Do Ancient Egyptians Dream of Electric Sheep? The Reception of Ancient Egypt in Science Fiction

This introductory essay uses Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein as a springboard for an exploration of the interrelationship between ancient Egypt as rendered in the popular imagination and the science fiction genre, from the time of Shelley’s pioneering text through to other more recent points of overlap including Roland Emmerich’s film Stargate. We discuss how science fiction often portrays ancient Egypt as both scientifically and technologically advanced and culturally alien, tropes which stretch back to Western antiquity: the former to understandings of Egypt as the birthplace of alchemy and the latter chiming with Orientalist othering typical of Western renderings of Egypt. Finally, we briefly explore the interplay between the interpretive work that the heart of Egyptology as an academic discipline and the imaginative exercise of science fiction, with both seemingly useful and influential reference points for the other.