Who Was the Real Scorpion King?
The Rock’s fantasy-action flick was inspired by a legendary Egyptian ruler
Have you seen The Scorpion King, a film starring Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson and Kelly Hu?
The 2002 movie was a spinoff of the worldwide hit Mummy franchise. If you enjoy action-packed fantasy films, the movie is worth watching at least once.
Without giving too much away, the film takes place in pre-dynastic Egypt (3300 BC to 2900 BC) prior to the emergence of the Pharaohs. The Rock plays a hired Akkadian assassin who has to kill a royal sorceress, played by Kelly Hu, in the movie.
I was shocked to learn that the film is based on a legendary Egyptian king who ruled long before the Egyptians laid the first stones for the pyramids.
His name was King Scorpion.
Yes, the Scorpion King was real!
Before the dawn of the Pharaohs, he governed Upper Egypt. The movie did a good job of getting the timeline right, but not much else.
But we’re not here to talk about the movie, are we? That can wait for another day.
The King Scorpion did the groundwork for a civilization that continues to amaze us now, even after thousands of years.
