Egyptian Hieroglyphics

The History of Egypt for Kids - Facts about Egyptian Hieroglyphics

The Civilization, Culture & History of Ancient Egypt and facts about Egyptian Hieroglyphics

Ancient Egyptians

Ancient Egyptians - Egyptian Hieroglyphics
A comprehensive guide and fact sheet about Egyptian Hieroglyphics. Discover fascinating facts and information about ancient Egypt and Egyptian Hieroglyphics.
 
The history and civilization of ancient Egypt
The development of Hieroglyphs
Pictorial, phonetic and symbolic elements.
Simple explanations and simple examples of hieroglyphs
Simple examples of determinatives and ideagrams
The use of signs and symbols
Difference between Hieroglyphic writing system & our own alphabet
An overview of the writing system of ancient Egypt

Ancient Egyptians - Egyptian Hieroglyphics
Click a link for additional information and interesting facts about subjects relating to Egyptian Hieroglyphics or other aspects of daily life, the people and places of ancient Egypt.

Egyptian Hieroglyphics
The fascinating subject of ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphics is addressed in this article which provides a basic overview of the Hieroglyphic writing system using simple terms and examples of different hieroglyphs.

Ancient Egypt - Egyptian Hieroglyphics Fact Sheet

Fact 1 on Egyptian Hieroglyphics:

The word Hieroglyph is made from two Greek which translate as 'Holy Carving' or  'Holy Writing':
 

Fact 2 on Egyptian Hieroglyphics:

The ancient Egyptians called Hieroglyphic writing the "Language of the gods".
 

Fact 3 on Egyptian Hieroglyphics:

Only 1% of ancient Egyptians were able to use Hieroglyphic writing - only royalty, the wealthy, scribes and priests had the education that enabled them to use this ancient system of writing.
 

Fact 4 on Egyptian Hieroglyphics:

Ordinary Egyptians used a simpler form of writing, called Demotic, for everyday use in keeping records etc.
 

Fact 5 on Egyptian Hieroglyphics:

When the Romans conquered Egypt c30BC the country became another province of Rome. All official writings were made in Latin, The language of the Romans. Within 100 years the ability to write and decipher Hieroglyphic writing had been lost.
 

Fact 6 on Egyptian Hieroglyphics:

Hieroglyphic writing was deemed to be a series of pictures that were mysterious, enigmatic and unreadable.
 

Fact 7 on Egyptian Hieroglyphics:

Hieroglyphic writing remained a total mystery until for 1500 years when the Rosetta Stone was discovered by Napoleon's soldiers in 1799 at Rosetta (Rashid) in the Nile Delta of Egypt.
 

Fact 8 on Egyptian Hieroglyphics:

The Rosetta Stone was an engraving that had a royal decree written in bands of three different languages. The languages used were Greek,  Demotic (the language of the ancient Egyptians) and hieroglyphs.
 

Fact 9 on Egyptian Hieroglyphics:

In 1822 a French historian and linguist called Jean-Francois Champollion became known as the first translator of the Rosetta Stone.
 

Fact 10 on Egyptian Hieroglyphics:

The hieroglyphic system of writing consisted of between 700 and 800 symbols, called glyphs.
 

Ancient Egypt - Egyptian Hieroglyphics Fact Sheet

Hieroglyphs from tomb paintings of Mentuhotep II

Hieroglyphs from tomb paintings of King Mentuhotep II

Egyptian Hieroglyphics
Discover fast, interesting fun facts about Egyptian Hieroglyphics for kids with some amazing, cool and quick information about ancient Egypt and Egyptians. Ideal for children, homework, schools, teachers and kids of all ages! Find fascinating fun facts about the ancient writing system for kids and the history, culture and civilisation of the ancient Egyptians and ancient Egypt. Interesting, fun facts about this ancient writing system  for research, schools, students and kids of all ages.

 

The Ancient Egyptians

 

Egyptian Hieroglyphics
Learn about the writing of ancient Egypt the fast and easy way via the Egyptian Hieroglyphics Fact sheet.
 

Ancient Egypt - Egyptian Hieroglyphics Fact Sheet

Fact 11 on Egyptian Hieroglyphics:

The Hieroglyphic writing system combines pictorial, phonetic and symbolic elements.
 

Fact 12 on Egyptian Hieroglyphics:

The pictorial elements uses an image to convey an item - a realistic and recognisable symbol or sign. These depicted people conducting different tasks, animals and everyday objects used in ancient Egypt.
 

Fact 13 on Egyptian Hieroglyphics:

Examples of pictorial elements used in the Hieroglyphic writing system are:
 

Hieroglyphic Symbol for a prisoner and enemy of Egypt
A tethered man A BullA boat under sail


Fact 14 on Egyptian Hieroglyphics:


Hieroglyphic writing could represent an idea associated with the object (pictorial), a sound related to pronouncing the object or they could represent an idea associated with the object.
 

Fact 15 on Egyptian Hieroglyphics:

The hieroglyphic of the tethered man represents an idea associated with the object, in this example, it indicates a prisoner. This type of symbol is called an Ideagram which conveys a complex idea such as a prisoner.
 

Fact 16 on Egyptian Hieroglyphics:

Hieroglyphic writing contains phonetic elements, called a phonogram. A phonogram is an image that can represent a spoken sound. These are alphabet characters that are read as the sound of the object they represented.
 

Fact 17 on Egyptian Hieroglyphics:

The phonetic elements (phonograms) are therefore 'Alphabet' characters. An example is the image of the Foot and Lower Leg that represents the spoken sound of the letter B (think of a boot in the English language)


 

Fact 18 on Egyptian Hieroglyphics:

The symbolic elements requires an understanding of the symbols of ancient Egypt. The sacred ankh symbol represents life.

Fact 19 on Egyptian Hieroglyphics:

Many of these signs and symbols were engraved on the protective amulets of the ancient Egyptians
 

Fact 20 on Egyptian Hieroglyphics:

The names and the identity of ancient Egyptian gods are represented by the symbols associated with a particular god. Examples of this are the jackal headed god Anubis, the ram headed god Khnum and the cow goddess Hathor depicted with cows horns encircling a sun disk.

AnubisKhnumThe goddess Hathor

Ancient Egypt - Egyptian Hieroglyphics Fact Sheet

 

Egyptian Hieroglyphics

Facts and Information about the Hieroglyphs writing system

Egypt and Hieroglyphs

The people, history, culture and civilization of ancient Egypt

Facts and information about Ancient Egypt & their writing system

Egyptian Hieroglyphics for kids and schools

Egypt and Hieroglyphs  for kids, schools, homework and research

 

Egyptian Hieroglyphics
Learn about the writing of ancient Egypt the fast and easy way via the Egyptian Hieroglyphics Fact sheet.

Nefertari Cartouche

Nefertari Cartouche
 

Ancient Egypt - Egyptian Hieroglyphics Fact Sheet

Fact 21 on Egyptian Hieroglyphics:

The names of the Kings and Queens of Egypt were represented in a cartouche. A cartouche was an oval, magical rope which surrounded and protected the ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics that spelt out the name of a King or Queen.
 

Fact 22 on Egyptian Hieroglyphics:

At the end of a word an additional symbol might be added to clarify the meaning of the hieroglyph. This called a determinative meaning a device to 'determine' or 'decide'.
 

Fact 23 on Egyptian Hieroglyphics:

A determinative hieroglyph carried no phonetic value (sound) but helped convey the meaning of a group of signs that precede them. A determinative enabled the reader to be sure of the full meaning of the hieroglyphic writing that came first.
 

Fact 24 on Egyptian Hieroglyphics:

A simple example of a determinative is the symbol that conveys the items and equipment relating to writing. The symbol of a man added to this would confirm that the hieroglyph relates to a scribe, not just the materials he used.

Fact 25 on Egyptian Hieroglyphics:

The Ancient Egyptians did not use punctuation such as commas or question marks.
 

Fact 26 on Egyptian Hieroglyphics:

There were no spaces between their words.
 

Fact 27 on Egyptian Hieroglyphics:

Hieroglyphs are written in horizontal rows or vertical columns.
 

Fact 28 on Egyptian Hieroglyphics:

Hieroglyphs could be written in both directions from right to left or left to right.
 

Fact 29 on Egyptian Hieroglyphics:

Alphabet Hieroglyphs did not contain vowels such as e,i,o,u.
 

Fact 30 on Egyptian Hieroglyphics:

Alphabet Hieroglyphs were written using consonants.
 

Fact 31 on Egyptian Hieroglyphics:

Alphabet Hieroglyphs did not exactly correspond with our alphabet. There are no hieroglyphs for letters such as such as 'e' or 'v'
 

Fact 32 on Egyptian Hieroglyphics:

Ancient Egyptian art and hieroglyphs are directly connected to each other.
 

Fact 33 on Egyptian Hieroglyphics:

Hieroglyphic writing can be found in numerous places and inscribed on numerous artefacts including tomb paintings, temples, reliefs, amulets, statues, mummies etc. In many instances 'magical' sacred words were said which gave the objects life.
 

Fact 34 on Egyptian Hieroglyphics:

These sacred rituals imbued the objects with religious significance. In this way the  symbols were sanctified and became the 'Language of the gods'.
 

Ancient Egypt - Egyptian Hieroglyphics Fact Sheet

Ancient Egypt

Egyptian Hieroglyphics
Learning about the ancient Egyptians and Egyptian Hieroglyphics inspires everyone to visit historical sites and undertake Egypt Travel and Tours to experience the wonders of this magical land at first hand. Many people choose to experience a tour of Egypt on a Nile Cruise stopping at the famous destinations and sites of Egypt such as the Pyramids of Giza and the Great Sphinx. The information and facts about Egyptian Hieroglyphics will provide you with a great insight into Egypt and the legacy of the ancient Egyptians.

Egyptian Hieroglyphics

 

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