Decoding Egyptian Hieroglyphs: How to Read the Secret Language of the PharaohsFor beginners and Egyptologists alike, reading hieroglyphs provides fascinating insights into the land and lore of the pyramids. Decoding Egyptian Hieroglyphs is the only fully illustrated, easy-to-use guide to the meaning and mystery behind this ancient language. A history of hieroglyphs and instructions for how to read them are complemented by vocabulary lists and photographs of real inscriptions. In each chapter, skill-building exercises weave together with details of Egyptian life. Who could have imagined that the sign for the word "millions" is a lizard because Egypt was once overrun with reptiles? Hieroglyphs literally paint portraits of the ancients, depicting everyone from the pharaoh in his court to the farmer along the flooded Nile. Decoding Egyptian Hieroglyphs reveals the beauty and hidden marvels of one of the world's most intriguing cultures. |
Contents
FIRST STEPS | 9 |
Discovery and Decipherment | 11 |
The History of the Language | 12 |
The Scribal Legacy | 15 |
How Hieroglyphs Work | 19 |
Spelling and Pronunciation | 20 |
The Alphabet | 22 |
Determinatives | 24 |
Gods and Goddesses | 88 |
Reading a Temple Inscription | 92 |
REALMS OF MEANING | 95 |
A Healthy Life | 96 |
The Healing Arts | 98 |
Death and the Afterlife | 100 |
Relationships | 106 |
Expressing Emotions | 108 |
ORIGINS OF THE SIGNS | 27 |
Signs from Nature | 28 |
Bodies Human and Divine | 30 |
The Animal World | 34 |
Hosts of the Air | 36 |
Reeds and Flowers | 38 |
The Divine Elements of Life | 43 |
Life on Earth | 47 |
The Harvest of the Fields | 52 |
Eating and Drinking | 55 |
Recreation and Sport | 58 |
THE SACRED ART OF WRITING | 61 |
The Magical Dimension | 62 |
The Art of Magic | 66 |
Tomb Inscriptions | 68 |
Reading a Tomb Inscription | 71 |
The Pyramid Texts | 72 |
Coffin Texts | 74 |
The Book of the Dead | 76 |
How to Read Objects | 78 |
Jewelry | 80 |
Weapons of War | 82 |
The Power of Names | 84 |
Trades and Skills | 113 |
Servants of the Gods | 114 |
Servants of the State | 117 |
A Life of Work | 120 |
Soldiers | 122 |
Weapons and War | 124 |
Military Records | 126 |
Egypt and Beyond | 128 |
The FortyTwo Names | 130 |
Sacred Sites | 132 |
Peoples Beyond the Black Land | 136 |
Calculation and Measurement | 140 |
The Seasons of the Year | 142 |
Mathematics | 144 |
Celestial Worlds | 147 |
Day and Night | 148 |
The Waters of Heaven | 150 |
REFERENCE FILE | 153 |
The Grammar of Hieroglyphs | 154 |
Sample Translations | 162 |
Sign Index | 168 |
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Common terms and phrases
Abydos Amenhotep Amenhotep III amulets Amun ancient Egypt ancient Egyptians animal ankh arms Atum bird body cartouche carved cobra Coffin Texts combines Dead death deceased deities denoted depicted determinative sign divine djed Dynasty Egyptian Hieroglyphs example eye of Horus falcon festival folded cloth funerary glyphic goddess gods Hathor Heliopolis hiero hieroglyphic signs hieroglyphic word hieroglyphic writing ideogram includes inscribed inscriptions Isis Karnak king king's land linked lotus flower Lower Egypt Maat magical Middle Egyptian Middle Kingdom military mouth mummy myths Nile Nome noun Old Kingdom Osiris papyrus pharaoh prenomen priests pronoun Ptah Pyramid Texts quail chick Ramesses Ramesses II reed represented ritual royal sacred scholars scribe sedge plant shown spell statues strokes symbol temple Thebes Thoth tion tomb paintings transliteration Tutankhamun Tuthmosis Tuthmosis III twisted flax underworld Upper and Lower Upper Egypt verb vulture water ripple words associated worship written wwwww