"The Victory of Horus"
Act I, "The Harpoon Ritual"
Scene 3: Seth is Caught Fast by Six Harpoons

N.B., column numbers in the drawing reflect verse numbers in Fairman's transcription of the text.

Act I, scene 3: 'Seth is Caught Fast by Six Harpoons'

Description: Horus of Behdet and Horus of Mesen attack Seth separately from their boats. Typically, as they lasso the hippo, they thrust two more harpoons into him. King Ptolemy IX stands on the podium left (down stage right) wearing the khepresh-crown, also called the Blue Crown. He remarks on the action of the two gods each time they wound Seth.

Horus of Behdet, on the left (stage center right), stabs the hippo on its side with the fifth harpoon, and opens its ribs. He is assisted by a deity who is either lion- or bull-headed named Shining Bull.

Horus of Mesen, on the right (stage center left), stabs the back of the same hippo (shown twice) with the sixth harpoon. He is assisted by a lion-headed deity named He-Loves-Solitude. Both of the assistant deities carry a spare harpoon and butcher's knife.

Each time the gods strike at Seth, the male and female choruses (not depicted) respond with prayers of adulation; Isis (not depicted) rejoices, and the Lector priest (not depicted) explains the action.

Seth has now been struck on the forehead and snout, the neck and back of head and on the back and side. While two hippos are depicted, only one actually exists in the scene.

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