It is believed that the last people who knew how to read ancient hieroglyphs were killed by Christians on the island of Philae. Earlier Classical writers broadly supported the view that the hieroglyphs were a true system of writing, and even that they are the ancestors of all alphabets.''Įgyptian hieroglyphs typical of the Greco-Roman period, sculpted in Relief. In these circumstances, the existing belief held by Greek and Roman writers that hieroglyphs were somehow something more mysterious than simple letters gained further support. Its use was effectively limited to the walls of temples, and so to the restricted world of the priesthood. ''General knowledge of the hieroglyphic script contracted rapidly during Roman times. This also created a basis for the legend that hieroglyphs were magical symbols. From common knowledge amongst the nobles, it became a skill only associated with the people who served in temples. New Life for an Old LanguageĪs time passed, fewer and fewer people knew how to read hieroglyphs. Until the end of the medieval period, people treated them as mysterious curses, spells, and symbols which were not related to “good powers.” They were interpreted as evil by Christianity. Professional researchers have already concluded that the belief in hieroglyphs as magical symbols came from the late Roman and early medieval periods. Therefore, there was not just one ancient Egyptian language. The number of symbols was too large to allow anyone to learn it at a quick pace.Ī section of the Papyrus of Ani showing cursive hieroglyphs. By the Greco-Roman period, there were already about 5,000 hieroglyphs in use. In those times, the language was still clear and understandable, but at the end of the reign of Ramessides the number of glyphs started to grow very quickly. Egyptians had created around 800 hieroglyphs by the New Kingdom period. It didn’t contain full sentences, and the first full sentence discovered by archaeologists is dated to the reign of the Second Dynasty of the Old Kingdom. However, in its early stage hieroglyphic writing was not very developed. The Famous Maya City of Copan: A Site with Abundant Art and Hieroglyphs.
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