Egyptomania
Nile culture craze
Egyptomania is a fascination with ancient Egyptian culture, art, and artifacts that periodically sweeps through Western societies.
The term describes cultural crazes triggered by archaeological discoveries or popular media—Napoleon's Egyptian campaign sparked one wave, the 1922 discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb another.
Themania shows up in architecture, fashion, and design: Art Deco buildings dripping with Egyptomania, The museum exhibit renewed public Egyptomania.
Ancient Egypt's supreme rulers
- pyramidsApex-topped geometric solids
- TutankhamunEgyptian boy pharaoh
- CleopatraEgypt's last pharaoh
- NefertitiEighteenth Dynasty royal wife
Ramses · sphinx · mummies · hieroglyphs · sarcophagus · Anubis · Osiris · Isis
Return after decline
- motifsRecurring thematic elements
- lotusSacred aquatic flower
- scarabBeetle held sacred anciently
- sphinxMysterious, unreadable person
obelisk · columns · friezes · cartouche · winged sun · ankh · Empire style · furniture
Short-lived popular obsession
- voguePrevailing popular style
- fashionCurrent popular trend
- revivalReturn after decline
- nostalgiaLonging for the past
orientalism · exoticism · collectibles · memorabilia · pastiches · imitation · enthusiasm · novelty
Decree in three scripts
- deciphermentInterpreting unknown scripts
- hieroglyphsAncient Egyptian picture-writing
- demoticOf common folk
- CopticLate Egyptian language
epigraphy · excavation · archaeology · antiquarians · Carter · Petrie · translation · inscriptions
Fictional interstellar travel ring
- CleopatraEgypt's last pharaoh
- exoticismAllure of the unfamiliar
- HollywoodAmerican film industry center
- costumesClothes for assuming roles
horror · adventure · pulp fiction · comics · videogames · Assassin's Creed · Brendan Fraser · Boris Karloff
Concealed from view
- esotericAccessible to few
- secretsConcealed information
- enigmaSomething hard to fathom
- arcaneUnderstood by few
curse · mystery · rituals · divination · alchemy · Hermeticism · Thoth · Book of the Dead
Historical objects from ages past
- artifactsHuman-made historical objects
- museumsInstitutions preserving cultural artifacts
- exhibitionsPublic showings of objects
- mummiesPreserved wrapped bodies
sarcophagi · papyri · amulets · canopic jars · relics · auction · provenance · forgeries
pharaohs
Ancient Egypt's supreme rulers
- pyramidsApex-topped geometric solids
- TutankhamunEgyptian boy pharaoh
- CleopatraEgypt's last pharaoh
Nefertiti · Ramses · sphinx · mummies · hieroglyphs · sarcophagus · Anubis · Osiris · Isis · scarabs
revival
Return after decline
sphinx · obelisk · columns · friezes · cartouche · winged sun · ankh · Empire style · furniture · jewelry
craze
Short-lived popular obsession
nostalgia · orientalism · exoticism · collectibles · memorabilia · pastiches · imitation · enthusiasm · novelty · spectacle
Rosetta Stone
Decree in three scripts
- deciphermentInterpreting unknown scripts
- hieroglyphsAncient Egyptian picture-writing
- demoticOf common folk
Coptic · epigraphy · excavation · archaeology · antiquarians · Carter · Petrie · translation · inscriptions · cartouche
Stargate
Fictional interstellar travel ring
- CleopatraEgypt's last pharaoh
- exoticismAllure of the unfamiliar
- HollywoodAmerican film industry center
costumes · horror · adventure · pulp fiction · comics · videogames · Assassin's Creed · Brendan Fraser · Boris Karloff · Universal monsters
occult
Concealed from view
arcane · curse · mystery · rituals · divination · alchemy · Hermeticism · Thoth · Book of the Dead · afterlife
antiquities
Historical objects from ages past
- artifactsHuman-made historical objects
- museumsInstitutions preserving cultural artifacts
- exhibitionsPublic showings of objects
mummies · sarcophagi · papyri · amulets · canopic jars · relics · auction · provenance · forgeries · souvenirs
- Victorianaseances, Dickens, spiritualism, Sherlock Holmes, phrenology
- Maniasbibliomania, dipsomania, egomania, erotomania, kleptomania
- Ancient Egyptpharaoh, pharaohs, sphinx, pyramids, hieroglyphics