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The Importance Of Ancient Egypt

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Egypt has fascinated a multitude of people for a millennia. Many people today travel to Egypt to tour the famous pyramids, the Sphinx, tombs, mummies, and to learn about the people and culture of Egypt. Museum exhibits throughout the world, movies and plays such as Antony and Cleopatra by Shakespeare, and even model versions off the pyramids such as those that can be found in Las Vegas; are just a few examples of the ways in which people have brought ancient Egypt back to the limelight. The interest in ancient Egypt is referred to as Egyptomania, and it is defined as being the fascination of ancient Egypt typically by Europeans. This mania is often attributed to beginning with Napoleon’s campaign into Egypt in the years 1798-1801. But this…show more content…
The temple of Isis at Philae would have made a very impressive and lasting impression on tourists including Romans. In addition to this Romans brought back various objects that would have come from the festival as well such as statuettes, papyri scrolls, and canopic jars which would have reminded them of their time in Egypt at the temple. The impression, knowledge, and souvenirs that the Romans brought back with them from Egypt influenced their own architecture, specifically in the case of the temple of Isis at Pompeii. The inclusion and discovery and of Egyptian characteristics found in Italian manufactured objects is referred to as aegyptiaca, and items such as wall paintings and sculptures are been found throughout the Roman Empire. This Roman fascination with Egypt can be classified as being the same if not similar to what scholars consider the European fascination of Egypt as being Egyptomania. The difference in the case of Rome is that the fascination seems to have been limited to architecture and art, whereas modern Egyptomania focuses on a revival of all aspects of Egyptian culture. There seem to be three main reasons for the appearance of Egyptian motifs to have made an appearance in Rome: to remind the people of the vastness of the Empire, to make a connection to the royal court, and to participate in the cult of Isis. The temple of Isis at Pompeii is an example of aegyptiaca when considering the unusual
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