The film, set in Ancient Egypt, followed the adventure of a king seeing his future foretold by means of a mysterious priestess and a magical telescope.
The astrologer vehemently refuses, even when threatened with execution, but finally arranges to satisfy the king's demand without delivering the prophecy himself.
[2] Finally the king is told that he can lift the curse by paying the astrologer a heavy bag of gold.
[3] The film's set is, in Méliès's work, a rare example of scenery built so that the camera is looking directly at an angle.
[4] The Prophetess of Thebes was sold by Méliès's Star Film Company and is numbered 1096–1101 in its catalogues.