[Important - In order to continue with this level you must have the Pharos Pillar and the Pharos Knot. Otherwise, you will not be able to open a door that will lead you to the next part of the level. The Pharos Pillar is located in The Lost Library level, and the Pharos Knot in the Hall Of Demetrius level. If you have not visited those levels yet and entered the Temple Of Isis via the underwater tunnel, it means there is a small job you need to do first (check the walkthrough of Coastal Ruins to see where to go.)

If you have visited those two levels but do not have the Pillar or the Knot, it means you have missed one or both of those pick-ups when you were there. You need to make your way back to the Coastal Ruins level and enter The Lost Library (if you have missed the Pharos Pillar), which also gives you a direct access to Hall Of Demetrius (if you have missed the Pharos Knot). Note though that you can access The Lost Library only from the Temple Of Poseidon level. Check at the bottom of the page to see how you can return back, since the current prevents you from swimming through the tunnel you came from.]

Keep swimming because your blue breath bar will only be at half-mast in the beginning. There is a shark lurking around. If you want you can surface at the top of the huge room beyond the tunnel, climb onto the ledge, and kill the shark from there. There are two openings at the front of the underwater building, one on each side. Go through the right hand opening, climb out of the water, and place the Pharos Pillar in the receptacle. Jump into the water again, go to the left opening, and place the Pharos Knot in the second receptacle. What just happened that you did not see was the large door opening in-between the two receptacles you just visited. This can be accessed out front.

(Note - If you do not want to deal with the shark, then as soon as the level begins, swim directly to the left opening and place the Pharos Knot. Swim back out and go to the right opening before placing the Pharos Pillar. Then swim out and go down to the open door. Get yourself inside the Temple. The shark might still be around looking for a stray leg to nibble on, but if you are quick, it will not have the time to get you. And as soon as you step on solid ground it will not be able to hurt you at all.)

Climb out of the water and enter the next room. A skeleton will attack, so you can either blast it or totally avoid it by jumping into the pool at the back of the room. Swim to the next room, where you will find three underwater doors. The left and middle ones do not hide anything behind, so open the right hand door (stand in front of it and press Action) and swim until you find a place to surface.

Room with three sets of stairs - Climb out of the water at the end of the ramp. When you enter the next room, a gold bird appears from the left set of stairs shooting gold bolts at you. You can kill it with a powerful weapon or by using the Pistols, all the time jumping around so to avoid its bolts. Be careful though, because it may poison you if it gets too close. Shoot the four benches and pick up the goodies; three Shotgun Normal ammo's, three Shotgun Wideshot ammo's, one Large and one Small Medipack.

The plan - The goal from here on in is to find four Black Beetles. You can follow the three sets of stairs in any order, but depending on the order you follow you may have to backtrack up one of them. The left set of stairs (south) includes one Black Beetle, the middle one (west) contains two, and the right staircase, (north) one. The right set of stairs also takes you to the next level (Cleopatra's Palaces), but you need to visit it before finishing with the Pharos level in order to get a Black Beetle. Make sure you visit it first and get this Black Beetle, because if you start going back and forth between the two levels more than is necessary, you may activate a bug where you will not be able to see the Black Beetles in your inventory. We have followed the most secure way below.

North set of stairs\ one Black Beetle - Go up the stairs and follow the hallway. You just entered Cleopatra's Palaces, but you will return for the level proper here later on.

When you enter, a cut scene shows you the area all around, and more importantly, where you need to go within it.

Go past the pool and head to the other side (north) of the room. Go through either of the two doorways below the balcony. The ramp on the left is where you need to go, but before that, shoot the three benches that are scattered around the room where you are, and pick up the Large Medipack, the Crossbow Normal ammo and the Revolver ammo. At the end of the hallway you will be able to see a patch of rather intriguing holes on the floor. Avoid stepping over these as spikes will pop out and kill you instantly. Instead, go up the ramp you saw before and shoot the bench at the top to get the Shotgun Normal and Wideshot ammo's. The bench behind you, near the balcony, contains nothing. If you step on the balcony with the wooden support structure, you will trigger a skeleton. If you are interested in all kills, go ahead and take care of it by standing on the ramp you came from, as it will not follow you there.

Use the Crowbar to pry open the door with the face on it. Follow the hallway and open the next door. There is an opening at the end of the hallway. Walk to the edge and a take a look. The bluish liquid at the end of the ramp is oil. You may want to save your game here. Slide down the ramp and be prepared to act with haste when you reach the bottom. Right, you must be quick! Turn Lara to the left and keep moving until you see a ledge on your right that you can climb onto before the oil pool ignites.

To be sure that you make it on time, press Jump and the left direction key when you are right at the end of the ramp. This will make Lara land on the left-hand side of the oily intersection and give you a slight head start, as it were. If you still cannot make it then after dropping into the oil pool, try going straight ahead and climbing onto the ledge directly in front of the ramp. Turn around and take a running jump to the ledge on the far right. Then jump to the ledge where the Beetle is. You practically need to complete this last bit no matter which instruction to get you out of the oil you follow.

Use the Crowbar to pry the Black Beetle #1 from the wall. Turn around and take a standing jump to the opposite ledge, making sure to press Action in order to avoid hitting the upper block (or take a diagonal standing jump to the left). Walk to the edge of the ramp, take some steps on the left to reach the edge, turn right to aim yourself in the direction of the opening where you came from, and take a standing jump over there without pressing Action. If you cannot make it then take a running jump to the alcove on your left (east), being sure to press Action to avoid hitting your head on the upper part. Step onto the raised ledge and take a running jump to grab the opening. Pull up.

The ramp has become steps. Climb to the top and safely drop to the ground. You lose a small amount of health doing this, but seeing how you are about to return to the previous level and have it automatically restored to full power, do not bother hunting around in your inventory for a health pack. Follow the hallway in the north.

Back to the Temple of Isis - Make sure you have the Black Beetle in your inventory!! When you get back, another gold bird emerges from the middle set of stairs. Kill it and follow the set of stairs on the south side (opposite the Cleopatra's Palaces level).

South set of stairs\ one Black Beetle - Go up the stairs and follow the hallway. When you enter the room with the Cleopatra statue, the door closes behind you. You cannot reach the two openings on each side of the room, so continue onwards and head for the far right corner of the room. Climb onto the block and use the Crowbar to pry the Black Beetle #2 from the wall. When you do that, a block rises underneath the opening on the same side and a swarm of beetles come out from the hole. Immediately jump backwards, pressing Roll at the same time. Run to the opposite corner and climb onto the block there. Take a breath - the beetles cannot reach you here. You are advised to save your game whenever you get a breather in this room, by the way.

Use the Crowbar again to pry the Broken Beetle from the wall. When you do that, a block rises underneath the opening on the same side, and once again a swarm of beetles come out from the hole. Immediately jump backwards, pressing Roll at the same time.

Climb onto either of the raised blocks, push the big button, drop down, climb onto the opposite block, and push the second big button. To gain time, as you are running towards the elevated blocks, instead of approaching and climbing them, jump land on them. To manage this, jump to each block when Lara steps on the yellow line of the tiles in front of them. This opens a trapdoor in a position almost right in front of the Cleopatra statue. Every time you are on the block in front of the button, the beetles do not follow you.

(Note - The Broken Beetle you collected is useless, but as you just saw, you need to get it in order to raise the second block and subsequently push the second button that assists with opening the trapdoor.)

Drop through the opening and onto the block. The beetles still follow you, so head to the other side (north). At the end you can see a slope; stand against it, jump up to grab the edge, and pull up. Press Jump to back flip onto the ledge behind. Take the Winding Key from the pedestal and push the big button to open the exit door above. Drop down, climb onto the block you dropped onto before, and climb up the ladder. Turn around and return back through the door you just opened.

A skeleton appears when you reach the room with the three sets of stairs. You can either take care of it in a variety of effective ways we are sure you are familiar with by now, or just totally ignore it by virtue of going up the middle (west) stairs. It will not follow you up here.

West set of stairs\ two Black Beetles - Follow the hallway to reach the next room. The bench in the back left corner includes Uzi ammo and the two benches on the upper ledge include a Large Medipack and Shotgun Normal and Wideshot ammo's. As you enter the next room, a skeleton appears in front of you. Take care of it immediately, or it will not let you move freely during the next part.

You need to place four Black Beetles in the pyramid that resides in the middle of the room. You already have two of them, and you can place them now if you want. There are three openings around the walls, one on each side of the room, excluding the side from whence you came. The left and middle ones lead to a Black Beetle each, where as the right one only leads to a useless Broken Beetle. You can decide for yourself whether or not you want to go off through the right opening (you might want to see everything), but visiting the other two is essential.

Left hole (south) - If you take a look through the opening you will catch a glimpse of the oil pool. Slide down the ramp and jump just before the edge (this will save you some time). Keep moving forward until you see a ledge on your right you can hoist yourself onto before the oil pool ignites.

Do NOT pry the Broken Beetle from the column that is in front of the step, at least not to begin with. If you do then a swarm of beetles will come out from the hole and make you task hereon in extremely awkward. Instead, use the Crowbar to pry the Black Beetle #3 from the SOUTH wall and if you are interested in all pickups, pry the Broken Beetle now, as the live beetles will not bother coming out of the hole if the Black Beetle #3 is already in your backpack. Now you need to return back through the opening you came. Go to the left or right side of the opening and take a standing jump towards it without pressing Action. The ramp is now steps. Climb to the top.

Middle hole (west) - Slide down the ramp and again jump just before the edge. Keep moving forward and climb onto the ledge ahead. Use the Crowbar to pry the Black Beetle #4 from the wall and make your way back to the opening from where you came. The ramp is now steps. Climb to the top.

Right hole (south) - There is no reason to go down here unless you want to see everything or get all the items. Slide down the ramp, and jump just before the edge. Keep moving forward and climb onto the ledge ahead. Use the Crowbar to pry the Broken Beetle from the wall. A swarm of beetles will attack you. Quickly make your way back to the opening from where you came. The ramp is now steps, so climb back up to the top. The beetles will not follow you very far.

Place all the Black Beetles in the receptacles within the pyramid. When you do that, it will fully open. Get the Mechanical Scarab from the pedestal and make your way back to the room with the three sets of stairs. Go up the stairs on the left (north) and follow the hallway to the Cleopatra's Palaces level.

Back to Coastal Ruins - You cannot go back through the underwater tunnel you came. The current prevents you from doing that. Swim upwards in the huge underwater room facing west (that is, facing the big underwater building) and locate the surface. Climb out of the water, crawl through the opening and drop down on the other side. Slide down to return back to Coastal Ruins. You drop into the pool. Depending on what you have done so far (that is, if you have opened the direct gate from the Temple Of Poseidon) you may need to take the long or short route.

If, at the end of Temple Of Poseidon you opened the gate that leads back to the Coastal Ruins (by pressing the big button with the face revealing an opening) you will take the short route. From the pool you just dropped into, swim forwards (south) until you reach a set of stairs. Climb out of the water and go through the gate you opened at the end of Temple Of Poseidon where you got the Left Gauntlet. Follow either of the two openings next to the sarcophagus to enter The Lost Library. Refer to the walkthrough of The Lost Library if you have missed the Pharos Pillar or how you can go to the Hall Of Demetrius level if you have missed the Pharos Knot .

If you did not open this gate at the end of Temple Of Poseidon, you need to take the long route by visiting the Catacombs level first. From the pool you just dropped in, swim to the right until you can climb up the rocks that lead you to a small ramp. If you had opened the gate at the top of the ramp, you can enter the Catacombs from this gate, but the route will be much longer. Instead, climb to the ledge opposite the ramp and head to the southwest making your way to the doorway of the building that has a big hill on the right. Go up the ledges to enter the Catacombs level. Make your way to the room with the pole, slide down, grab the ladder, and climb down to the bottom. Head to the other side and go through the opening on the west to enter the Temple Of Poseidon level. From the main room, drop into the pool, follow the tunnel, and make your way back to where you got the Left Gauntlet. Follow either of the two openings next to the sarcophagus to enter The Lost Library. Refer to the walkthrough of The Lost Library if you have missed the Pharos Pillar or how you can go to the Hall Of Demetrius level if you have missed the Pharos Knot.