To become an idol, one must create a different self, which means a false self. This false self can be idolized because it is curated and it is unreal. But this unreality is then made real by the idolatry. Or, it ceases to matter whether the idolized was ever real in the first place.

Death masks are an exercise in ego and an illustration of idolatry. The most famous death mask is that of King Tutankhamun. He was just a boy.

Worship is an exercise in falseness. That goes for anywhere, any time.