History Main / EgyptIsStillAncient

* {{Subverted|Trope}} with Sahara Se7en, the Egyptian Queen, as she can "only" trace her family lineage back to Alexandria, which is why she says "Egypt" instead Kemet, and doesn't bother with much New Kingdom imagery.[[/folder]]

* ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooMysteryIncorporated'': The design of the ancient minions is directly modeled on that of Egyptian gods (Sebek, Ra, Anubis).

All of these answers refer to the [[UsefulNotes/AncientEgyptianHistory the ancient civilization of Kemet]], particularly the New Kingdom, which is considered to be Egypt's [[GloryDays GoldenAge]][[note]]The trope's narrower name would have been "Egypt is Still the New Kingdom"[[/note]], and overlook its more modern cultures; for example, UsefulNotes/{{Egypt}} has been Islamicized for over 1200 years and before that was a Christian nation with a Hellenistic (Greekified) culture. For reference, England adopted Christianity at roughly the same time as the Arab conquests of Egypt, and that's ''twice'' the amount of time that Christianity has existed in the Americas. At present, over ''ninety percent'' of the Egyptian populace is some form of Muslim.[[note]]And the remaining 10% are typically some denomination of Christian.[[/note]] Egypt has undergone numerous radical changes since its Ancient period and was ruled by many foreign powers, yet, in fiction, it seems as none of these influences from the last two millennia ever touched the country at all.

All of these answers refer to the [[UsefulNotes/AncientEgyptianHistory the ancient civilization of Kemet]], particularly the New Kingdom, which is considered to be Egypt's GoldenAge[[note]]The trope's narrower name would have been "Egypt is Still the New Kingdom"[[/note]], and overlook its more modern cultures; for example, UsefulNotes/{{Egypt}} has been Islamicized for over 1200 years and before that was a Christian nation with a Hellenistic (Greekified) culture. For reference, England adopted Christianity at roughly the same time as the Arab conquests of Egypt, and that's ''twice'' the amount of time that Christianity has existed in the Americas. At present, over ''ninety percent'' of the Egyptian populace is some form of Muslim.[[note]]And the remaining 10% are typically some denomination of Christian.[[/note]] Egypt has undergone numerous radical changes since its Ancient period and was ruled by many foreign powers, yet, in fiction, it seems as none of these influences from the last two millennia ever touched the country at all.

* ''Anime/JojosBizarreAdventure:'' ZigZagged. Mohammed Abdul wears an outfit inspired by Ancient Egypt and at the same time portrays Egypt itself as a modern nation.

* ''Manga/YuGiOh'': The Ancient Egyptians are central to the plot of the original manga and anime series. They and their gods created the monsters and dueling system that would later be converted into the Duel Monsters card game. Thus, all important Egyptian characters like The Pharaoh, Marik, Ishizu, and others are all FishOutOfTemporalWater or descended from those figures. When other Egyptians appear, there are few other cultural references to be seen.

* In ''Film/XMenApocalypse'': The salient trait of modern-day Egypt is that it has the TimeAbyss NephariousPharaoh En Sabah Nur in suspended animation deep underground; when he wakes and starts to reclaim his power base, he [[PersonOfMassDestruction disintegrates Cairo]] to build a FuturisticPyramid base for his new regime.
* Pretty much the issue with the ''Film/{{The Mummy|1932}}'' (1932), most of what is shown about Egypt has more in common with the European idea of Ancient or at least Ptolomaic Egypt than modern-day Egypt. In fact, Imhotep's LoveInterest and modern reincarnation of his lover is recognized as having "Egyptian blood" because of her look (her mother was Egyptian), the issue is that she looks much more like Cleopatra than an Arab woman.

* In the episode "Sphinx for the Memories" of ''WesternAnimation/{{DuckTales|1987}}'' the Duck family arrives to Egypt and although the urban centers more or less look Middle Eastern, Donald is kidnapped and taken to a community in the desert that is basically Ancient Egypt in everything up to having Pharaohs and mummies (though they are noted as being isolationist until the end of the episode).

* ''Videogame/{{Darkstalkers}}'': Justified because the story is based on classic monsters and creatures from folklore and mythology. The Egyptian character, Anakaris, is thus an Egyptian mummy.

* ''Franchise/StreetFighter'':
** ''Videogame/StreetFighterIII'': In ''Second Impact'', the home stages of the brothers Urien and Gill are in Egypt, with the former's located in the desert surrounded by Ancient Egyptian ruins and a sphinx, and the latter's located inside an ancient tomb or pyramid.
** ''Videogame/StreetFighterV'': The franchise's first Egyptian character, Menat, is heavily based on Myth/EgyptianMythology. Most of her abilities and moves are named after Egyptian deities, and all of her costumes are ancient Egyptian-themed (she’s even dressed as a very sexy mummy in one of her alts.) In the Street Fighter series’ contemporary setting, Menat displays no modern-Egyptian attributes at all.
* ''Videogame/EmpireEarthII'': Territory and city names for the Egypt civilization come from all over Egyptian history (including AncientEgypt, UsefulNotes/AlexanderTheGreat's conquest, and post-Islam) no matter the time period, so it's possible to have Al Qahirah (Cairo) and Al-Iskandariyah (Alexandria) in 2000 BC or Bubastis and Abu Simbel in 2000 AD. There is no mention of Islam either way, and their buildings share models with the other Middle Eastern civilizations (Turkey and Babylon), so no BuildLikeAnEgyptian except in the campaign.

* In ''VideoGame/Slipstream5000'', one of the drivers is Egyptian, and she uses ancient Egyptian symbolism -- her racing name is Isis ("the Crisis"), she wears an ankh pendant, and so forth. However, this could just be a branding gimmick employed by the character (who, like other racers, is an international celebrity).

* Shurima in ''VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends'' [[ZigZaggingTrope goes all over the place with this]], but prominently features an overriding ancient-Egyptian aesthetic based on ''its'' ancient glory days [[VestigialEmpire before its empire's collapse]]. ''Contemporary'' Shurima exists as low-tech, but mostly secular nomadic civilization eking out life in the ThirstyDesert that was once the empire, with more developed cities and towns only having faint aesthetic nostalgia for its past (in part because some of them have been since colonized by other neighboring nations, such as [[TheEmpire Noxus]]). Meanwhile, with the return of the newly-resurrected Azir -- the last ruler of the ''first'' Shuriman empire -- [[InvokedTrope he seems to be deliberately trying to shape the country to fit his vision of how it used to be]]; it's most obvious in ''VideoGame/LegendsOfRuneterra'' where the cards that draw from primarily ancient Egyptian aesthetics are all associated with Azir in some way, while other characters (such as Taliyah) draw from other traditions.
* The Valley of the Sun God arc in ''VideoGame/TheSecretWorld'' sees ancient Egypt [[UrbanFantasy interacting with modern Egypt]]. The BigBad is the NephariousPharaoh Akhenaten who has [[SealedEvilInACan been freed from his prison]] and sets out to take over Egypt and restore worship of the sun god Aten, this being a universe in which [[LightIsNotGood sun worship]] leads to [[EldritchAbomination very, very bad things]]. The first part of the Egypt area, the Scorched Desert, is based on modern Egypt with a hotel, a date farm, a contemporary desert village, ancient ruins that now host tourist traps and archaeological digs, and LaResistance being a group of modern-looking Middle Eastern militants, combined with hordes of mummies, scorpions, and other creatures of Egyptian legend running around as mooks. The second area, the City of the Sun God, jumps fully into this trope, having been isolated from the outside world behind an unnatural sandstorm for millennia with only a few traces of modernity in sight.
* ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedOrigins'' averts this trope in a unique way. Set in Egypt during the time of UsefulNotes/CleopatraVII and UsefulNotes/JuliusCaesar, a point that's emphasized early on is that what we think of as "ancient Egypt" was ancient ''even to the Romans''. When the game takes place, large parts of Egypt are culturally Greek more than anything, the region having been conquered centuries ago by UsefulNotes/AlexanderTheGreat, with traditional "Egyptian culture" only hanging on in remote rural backwaters.
* In ''VideoGame/ExpeditionsRome'', set in the years of the late Roman Republic, Egyptian soldiers wield khopeshes, and the visual aesthetics of Egypt still resemble the New Kingdom (though Cleopatra and Ptolemy's names are at least Greek).

* ''Manga/YuGiOh'': The Ancient Egyptians are central to the plot of the original manga and anime series. They and their gods created the monsters and dueling system that would later be converted into the Duel Monsters card game. Thus, all important Egyptian characters like The Pharaoh, Marik, Ishizu, and others are all FishOutOfTemporalWater or descended from those figures. When other Egyptians appear, there are few other cultural references to be seen.

* ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'': Salaam, the only Egyptian character in the series, is designed based on Ancient Egyptian art and has a quirk called “Papyrus.”

** ComicBook/BlackAdam is the most famous Egyptian character in DC, and he is an immortal demigod that was originally born in Ancient Egypt before being given the power of Shazam and becoming a modern day supervillain.

** Comicbook/{{Hawkman}} and Hawkgirl were both originally an Ancient Egyptian prince and princess that are reincarnated as the titular hero and heroine in the modern day. Neither hero is actually Egyptian, so the aforementioned royalty are the only form of Egyptian culture present, modern or otherwise.
** Comicbook/DoctorFate is an Ancient Egyptian sorceror named Nabu that inhabits the helmet of modern American protagonist Kent Nelson. Neither Nelson nor Nabu have anything to do with modern Egypt. (They later introduced the LegacyCharacter Khalid Nassour, an Egyptian-American Muslim who inherited the helmet.)

** Ahmet Abdol, the Living Monolith, is a modern day Egyptian professor of Egyptology who gained immense power and thus changed his appearance to resemble that of an Egyptian pharaoh in the modern day. Whether or not Abdol shared any cultural elements of modern Egypt before his transformation is never explored.

[[folder:Film - Live Action]]

* Pretty much the issue with the ''Film/TheMummy1932'', most of what is shown about Egypt has more in common with the European idea of Ancient or at least Ptolomaic Egypt than modern day Egypt. In fact Imhotep's LoveInterest and modern reincarnation of his lover is recognized as having "Egyptian blood" because of her look (her mother was Egyptian), the issue is that she looks much more like Cleopatra than an Arab woman.

* ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'': A FantasyCounterpartCulture example is present in the novel ''Literature/{{Pyramids}}''. Djelibeybi at first seems to have experienced negligible change over the past millennium, [[spoiler: thanks to an immortal high priest]]. But it is later shown that they've had linguistic shifts when a bunch of mummies wake up and the various gods worshipped over the centuries start wrestling over the sun.

* Discussed in ''Series/AmericanGods2017'': When Egyptian-American Immigrant and devoted Muslim Mrs. Fadhil dies she expresses some concern when Anubis comes to guide her to the afterlife, rather than some Muslim entity. He explains that when she was a child "she listened to their stories and kept them alive in her heart". Anubis, a starving {{Psychopomp}} due to GodsNeedPrayerBadly couldn't exactly wait for a devoted believer in Ra or Isis to die.

* ''Series/MoonKnight2022'': The show deliberately goes out of its way to avert this - while Myth/EgyptianMythology plays a huge part in the series, one of the show director's stated intentions for the show was to counteract this trope's narrative by accurately portraying Egypt as modernized. Despite most of the Egyptian scenes taking place in or around ancient ruins, it is made abundantly clear that this is a modern nation instead of just a by-way for adventurers. Its portrayal of Cairo in particular was praised for being accurate and non-stereotypical.

* The Australian IndustrialMetal band Sirus zig-zags this trope in its two albums, ''Apocrypha'' and ''The Book of Gates''. Both albums feature songs that combine {{Cyberpunk}} themes with Ancient Egyptian symbols and mythology. But many songs also reference modern-day Egyptian locales such as Cairo's Tahrir Square. They also reference recent events such as the Arab Spring protests and the war in Syria.
** Similarly, the album cover of ''Apocrypha'' prominently displays the pyramids but fronts them with the urban sprawl of modern-day Cairo.

* In the episode "Sphinx for the Memories" of ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales1987'' the Duck family arrives to Egypt and although the urban centers more or less look Middle Eastern, Donald is kidnapped and taken to a community in the desert that is basically Ancient Egypt in everything up to having Pharaohs and mummies (though they are noted as being isolationist until the end of the episode).
[[/folder]]

* In episode "Sphinx for the Memories" of ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales1987'' the Duck family arrives to Egypt and although the urban centers more or less look Middle Eastern, Donald is kidnapped and taken to a community in the desert that is basically Ancient Egypt in everything up to having Pharaohs and mummies (though they are noted as being isolationist until the end of the episode).

* In episode "Sphinx for the Memories" of ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales1987'' the Duck family arrives to Egypt and although the urban centers more or less look Middle Eastern, Donald is kidnaped and taken to a community in the desert that is basically Ancient Egypt in everything up to having Pharaohs and mummies (though they are noted as being isolationist until the end of the episode).

All of these answers refer to the [[UsefulNotes/AncientEgyptianHistory the ancient civilization of Kemet]], particularly with the New Kingdom, which is considered to be Egypt's GoldenAge[[note]]The trope's narrower name would have been "Egypt is Still the New Kingdom"[[/note]], and overlook its more modern cultures; for example, UsefulNotes/{{Egypt}} has been Islamicized for over 1200 years and before that was a Christian nation with a Hellenistic (Greekified) culture. For reference, England adopted Christianity at roughly the same time as the Arab conquests of Egypt, and that's ''twice'' the amount of time that Christianity has existed in the Americas. At present, over ''ninety percent'' of the Egyptian populace is some form of Muslim.[[note]]And the remaining 10% are typically some denomination of Christian.[[/note]] Egypt has undergone numerous radical changes since its Ancient period and was ruled by many foreign powers, yet, in fiction, it seems as none of these influences from the last two millennia ever touched the country at all.

A Western variation of this would be associating UsefulNotes/{{Greece}} with its [[UsefulNotes/AncientGreece ancient roots]] as if they still worship the pagan Olympian pantheon, if not [[AncientGrome being merged]] with [[AncientRoman Roman culture]], in spite of the nation being {{UsefulNotes/Orthodox Christian|ity}} today and having been a part of an [[UsefulNotes/OttomanEmpire Islamic empire]] for centuries.

All of these answers refer to the [[UsefulNotes/AncientEgyptianHistory the ancient civilization of Kemet]], and overlook its more modern cultures; for example, UsefulNotes/{{Egypt}} has been Islamicized for over 1200 years and before that was a Christian nation with a Hellenistic (Greekified) culture. For reference, England adopted Christianity at roughly the same time as the Arab conquests of Egypt, and that's ''twice'' the amount of time that Christianity has existed in the Americas. At present, over ''ninety percent'' of the Egyptian populace is some form of Muslim.[[note]]And the remaining 10% are typically some denomination of Christian.[[/note]] Egypt has undergone numerous radical changes since its Ancient period and was ruled by many foreign powers, yet, in fiction, it seems as none of these influences from the last two millennia ever touched the country at all.

A Western variation of this would be associating UsefulNotes/{{Greece}} with its [[UsefulNotes/AncientGreece ancient roots]] as if they still worship the pagan Olympian pantheon, in spite of the nation being {{UsefulNotes/Orthodox Christian|ity}} today and having been a part of an [[UsefulNotes/OttomanEmpire Islamic empire]] for centuries.

This trait can also take place in historical periods. Often in games set during the Ptolemaic or Roman era, Egypt will still be presented as having Ancient Egyptian aesthetics. In actuality, during this period Egypt was mostly Hellenistic in culture and aesthetic, as well as the military.

* ''Series/MoonKnight2022'': The show deliberately goes out of its way to avert this - while Myth/EgyptianMythology plays a huge part in the series, one of the show director's stated intentions for the show was to accurately portray Egypt as modernized. Despite most of the Egyptian scenes taking place in or around ancient ruins, it is made abundantly clear that this is a modern nation instead of just a by-way for adventurers. Its portrayal of Cairo in particular was praised for being accurate and non-stereotypical.

* ''Series/MoonKnight2022'' deliberately goes out of its way to avert this - while Myth/EgyptianMythology plays a huge part in the series, one of the show director's stated intentions for the show was to accurately portray Egypt as modernized.

* ''Series/{{Moon Knight|2022}}'' averts this - while Myth/EgyptianMythology plays a huge part in the series, Egypt itself is portrayed accurately as modernized.

* Eygpt is not portrayed this way in ''Film/OSS117CairoNestOfSpies'', but the main character, as is befitting his GlobalIgnorance and his InnocentlyInsensitive nature, seems to think it is, and has to be dissuaded by Larmina. Among other things, he thinks Egypt is still the land of Pharaohs, and that the Suez Canal was built by Egypt in ancient times (which is wrong on ''both'' counts).

The only thing that is considered "modern" is the music, either using "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npQUK_OJONA The Streets of Cairo]]" in the case of older media, or with riffs that consist of ouds, qanun zithers, and ney flutes; instruments that wouldn't have existed in ancient Egypt. (Though since nothing is ever straightforward, the ancient Egyptians probably did have a flute rather like the ney, and they also had a form of lyre similar to the modern Egyptian [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simsimiyya simisimiyya]] and [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanbura tanbura]], and their drums probably weren't too far off from the modern Egyptian [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goblet_drum tabla]].)

All of these answers refer to the [[UsefulNotes/AncientEgyptianHistory the ancient civilization of Kemet]], and overlook its more modern cultures; for example, UsefulNotes/{{Egypt}} has been Islamicized for over 1200 years and before that was a Christian nation with a Hellenistic (Greek) culture. For reference, England adopted Christianity at roughly the same time as the Arab conquests of Egypt, and that's ''twice'' the amount of time that Christianity has existed in the Americas. At present, over ''ninety percent'' of the Egyptian populace is some form of Muslim.[[note]]And the remaining 10% are typically some denomination of Christian.[[/note]] Egypt has undergone numerous radical changes since its Ancient period and was ruled by many foreign powers, yet, in fiction, it seems as none of these influences from the last two millennia ever touched the country at all.

The only thing that is considered "modern" is the music, either using "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npQUK_OJONA The Streets of Cairo]]" in the case of older media, or with riffs that consist of ouds, qanun zithers, and ney flutes; instruments that wouldn't have existed in ancient Egypt.

* ''ComicBook/Robin1993'': Scarab is the most technologically advanced of Robin's foes and the only character noted to be from Egypt, but she seems a direct descendant of ancient Egypt skipping all the cultural influences of Arabic and Christian influence in Egypt. This is explored in ''ComicBook/RedRobin'' where it's revealed she's part of a group of assassins who trace their roots to ancient Egypt and intentionally behave this way.

[[quoteright:329:[[Franchise/{{Batman}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/king_tut.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:329:Left: Modern Egypt--Right: Modern Gotham]]

[[folder: Film - Live Action]]

[[folder: Literature]]

[[folder: Live-Action TV]]