This TV series tells the story of a clan of gargoyles, supernatural beings with monstrous, winged forms that turn to stone by day. These gargoyles previously lived in a medieval castle in Scotland and protected its inhabitants. Their clan was decimated by a Viking invasion and a game of betrayal. The surviving gargoyles were cursed to be petrified, even at night, and, according to the curse, they would only move again on the day the castle soared above the clouds. In the 20th century, the billionaire Xanatos, aware of the legend, moved the castle stone by stone to his skyscraper in New York to use the gargoyles as his minions. After the curse is broken, the gargoyles confront Xanatos and flee the castle. The series focuses on the confrontation between the ambitious Xanatos and the gargoyles, the story of the gargoyles’ past, and the relationships of the gargoyles, especially that of their leader Goliath with police officer Maza, who helps them escape from Xanatos and teaches them about the world today.

During the second season, Goliath and Officer Maza are sent on a magical boat to different times and places to meet other mythical beings and search for magical artefacts. On one of these journeys, in episode 30 (S02E30 “Grief”), they arrive in Egypt.

In this particular episode, we find different references to ancient Egypt and Egyptology. First, we see the landscape, as the gargoyles magically appear navigating the Nile, where we see iconic visions of the valley and its fields of crops, palm trees, and the desert. Within this recreation of ancient Egypt, the great sphinx stands out, an icon of Pharaonic Egypt in popular culture, and inside which, through secret passages and chambers, the adventure takes place. This idea of secret passages, chambers, and traps is the typical image we have of Egypt and its monuments, in which the figure of the Sphinx stands out as the centre of esoteric elements and other types of legends.

Another fundamental element in this episode is the link between Egyptian magic and immortality. It is the idea of immortality that drives Xanatos to finance an expedition and research on the arcane Egyptian texts. In this expedition, the villains take advantage of the grief of a local scholar who seeks this magic to resurrect his deceased son. Within the iconography of magic and death, another element clearly linked to and recurring in popular culture emerges, the figure of Anubis. During the episode, an invocation is performed which seeks to summon Anubis in order to rob him of his power over life and death. Then, the scholar tries to bring Anubis back to life, usurping his powers that give and take time of life, allowing him to rejuvenate or age other characters.

Author: Víctor Sánchez Domínguez