„Writing on Walls and Worshipping Cats”

Ancient Egypt in the Internet

Keywords: ancient Egypt, civilisation, Egyptology, internet, memes, pyramids, hieroglyphs

Abstract

The article presents various aspects of functioning in the internet of the ancient Egypt, which a popular view sees as the beginning of our civilisation, while the worldwide web is its crowning. Professional webpages, offering excellent research tools, are complemented by educational materials or thematic blogs run by ambitious amateurs. Specific and ambivalent is the role of Wikipedia, which is usually the first, and often unique, source of information. Informative and educational functions of the internet, are however overshadowed by popular culture and entertainment. Ancient Egypt appears widely in form of topoi and stereotypes, based on antique tradition or modern Egyptomania. Mysterious, exotic, powerful, rich and beautiful monuments and ideas of Egyptian material and spiritual culture are present as references to pyramids, hieroglyphs, mummies, animal-headed god, golden artefacts and beautiful Egyptian queens. A very specific feature, of a wide range and strength of influence, are memes, using Egyptian iconography and reality, which often serves for commenting the present day.

Author Biography

Andrzej Ćwiek , Uniwersytet im. Adama Mickiewicza

Egiptolog, absolwent archeologii śródziemnomorskiej na Uniwersytecie Warszawskim, adiunkt na Wydziale Archeologii Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza w Poznaniu. Od 1993 r. uczestnik prac polskich misji archeologicznych w Egipcie (Tell Atrib, Sakkara, Deir el-Bahari, Szejch Abd el-Gurna). W latach 2001–2021 kurator Galerii Egipskiej w Muzeum Archeologicznym w Poznaniu.

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Published
2022-06-29
How to Cite
[1]
Ćwiek , A. 2022. „Writing on Walls and Worshipping Cats”: Ancient Egypt in the Internet. Perspectives on Culture. 37, 2 (Jun. 2022), 57-68. DOI:https://doi.org/10.35765/pk.2022.3702.06.
Section
Ancient Middle East as Received by Contemporary Culture