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Photo, book, and illustration by Anne Hart

HOW TO PLAN ANCIENT CLASSICAL OR BIBLICAL THEME PARTIES (OR RITES OF PASSAGE CEREMONIES) AS ANCIENT KING AND QUEEN CORONATIONS FOR ALL AGES (SAMPLE SCRIPT INCLUDED)

The business of re-creating children’s, bridal, anniversary, or life-passage ceremonies such as welcoming into the family or rites-of passage, wedding, holiday, birthday, event, arrival, holiday, coming-of -age, sweet sixteen, anniversary, and all other life passage themes with ancient Egyptian royal coronations or Biblical costumes, props, settings, and foods focuses on designing parties based on the theme of king-and-queen coronations. It costs relatively little to start-up and can be run at home, but it’s essential you plan a budget for your clients, friends, or family.

A favorite is King Solomon weddings where he marries the Egyptian princess with costumes, drama, a script for a coronation or wedding combined with a coronation event. You write the script as if it came right out of a Cleopatra or Exodus-type biography, play, or novel. Ideally, Passover is the right time for an ancient theme scripted event.

Expect the event to cost anywhere from $300- $500 for a home-based toga party, the standard SPQR (Senate and the Roman people) recreated around a Sauna, pool, Jacuzzi, and back yard barbeque with taped recordings of ancient Roman and Greek music and a buffet of grape, pomegranate, or other fruit juice and meat, fowl, or fish pies, honey cake, berries, grapes, and raw vegetable juices, to $10,000-$30,000 for the coronation, a celebratory event/wedding that's ancient themed, where the main 'characters' dress as Pharaoh and Queen of ancient Egypt, circa the golden age, 18th dynasty, 1,200-1,300 B.C.

An ancient rites of passage event, holiday, or birthday party is a costume drama. So let’s work through a popular one, the event of coronation of the ancient Egyptian royalty. The birthday kids could be brother and sister who are role-playing queen and king for a day, or a famous figure from ancient history. Guests participate. On the invitation, you’d tell them to appear in costume of the period stated on the card. Easiest and least expensive to recreate is Cleopatra’s era in Egypt, 70-30 B.C.

After you’ve given your host kids or families and friends a budget, you can rent a stage in an auditorium, hall, hotel, church basement, rented school gymnasium, rented theater or large, empty artist’s loft (the cheapest to decorate and rent for the evening), the next thing you’ll need is a clergy person or designated official for the king and queen who participates in the coronation, which can also include a family bride and groom or a classroom of kids celebrating a rites of passage event, to read when vows are exchanged.

You’ll need a person legally authorized to conduct rites of passage events, birthdays, or weddings, such as a licensed or certificated person who will sign the marriage certificate and either quickly file it in a courthouse’s recording department for marriages or give it to the bride and groom to file in court the next day. Marriages must be recorded to be legal.

After you arrange someone to legally crown the king and queen in the mock coronation, you and participate in the re-enactment of your ancient costume drama, you’ll need a script for the host, the king, queen or birthday kid to play the bride, groom, or re-enact any other rites of passage from adoption into a family to graduation from kindergarten. To participate in a relative's wedding, you'll need a clergy person to read and follow in this wedding. Prepare several scripts to show clients.

You can plan ancient history parties for kids in any history classroom from elementary school through college age. The historic event is excellent for proms and graduations at any age of the child. It's a way parents and children can hold an event and participate in a party together as a family joining with them other families in celebration of a life passage event, holiday, birthday, or welcoming ceremony.

 A good mix is to have one or two scripts each for ancient costume drama coronations based on ancient Rome, Greece, Egypt, Israel, India, China, Japan, or customize to meet the needs of each ethnic group you want to target, such as ancient Java, Phillippines, Vietnam, Native American, Polynesian, Romany (Gypsy), Viking, Russian, Arabic, Mesopotamian, Sumerian, or the land of your own origin. It’s much easier to research your own background’s ancient wedding customs and combine the script with genealogy services of subcontractors, costume designers, musicians, and caterers.

Writing your ancient themes script for an event, celebration, or wedding

 In a typical script, you’ll write what each person does at a specific moment in the coronation-wedding ceremony. Here’s a script for a re-enactment of Cleopatra’s coronation, which you can use as your basic ancient wedding ceremony in a costume drama re-creating ancient Egyptian weddings. At the moment the music, either live or taped stops: The bride begins to speak or read this script and then hands it to the groom who says the same, except substituting the word ‘queen of the hearth’ for ‘king’ or ‘pharaoh of the hearth.’

 "I, (insert your name or ancient name--put real name on marriage license), father, mother, brother, sister-loving goddess, the ever living Isis, solemnly pledge my sacred troth that as Queen (King) of the hearth, of the two lands, I will keep and defend, uphold and govern with all my domestic goddess powers, the laws and customs of my realm, pledging my faith to my groom, my country, and my people with the help of Isis and all the other gods that have ever existed on his planet in its past and future, until the day they call me to their bosom. All this do I Queen (or King) (insert name), solemnly vow in this marriage and coronation as queen (king) of my domain.

The ceremony begins

As the ceremony begins, the multitude assembled prostrate themselves on the rug or carpet, foreheads touching the floor. They are signaled by an attending to slowly lift their heads to view the bride and groom (queen and king) being carried in a chair painted gold, like a throne or on a decorated bier, which can be as cheap as a stretcher. (The mock king and queen sit up with folded legs and hands in the prayer position held with bent elbows and palms facing to the side horizontally, or in the Egyptian pose--one arm extending in front and the other arm extended in back with horizontal palms facing outwards.) The bride and groom carry a crook and a whip in each hand, the sign of royalty in ancient Egypt.

As the king and queen are carried up the aisle by four strong men dressed in ancient Egyptian costume and headdress, the couple are set down in front of a stage. They walk up to the stage followed by the clergy person. The best man and parents and in-laws stand first beside them in costume.

The clergy person, priest/priestess, places the two crowns of upper and lower Egypt on the head of the bride and groom. This is a big bubble-shaped red, white and gold hat which can be made from lightweight cardboard or plastic and covered by metallic fabric. The red cobra crown of lower Egypt was called the Lady of the Spells, and the white, conical bulbous-tipped vulture crown of upper Egypt was called the Lady of Dread.

The clergy person reads from the script, "With this heavy crown, I give you the weight of responsibilities." This sentence is repeated as the clergy places the crown on the head of the king and queen. The reason for the big crowns of ancient Egypt is to symbolize the weight of responsibility the couple will have in their commitment to the marriage just as in their symbolic commitment to their coronation as king and queen of a real domestic realm of their own.and queen, "With these crowns of upper and lower Egypt, I instill in you the significance of the awesome trust that the immortals are placing in you.

"A moment of silence, please to remember the long chain of those who have worn these crowns before you for five thousand years." Chimes are sounded, then finger cymbals or "zills." to sound a change in "mini-scenes."

 The clergy person says, "Bring in the rings." An attendant or child brings the coronation rings or necklaces forth. The clergy person takes the rings, necklaces, or other trophies and pendants chosen (better than a crown for kids) from the pillow or box and hands them to the king and queen who place the rings on each other person's fingers. The script says, "With these rings, I seal my trust, responsibilities and commitment.

 After this coronation ceremony, your customized and personal incantation will be read. Give the king and queen a chance to write their own rites of passage ceremony script after the coronation one. It will personalize their wedding to give individuality to the costume drama and bring them back to reality. This final script could be their own preference, or their own religious rite, or any other custom wording the couple wants to work into their second script. It should not run longer than three paragraphs.

Trumpets blare. Music begins. All rise in the coronation. Festivity begins. What foods to serve? Stay authentic. Serve ancient Egyptian style home barley and wheat salad with Nile perch or any other white baked fish and raw vegetables, pomegranate juice and grapes. Serve raisin juice and grape juice. Cleopatra favored pomegranate juice and honey cake, with fruits of all types found in the Mediterranean. A Macedonian Greek cuisine, especially Greek olive salad, Moussaka (eggplant dish) and other eastern Mediterranean foods are appropriate to serve to emulate Macedonian-ruled Egypt, circa 25 B.C. It’s easy to call a Greek or Egyptian caterer in almost any large city. From where to do get the costumes and music?

Companies making ancient-themed bridal gowns?

 Several companies make ancient bridal gowns, specializing in ancient Egyptian, Persian, Sumerian, Biblical, Mediterranean, Greek, Roman, and North African ceremonial gowns and wedding party costumes. You can buy patterns also for ancient costumes and have any dressmaker sew them for the wedding party for costs ranging from $150 to $500. Or make cheap costumes from patterns out of polyester. Or rent costumes for kids.

Figure attendants or guests won’t pay more than $150 for their own costume if you add a family rites of passage ceremony to your own wedding ceremony where children will take part. So let the guests wear their own cheaper versions of ancient costumes, such as togas made from sheets or improvised versions of Indian saris or various types of ancient-themed wear.

Try first century A.D. weddings with biblical attire that emulates the nativity scene for authenticity. To start this business, you don’t need capital of your own beyond stationary. However, your budget for those who are paying for the wedding should average $2,000 to $10,000, plus cost of hall rental. Flowers and props are the most expensive items. Foods are second most expensive.

The first step is making out a budget and getting paid in advance by the couple or their parents. You can’t go over budget. This isn’t a movie set, but you’ll want to budget up to $1,000 for a videotaping in broadcast or industrial quality tape with a rented video camera from a studio that makes commercials for private businesses.

A camcorder recording will fade after repeated use and duplications for family members and friends. Write the wedding guests into the script. You can offer video tapes of them in their starring roles in this coronation-wedding costume drama. It will have a longer life than the usual wedding videos.

The $30,000 and up Biblical event splurge is growing in popularity with the ancient Hebrew rites in the Eastern Mediterranean ancient tradition complete with ancient musical instrument replicas and dances right out of movies such as Ben Hur.

Pick any era of history. Ancient Egypt for wedding costume dramas and coronations is most popular, coupled with a cruise--down the Nile or down the Hudson. More ancient rites of passage events are being set on indoor barges and docked boats of all kinds. Although you can always rent stage and movie props for decor, here are some businesses that specialize in making ancient Egyptian gowns for bride and groom:

Custom-designed costumes sell for around $500 and up. An hour-long videotape uses live models to illustrate design and draping of Roman clothing in "Let’s Wrap," The Art of Dressing Roman Style, (1,000 years of Roman Costume), by Norma Goldman, from American Classical League, Miami University, Oxford Ohio.

To take costume design classes or order an ancient wedding costume to be designed, you may write to award-winning costume designers and teachers. Check out the exquisite designs  featured in the 1992 book, The Costume Maker's Art, by Tom Boswell, Lark Books, NY.

Ancient coronations can be staged to raise funds. Once you learn the skill, weddings can be costume dramas or coronations, and coronations can be staged to present another cause, such as raising money for charity. Suppliers advertise online and in some magazines that cover Middle Eastern performance, weddings, music, dance and ethnic culture and current news and entertainment information in the world.

For further information, write to: The Apparel Guil, New York, NY. Or write to the Educational Foundation for the Fashion Industries, New York, NY. You also can network with merchants, and costume designers. Write to publications that cover merchants and events, national and international, performers and merchants network listings.

 Are you looking for vendors, caterers, prop manufacturers, costumers, decor suppliers, set designers, and musicians? Talk to people in the culture business before you begin to plan anyone’s ancient wedding. 

Read some of the biographies of ancient kings and queens to research descriptions of their royal coronation ceremonies. Study ancient sacred services, rituals of anointment, and celebrations to welcome a newcomer into the family. As there is a prayer for every event, so is there a ceremony, pageant, or event that can be staged as a costume drama. Whether it's a wedding or the naming of a new pet, child, or house-warming celebration, do don regal array and time travel there for your next event.

Time travel through this galaxy. Be not contained. Move like a blade of grass upward toward the light. Colonize the empty spaces of the universe. And best of all, plan your next event with an ancient theme by writing your favorite costume drama script for the ceremony. Your memoirs could have universal appeal to many outside your family. Your next event could be a fascinating time travel experience to ancient life.

Where do you want to have your next event--in the ancient Middle East or Mediterranean, India, the Far East, New World, or Pacific? Rome or Greece? Egypt? Biblical lands? Europe? Africa? Uncharted areas? New Frontiers? Some marriages made in Heaven could be staged there in a costume drama. Or plan an ancient music event with costumes, décor, and ceremony in the land and time period of your choice.

Creativity is encouraged. This site is about helping you to write the scripts the participants and guests as characters in an ancient costume drama will portray. Plan your event as a re-creation of ancient times and places. Here's a sample script with an ancient theme: 

Script for an ancient Egyptian-style royal coronation wedding or event simulation     

© Anne Hart, 1996           

HERE'S THE EGYPTIAN ROYAL CORONATION CEREMONY. YOU MAY HAVE A PRINCESS CHARACTER PRESENT THERE FOR THE PRECEDING SCENE OR USE IT AS A WEDDING OR OTHER LIFE-PASSAGE CEREMONY AS A CORONATION EVENT.

FOR A WEDDING, WRITE YOUR ACTUAL WEDDING VOW CEREMONY SEPARATE AND CUSTOMIZED BEFORE YOU INTERMINGLE IT WITH THE CORONATION RITUAL CEREMONY.

THE ANCIENT EGYPTIAN CORONATION RITUAL:

SFX: CLASHING CYMBALS AND BELLS, TINKLING FINGER ZILLS (CYMBALS)

As the scene opens, the music of lutes, lyres, and harps sounds. A nye (Middle Eastern flute that has two pipes and a rather nasal sound), wails. A trumpet blares. Then a chorus of men begins to chant as they slowly march down the aisle. Flower petals are strewn by girls in costume standing on each side of the aisle.

The bride and groom are seated on gold tasseled cushions. They rise and are led up several steps to the dais where two gold-winged thrones await them. The thrones are painted in Egyptian blue, turquoise, gold, and Egyptian red and white and covered with hieroglyphics. Most of the throne is painted a metallic gold or in gold leaf simulation with gems imbedded on portions of the throne in areas that do not actually touch or poke at the bodies of those seated there. Mount the gems on the throne on the sides and back or on the sides of the arm rests or throne legs. The royal escutcheon, emblem, or "logo" is draped above the throne. 

Draped over the thrones are the cloth of the state, of upper and lower Egypt. Above the throne is a great golden-colored disk shaped like the sun. The couple is led to the throne and seated. They smile and look out at the guests. A designated official playing the part of the "priest's" assistant removes the glowing white and gold cloaks of the couple, hereafter called Pharaoh and Queen. The royal couple now is flanked by fanbearers in ancient Egyptian costume.

Guests include those playing the characters of attendants, soldiers, courtiers, and chamberlains. The soldiers are in ancient Egyptian costume of the 18th dynasty. Soldiers wear sandals strapped high with mantles and striped Egyptian headdress. The priests wear "bald" wigs so it looks as if their heads are shaven.

Each guest wears a special head dress to represent the country he or she is visiting from, such as the vulture-crowned Hittite royalty ,Babylonian, Aegian, Caucasus Mountains Scythian, European, India-Hindu style, Persian, Hebrews, Trojan, Circassian, Central Asian, Nubian, Minoan,, etc. Joseph, the Hebrew governor of Egypt, shows up with a family of Hebrews visiting Egypt. Ambassadors from China and Central Asia show up with silk gifts.

Early Greeks in bronze-age costume appear along with the ambassadors from Cyprus. The Phoenecians (modern Lebanon) appear in costume bearing wooden gifts. Each guest wears a distinctive head dress or coronet to represent his/her land of origin or rank and title.

THE RITUAL: ACTION:

The ritual begins as the royal cup bearer brings in the orange-blossom-scented "holy" oil. The cup bearer dips his fingers into the stone cup or jar and anoints each of the royal couple in the center of their foreheads.

SFX (sound effects):

MUSIC. We hear the thump of a goat-skinned drum or early "dumbegh"--a Middle Eastern drum in a one, two, one two three rhythm. A flute wails its nuance in a minor key, keeping rhythm in a hypnotic dance, to the hand-drum beat.

ENTER:

The royal regalia bearers march slowly down the aisle. They carry an insignia on top of gold and white silk cushions with tassels. On one cushion is the great crown for the bride and on the other cushion is the great white crown for the bride. The crowns also can be blue, gold, or white, or a combination of colors.

Another regalia bearer marches down the aisle bearing whips, these small symbolic whips to be carried by the bride and groom or each of the royal couple, and a regalia bearer behind him or her, carries a cushion of gold with tassels on which the "crook" is borne. This is a small, striped crooked stick.

A regalia bearer follows with a cushion bearing the scepter.

The last regalia bearer carries a cushion which holds two "sacred uraeus." This is a replica of a "golden-carved asp," one for each of the couple, shaped as a head dress.

The regalia bearer hands each golden asp replicas to the high "Priest" who then places the sacred uraeus on the groom's head first and then on the bride's head. The uraeus head dress is shaped like a cobra head that juts out when placed on a wearer's forehead.

The regalia bearers then had the crook and the whip to the high priest who, in turn, hands the crook and the whip to the groom and then to the bride. (Or, if this is not a wedding, to each of the couple at the same time.) The two each take the crook and the whip and cross their arms over their chest in a crisscross fashion of Egyptian custom of the time.

SFX: The flutes and drums stop. All is silent.

GUESTS:

BOWING DOWN.

Everyone in the room bows down, prostrating themselves on the floor with face touching the floor, knees bent. No one looks up as the Pharaoh and Queen are both crowned at the same time by the high priest.

The custom dictates that anyone looking up is cursed. The high priest places the crowns on each of the couple. The male is crowned first if there is one priest, and with two high priests, both the male and female are crowned at the same time with one high priest on each side of them.

The Pharaonic crowned is placed on the head after it has been anointed and after the sacred uraeus cobra headdress is placed on each of the royal pair's heads. The double crown now goes on each of the of the royal couple's head. There are two crowns that fit together to make the double crown. The first is the red cobra crown of Lower Egypt. It's called "The Lady of Spells."

The second crown that fits into the first like a puzzle, is the white, conical crown that has a bulbous tip and is shaped like a Hittite vulture. (The symbol for the Hittites also is the vulture, and many of Egyptian royalty, such as King Tutankhamon, were of royal Hittite origin.) However, the vulture is the official crown of Upper Egypt. It's called the Lady of Dread.

Custom is that the crowns and the emblems are extra heavy to emphasize responsibility and trust that the wearer must carry. The trust and responsibility were to the Egyptian gods.

HIGH PRIEST CHANTS HIS INCANTATION. GUESTS RISE.

The high priest begins to chant his ritual incantation. As his incantation starts, the guests arise.

The music begins first by cymbals clashing. Trumpets and flutes wail their nuances of delight. A chorus of singers begins to sing wildly to the harps and other stringed instruments joined by the flutes, trumpets, and lyres, the hand-held drums, tiny bells, and finger cymbals (zills), tambourines, and other tinkling sounds, the nye flutes with their double pipes, and ancient stringed instruments.

A chorus of singers continues chanting to the melody.

THE OATH BEGINS.

A coronation oath which can be customized to fit the rites-of-passage, life-passage, or other ritual ceremony, whether it be a wedding, birthday, anniversary, or any other celebration occasion now is spoken.

A wedding can also follow with its individualized-written script for each of the couple's ritual or in the case of one individual, an individualized rites-of-passage oath or pledge. If this is a birthday party, or celebration for a new career, graduation, or promotion, the individual takes an oath similar to a resolution for the future. For a new baby, a welcoming-into-the family oath takes place, and the baby is the royal subject of this royal coronation simulation.

The oath is preceded by an incantation from the high priest. It is exalted. The royal couple or individual is announced first by the high priest before the person takes the oath.

OATH:

I, ( fill in your real name, NOW KNOWN AS (an Egyptian nick name), Creator-and family-loving divine light within, the Everliving, solemnly pledge my sacred promise that as QUEEN (OR PHARAOH) and Liege of the Two Lands, I will uphold, maintain, and govern with all my creative powers, the customs of my realm, pledging my promise to my creators, my people, my responsibility, and my trustworthiness

with the help of Isis and Osiris, and all the Egyptian gods, goddesses, and those of all the lands in this world and others, until the day that I start a new life once more. All this I do vow as my pledge.

THE HIGH PRIEST REPLIES:

The Oath of Fealty I give you from the Three Estates: Our priesthood, nobility, and people.

THE ROYAL AMBASSADORS FROM OTHER LANDS AND EGYPTIAN NOBLES NOW APPROACH THE THRONES.

Each of the nobles gives the prostration, then bends on one knee with the other leg stretched out sideways with the right arm in a clenched fist pointing to the left chest as a salute and head bowed.

THE NOBLES CHANT:

I take the oath and vows to my lord (and lady) as a sacred compact between you, the rulers invested with the crowns of Egypt, and we, the ruled according to the ancient laws of our kingdom.

THE HIGH PRIEST REPLIES AS HE READS THEIR TITLES:

I now invest you with the divine light of the great who came before you, living image of Amon, children of the sun, the chosen of Ptah, the heavenly. Nightengale of Egypt, the Ka and the Ba, the soul and the word, Creator-loving, Family-loving goddess and god, divine light, young Osiris and Isis, life-giving creator of the new and bridge-bearer of the ancient, tradition of traditions, wisdom of the serpent of knowledge and choice, may you reign in serenity, reach for the stars, and may you live forever.

ALL PEOPLE PRESENT REPEAT THIS INCANTATION AFTER THE PRIEST IS DONE.

The whole assemblage with one voice repeats the incantation of the priest once, and then, all together speak.

May you live forever. Hail King (insert Egyptian name). Hail Queen (insert Egyptian name).

May your divine light live forever. May you live again and again forever.

THE ROYAL COUPLE (OR INDIVIDUAL) NOW RISES FROM THE THRONES.

All the mantles or royal robes are now removed so that only the costume and head dress remains on the individuals. The costume now consists of a garment with a thin robe over it. The heavier robes are removed by the attendants who assist the priest or the regalia bearers. The royal couple or individual now slowly walks down the aisle as the music wells up. Flower petals are strewn in their path.

ALL SUBJECTS KNEEL AND PROSTRATE THEMSELVES

As the royal couple or individual walks by. Then they assume a bowed-head position, clenched right fist to chest with one leg thrust outward to the right side. They salute and remain bowed as the royals pass by moving down the aisle.

The subjects remain kneeling. Each of the royal couple or person is now handed a bouquet of flowers by the high priest who rises from his kneeling position half way down the aisle as he meets the royal couple or person. The royal couple takes the bouquet of flowers (native to Egpyt), and places them on an altar to the side.

Then the ROYAL COUPLE OR INDIVIDUAL PROSTRATES THEMSELVES IN FRONT OF THE ALTAR.

Incense is burned by the royals and the high priest. There is a sacred altar flame and more incense is thrown on it. The side of the room, halfway down the aisle is decorated as a miniature temple.

THE ROYALS TURN AND WALK DOWN THE AISLE TO A BALCONY.

It faces the outside and the people. There, they make their appearance to the masses of people in the street below. As they make their appearance, the crowd sinks to its knees and bow deeply.

THE CROWD CHEERS. HAIL (NAME) HAIL (NAME).

Use the word for "hail" in ancient Egyptian, not in English. It's available from a dictionary of hieroglyphics or from the local museum or Egyptology professor.

The high priest and a female relative of the royal couple such as mother, aunt, sister enters the balcony to join the royal couple standing there facing the public. The high priest and female relative is followed by a regalia bearer with a gold cushion. She removes a gold wreath from the pillow and crowns the high priest with the gold wreath.

The priest's head is shaven or he wears a "bald" wig. The female relative then takes a sack of precious gems and pours them onto a table on the balcony to show the priest, and then puts them into a gold silk bag. She hands the gems to the high priest as a gift.

The crowd cheers wildly. They approve. The priest nods and bows.

The royal couple retreat from the balcony, enter a bier, and are borne by eight bearers down the aisle for the rest of the way until they disappear from sight out of the room.

Procession down the royal road:

The royal couple enters a golden litter and sits on two gold-colored chairs. They are carried in a procession followed by marching soldiers in front and in back. The soldiers are followed by marching priests who carry thuribles and religious regalia such as emblems.

In the order of procession, the first litter contains the relatives of the royal couple, the second litter, the royal couple, and the third the nobles. Guards follow in the rear of the three litters.

The scenery for a set include a huge golden sun. The sunshine glints off the golden robes. The idea is that, in multimedia simulation, the sun is supposed to glint off of the gold robes to make the royals look as if they were glowing like fire as children of the sun. In computer simulation, the winding procession moves along wide streets followed by many musicians who clash cymbals, bells, and finger zills (finger cymbals.)

These musicians are followed by the drummers, then the lute and harp players, the chorus of singers, the flute players, and the nye players (two-pipes on the flute).

The royals are seated on cushions on the golden chairs in the litter. The get out of the litter and walk up the steps to the dais. The are again seated on the thrones as sacred songs are chanted by an ever-growing chorus of voices welling up as the sun glows.

One chorus is composed of eunuchs and another chorus of young females. The royal fan bears move on each side of the royal couple as the scene fades out….At last we hear the chorus of voices.

SFX: THE MUSIC FADES OUT UNTIL WE HEAR ONLY THE HAND-DRUM, THE FLUTE, AND SOFTENING VOICES, FINGER-CYMBALS, AND HARPS.

#

THE JOURNEY BEGINS……

FOR VARIETY, YOU MIGHT TRY A "KING SOLOMON MARRIES HIS EGYPTIAN PRINCESS" IN A DOUBLE CEREMONY--ONE ANCIENT HEBRAIC/BIBLICAL, AND ONE EGYPTIAN THAT PRECEDES IT SET IN DIFFERENT COUNTRIES--ONE FIRST IN EGYPT FOR THE PRINCESS, AND ANOTHER IN ANCIENT JERUSALEM IN THE TEMPLE SOLOMON BUILT FOR HIS EGYPTIAN PRINCESS/NEW WIFE. (SOLOMON LIKED FOREIGN WOMEN, IT HAS BEEN SAID.)