As the eighteenth century drew to a close, the imminent explosion of Egyptological studies was gathering momentum. One last, curious episode in this story should be noted before moving on, however, and that is the rise of Freemasonry as a political and cultural force.

The precise origen of Freemasonry and its entrance and import into the world, although highly shrouded by cranks and obsessives, was influential and played an extremely significant role in affecting not only the political world, but also the scientific, and caused remarkable changes in the cultural world as well.

Most of the major figures of the Enlightenment were either masons or influenced by Freemasonry; and the masons were all Egyptophiles, in some cases claiming that they drew their traditions from secret Egyptian texts, in other cases actually asserting an unbroken lineage back to Egyptian priesthoods.

The former Egyptian temples were re-established as Masonic lodges and decorated with Egyptian symbols, including the hieroglyphs; Also included were the other phenomena such as the pyramid and the “all seeing eye” of Horus on the reverse of the Great Seal of the United States and dollar bill.

That Masonic Freemasonry flourished under the imperial rule of Napoleon is a matter of conspiratorial theory and record record, but it remains uncertain that he himself was a Mason. Nonetheless, Napoleon was know to use Masonic - Egyptian emblems in his protocols.

The time was ripe for the theory of Egyptophilia to be carried into practice on a massive scale. And so on May 19, 1798 (a most important date in the modern history of the Great Pyramid) Napoleon sailed from southern France to launch his invasion of Egypt.