Front matter

THE BELOVED OF HATHOR AND THE SHRINE OF THE GOLDEN HAWK. ❦ BY FLORENCE FARR AND O. SHAKESPEAR. ❦ ❦

ALL COPYRIGHTS AND ACTING RIGHTS RESERVED BY THE AUTHORS

THE BELOVED OF HATHOR, AND THE SHRINE OF THE GOLDEN HAWK.

BY FLORENCE FARR, AUTHOR OF

THE DANCING FAUN

, &c., AND O. SHAKESPEAR, AUTHOR OF

RUPERT ARMSTRONG

,

LOVE ON A MORTAL LEASE

, &c.

❦ ❦ ❦ ❦ ❦ ❦

❦ The action takes place in the first play on the roof of the Temple of Hathor, and in the second in a cave of Mount Bakhua, the home of the Metal-working Fire Magicians near Sinai. But the Authors wish the plays to be represented, not scenically but decoratively, with a simple white background or pale sienna hangings, so arranged that the figures of the actors, moving across the stage, may reproduce the effect of the ancient frescoes or illuminated papyri.

THE ARGUMENT OF THE BELOVED OF HATHOR.

❦ The scene is in the Temple of Hathor, at the time of the expulsion of the Hyksos, about 1500 B.C. Aahmes, the beloved of Hathor, has for many years been watched over by her High Priestess, in order that through him the great spiritual kingdom of Egypt might be restored. His final choice is between this great destiny and the mere splendour of material victory.

CHARACTERS IN THE BELOVED OF HATHOR.

❦ Ranoutet, the chief priestess of Hathor, and of royal blood, aged thirty-five. She wears a long black wig with a double fillet; a large square of cloth of gold is wound closely round her figure under the arms; she also wears a thin striped gauze overdress, an enamelled and beaded collar, sandals, and armlets. She puts on a vulture-crown during the war dance.

❦ Nouferou, the daughter of a man of noble rank and of a wandering woman, who deserted him after the birth of her child. Nouferou inherits the wild instincts of her mother. She is seventeen years old. Her dress is white and gold. The wig is short and surmounted by a cone and lily.

❦ Aahmes, a warrior chief of the Red Race, afterwards becomes king. He is in the prime of life. He wears an embroidered waistcloth over a thin cotton shirt, a cloth helmet, and carries a spear.

❦ Ouny, a child attendant of the Temple of Hathor. Dressed in white.

❦ The Chanters and Musicians do not appear.

❦❦❦❦❦❦❦❦❦❦❦❦

THE ARGUMENT OF THE SHRINE OF THE GOLDEN HAWK.

❦ The scene is in a cave on Mount Bakhua, near Sinai, about 4000 B.C. Gebuel, the Magician of Fire and Metals, makes a talisman to Heru in the form of a Golden Hawk, in the hope of overwhelming the power of Zozer, King of Egypt, builder of the Step-pyramid at Sakkara. Zozer finds this out, and sends his daughter, who is skilled in the sombre mysteries of Isis, to win for Egypt the Golden Hawk, giver of exultation of heart.

CHARACTERS IN THE SHRINE OF THE GOLDEN HAWK.

❦ Gebuel, a magician who has earned a great reputation for power in the brotherhood. He wears a richly decorated robe of red and gold, sandals, and a conical headdress with hawks’ eyes on either side of it. His age is forty-five.

❦ The Priest of the Floods and Storms wears a robe and symbolic headdress of blue and green.

❦ The Priest of the Harvests and Famines is also dressed symbolically.

❦ Nectoris, daughter of Zozer, King of Egypt, is dressed as a member of a religious order; her undergarment and wig are of the ancient Egyptian pattern, but she is completely veiled in a thick gauze drapery. She is twenty-six years old.

❦ The Ka has the same kind of dress. She is the double or other self of Nectoris. The Ka is frequently represented on ancient frescoes as a smaller figure walking behind the king or queen. It represents the subtle body, and supports and strengthens the more material body.