lionize verb

To treat (a person) as if he were important, or a celebrity; To visit famous places in order to revere them; To behave as a lion

lionize vt. 把...奉为名人, 游览...名胜 vi. 游览名胜

Example sentence:

     After his successful first novel, critics lionized the young writer as a literary virtuoso, though he has yet to replicate the feat. 当他发表了第一部成功小说之后，批评家把他奉为大家，尽管还他还没重现辉煌。