Remember the fantastic Scorpion King movie with "The Rock" Johnson? It turns out that the prototype of the protagonist was a very real ruler of Ancient Egypt, whose history is gloomy and rather confusing. Chorus Scorpio, or Scorpio II, became famous as one of the most powerful kings of that distant time … And at the same time, a number of major archaeologists generally doubt its existence. So what is known about the real King of Scorpions?
The Conqueror
The first evidence of a Scorpio king dates back to 3200 BC. Egyptologists (at least some part) believe that it was he who was the first of the Egyptian kings to capture the most important city of Upper Egypt, Nehen. Thus, the ruler strengthened his position in the country and ensured the succession of the dynasty to descendants.
Scorpio sign
The scorpion symbol underlying the name Scorpio II is commonly associated with the Selket cult. Here, too, there is a discrepancy: the cult itself appeared only at the end of the era of the Old Kingdom, that is, much later than the reign of the scorpion king. The debate about the true meaning of the symbolism of the name among historians has not subsided for several decades - some believe that Scorpio II was the one who began to raise a new cult, while others pay attention to the military papyri of that time, where the scorpion was used as a designation of a strong and skillful military leader.
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Personality and place in history
Egyptologists cannot even decide exactly who was the predecessor of the Horus of Scorpio and who became its successor. This is actually amazing: a real historical person, upon closer examination, turns out to be some kind of elusive ghost. Difficulties are added by the discrepancy between the royal names of the pre-dynastic period. The most likely version is that Scorpio II was the last ruler of the Heracleopolitan dynasty - but this fact is disputed by many Egyptologists.
Scorpion Mace
The only reliable figurative evidence of the existence of the Scorpion King is the pommel of the so-called "Scorpion Mace", discovered by James Quibell and Frederick Green at the excavations of Nehena (Hierakonopolis). Unfortunately, the methods of their predecessors almost completely destroyed the geological layers where the artifact was found and therefore Egyptologists were able to only approximately date it to the end of the Predynastic period.
Bloody king
Another piece of evidence of the Scorpio King's deeds is a boulder discovered near Lake Nasser. It depicts a huge scorpion trampling the bodies of slain enemies with its paws. The symbolism of the dead warriors suggests that they are Nubians - the Egyptians at that time designated their old enemies in this way. The scene can be interpreted as the great victory of Scorpio II over the hostile Nubian tribes: the king acts as a defender and conqueror at the same time.
Two tombs
The mystery of historians is the fact that now two whole tombs have been discovered, each of which may belong to the King of Scorpions. The first, labeled "Tomb B50", is located near Abydos. It is a square chamber of four rooms filled with expensive artifacts and scorpion icons. The second ("tomb НК6-1") is located in Hierakonpolis - it is decorated similarly to the first.