Sources for all three claims? That he was a freemason, that he did woo-woo in Giza, and that he claimed it changed him.
Was Napoleon a Freemason?
Historians have no documents that can confirm this, but there are some undeniable facts that prove Napoleon's strong affiliation with Freemasonry. Thanks to Napoleon, Freemasonry spread throughout Europe. He made Freemasonry go from being a secret society, as it was until then, to almost an official state religion and united all the French lodges in the Grand Orient of France. On his native island of Corsica, Bonaparte grew up surrounded by Freemasons. His father and three brothers were Freemasons, so there was certainly a lot of talk about Freemasonry.
The youngest brother, Jerome Bonaparte (1784-1860), was initiated into Freemasonry at the age of 17 in the Mir lodge in the east of Toulon.
His Masonic career developed rapidly. A year later, in 1801, he became Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Westphalia and in 1807 Napoleon made him King.
The eldest brother, Joseph Bonaparte (1768-1844), was initiated into the Lodge La Parfaite Sincérité (Perfect Sincerity) in eastern Marseille. In 1804 he became Grand Master of the Grand Orient of France and King of Naples, then King of Spain.
Finally, Louis Bonaparte (1778-1846), father of the future Napoleon III, served as Deputy Grand Master from 1803 to 1806, before being succeeded by Jean-Jacques Regis Cambasseres.
Napoleon's wife, Empress Josephine de Beauharnais (1763-1814), was initiated into a women's lodge in Strasbourg and held the office of Grand Master for some time.
Eugène de Beauharnais, Josephine's only son from her first marriage, at the age of 24, whom his stepfather had given the title of Viceroy of Italy, became the founder of the Grand Orient of Italy and the High Council of Italy.
Napoleon's support for Freemasonry in Europe caused an unprecedented stir. Many soldiers, politicians, nobles and citizens wanted to become members of Freemasonry. Twenty-two of Napoleon's thirty marshals, five of the six members of the Imperial Military Council and six of the nine government ministers were Freemasons. Bonaparte's reign can be considered the golden age of Freemasonry. In the 18 years he was in power, the number of Masonic lodges in France increased from 300 to 1,220, of which a large part were military lodges. Napoleon saw Freemasonry as a powerful tool for uniting the army, which was very useful for his European ambitions.
During his military operations in Europe, the International Brotherhood was an ideal instrument. Freemasonry, however, responded to the Emperor with reciprocity. Busts of the Emperor were installed in many Masonic temples and any criticism of his government was considered a provocation.
In 1801 the Loge Bonaparte was founded in Paris with the main aim of glorifying the name of the Emperor. The lodge successfully survived Napoleon's exile and death and was not closed until 1871. It withstood the reactionary years thanks to its careful renaming as the Lodge of Moderation.
It was the military, subordinates of Bonaparte, who participated in the Egyptian expedition that brought Freemasonry to the banks of the Nile. General Kleber founded the Loge Isis in Cairo, also founded by Napoleon.
But the question remains. Although Napoleon made Freemasonry a part of his government policy, was he an active Freemason?
If he wanted to become a member, he would immediately receive the highest and most honorable title of the Order.
If we know Napoleon's character, the answer to this question is quite clear: it was not enough for him to be "first among equals" - he had to be "above" equality. The Bonaparte family came from an old Florentine aristocratic family. Napoleon had every right to add the title of count to his surname, but he never took advantage of this opportunity.
But he did not want to be called a friar either.
For the same reason, Napoleon once renounced the title of marshal - it was enough for him to be "de facto" commander-in-chief of the French army. Ranks and titles did not appeal to him at all. Napoleon was only interested in absolute power.
After being crowned Emperor of France, Napoleon achieved his ambition.
He called the imperial throne "a piece of wood" and, sitting at the table with the nobility of Europe, he sometimes remarked,
"When I had the honor of being a junior lieutenant..." .
After becoming Emperor, Napoleon remained very involved in Masonic affairs.
At the place of the execution of King Louis XVI, he had an obelisk erected with a Masonic symbol, a five-pointed star. A bee, a Masonic symbol, was used in the creation of his personal imperial coat of arms. The bee is a very old symbol. In ancient Egypt, it accompanied the goddess Isis and had many meanings. For Napoleon, the bee meant the willingness to sacrifice for the country and the capacity for rebirth.
Shortly after Napoleon came to power, on June 22, 1799, a memorandum of nine articles was signed between the two French Grand Lodges, in which rules were set out. In particular, the Honorable Master was stripped of his exclusive privileges. A system of election of officers was established, mandatory for all lodges. Only a few lodges of the Scottish Rite refused to adhere to the Memorandum.
Thus, the fragmented French Freemasonry developed into a unified and homogeneous system, fully supported by Napoleon. Soon the "Regulator of Freemasonry" was published, a set of rules and rituals for the lodges of the Grand Orient of France.
The lodges of the Scottish Rite also introduced appropriate changes to their rules, but this took three years. Consequently, the rituals were still not identical, but there was a single Supreme Council of the 33rd degree. The decisions of this council were binding. The Emperor could influence all decisions, since in the meantime the High Council was chaired by his elder brother Joseph, who had become the Grand Master.
The "Regulation of Freemasonry", which unified the activities of the Freemasons, became a document that organically continued Napoleon's reforms, along with the Constitution, the Civil Code, the system of universal education, a single system of state awards (the Order of the Legion of Honor), etc.