once again bringing light for 12 horas.
Copyright Notice - Disk of the World - Text and images copyrighted March 21, 1993-2025, Claire Grace Watson, B.A., M.S.T., U.S. Copyright and under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998, All rights reserved. No part of this web page may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without written permission from the author, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review.