The Scorpion God
Encyclopedia
The Scorpion God is a novella
by William Golding
, published in a collection of the same name, along with Clonk Clonk
(1971) and Envoy Extraordinary
(1956).
The three novellas all explore themes about early societies which have characteristics that echo down the years to our own time.
in pre-Pharaonic
times and involves three main characters: "Great House", his son, and "The Liar". It is set in the court of a failing ruler "Great House" (i.e. Pharaoh), who is treated as a living god, responsible for ensuring that the sky is held up and that the River Nile
floods every year to bring water for the crops. Great House's young son is going blind and does not want to succeed his father, nor does he want to marry his older sister as he is expected to do. "The Liar" – the ruler's favourite – is a kind of court jester employed to tell Great House incredible (but in fact largely true) stories about the world outside the small piece of the Nile valley that they call home, and regard as the whole world.
"The Liar" is a renegade of foreign origin who has knowledge of the world far beyond any of the Nile valley dwellers. He is threatened with being made a human sacrifice to accompany his master in death, but with his fighting skills he eventually overthrows the old king and makes himself ruler in his place. The end of the story hints that it is he who will become the semi-legendary first Pharaoh
of a united Egypt.
Novella
A novella is a written, fictional, prose narrative usually longer than a novelette but shorter than a novel. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Nebula Awards for science fiction define the novella as having a word count between 17,500 and 40,000...
by William Golding
William Golding
Sir William Gerald Golding was a British novelist, poet, playwright and Nobel Prize for Literature laureate, best known for his novel Lord of the Flies...
, published in a collection of the same name, along with Clonk Clonk
Clonk Clonk
Clonk Clonk is one of three novellas by William Golding, published together under the title The Scorpion God in 1971.Clonk Clonk is set in pre-historic Africa - some 70,000 years ago. A tribe lives under the heat of the African Sun. The men and women live largely separate lives, with the women...
(1971) and Envoy Extraordinary
Envoy Extraordinary (novella)
Envoy Extraordinary is a 1956 novella by William Golding, published along with Clonk Clonk and The Scorpion God in the collection The Scorpion God....
(1956).
The three novellas all explore themes about early societies which have characteristics that echo down the years to our own time.
Synopsis
The Scorpion God is set in Ancient EgyptAncient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...
in pre-Pharaonic
Predynastic Egypt
The Prehistory of Egypt spans the period of earliest human settlement to the beginning of the Early Dynastic Period of Egypt in ca. 3100 BC, starting with King Menes/Narmer....
times and involves three main characters: "Great House", his son, and "The Liar". It is set in the court of a failing ruler "Great House" (i.e. Pharaoh), who is treated as a living god, responsible for ensuring that the sky is held up and that the River Nile
Nile
The Nile is a major north-flowing river in North Africa, generally regarded as the longest river in the world. It is long. It runs through the ten countries of Sudan, South Sudan, Burundi, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda and Egypt.The Nile has two major...
floods every year to bring water for the crops. Great House's young son is going blind and does not want to succeed his father, nor does he want to marry his older sister as he is expected to do. "The Liar" – the ruler's favourite – is a kind of court jester employed to tell Great House incredible (but in fact largely true) stories about the world outside the small piece of the Nile valley that they call home, and regard as the whole world.
"The Liar" is a renegade of foreign origin who has knowledge of the world far beyond any of the Nile valley dwellers. He is threatened with being made a human sacrifice to accompany his master in death, but with his fighting skills he eventually overthrows the old king and makes himself ruler in his place. The end of the story hints that it is he who will become the semi-legendary first Pharaoh
King Scorpion
Scorpion, or Selk, also King Scorpion or Scorpion II refers to the second of two kings so-named of Upper Egypt during the Protodynastic Period. Their names may refer to the scorpion goddess Serket...
of a united Egypt.