midnight
Men of every race and tongue that dwelt in the north of Africa , or on the shores of the Mediterranean , were packed in a noisy throng . The greatest press was behind the houses of the men who buried the dead . Here sacrifices were offered on the altars of Serapis , Isis , and Anubis ; here the sacred sistrum of Isis might be kissed ; here hundreds of priests performed solemn ceremonies , and half of those who came hither for the festival of the dead collected about them . The mysteries were also performed here , beginning before midnight ; and a dramatic representation might be seen of the woes of Isis , and the resurrection of her husband Osiris . But neither here , nor at the stalls , nor among the graves , where many families were feasting by torchlight and pouring libations in the sand for the souls of the dead , did Alexander expect to find his brother . Nor would Philip be attending the mysterious solemnities of any of the fraternities . He had witnessed them often enough with his friend Diodoros , who never missed the procession to Eleusis , because , as he declared , the mysteries of Demeter alone could assure a man of the immortality of the soul .