Egyptomania, Sex and Ontology in Enki Bilal’s The Nikopol Trilogy (1980–1992) and Immortel, ad vitam (2004)

Abstract

This paper argues that what advocates of the ontological turn refer to as the question of ontology cannot be understood without taking ideology into account. Enki Bilal’s comic book The Nikopol Trilogy (1980–1992) and the movie Immortel, ad vitam (2004), juxtaposed with ancient Egyptian sources, are used as a demonstration. The issue of appropriate sexual partners for ancient Egyptian deities in the fictional world of Bilal is not only one of ontology, but more importantly one of politics and racial purity, characteristic of racism and totalitarian regimes. Approaching this question solely through the lens of ontology misses the mark. Taking this as a starting point, I will demonstrate that the question of appropriate sexual partners for deities in ancient Egyptian written sources also cannot be reduced to ontological differences. In fact, since Egyptian gods procreate only with some human women, the question of appropriate sexual partners becomes more of a class question.