Monday, February 27, 2012

Hieroglyphics and the Egyptians | 3,000 BC

In the sixth century BC, what three civilizations invaded Egypt?
~Persians
~Greeks
~ Romans

Post an example of the inside wall(s) of an Ancient Egyptian temple.



What was discovered on the inside of the temples?
~Carved and painted images on every wall and surface all written in Egyptian hieroglyphics


Scholars believe that Ancient Egyptians were inspired and influenced by which written language?
~Cuneiform


What is the difference between logographic and alphabetic elements?
~Logograms are visual symbols representing ideas or objects; generally stylized and simplified, perfectly recognizable

~Alphabetic [or phonetic] variations came later as the language evolved into demotic; used for document writing

The term Hieroglyphic derived from what two Greek words?
~Hiero - meaning sacred

~Glyphic - meaning engraving or writing

What is a scribe?
~
a member of a learned class in ancient Israel through New Testament times studying the Scriptures and serving as copyists, editors, teachers, and jurist, according to Webster Dictionary

Who else was trained to read and write? Why?
~Military leaders
~to be able to communicate while in battle


~Priests
~read and write instructions on the walls and papyrus for rituals which were performed to please the gods and goddesses

 Post an example of hieroglyphics on papyrus.
 
What is papyrus and how was it made?
~a substrate made from reeds native to Egypt
~wet reeds are placed criss-cross over each other, flattened and dried; then rubbed with flat stones until the surface becomes smooth

What is a substrate?
~
A substance or layer that underlies something, or on which some process occurs, in particular, according to Google


What were the Books of the Dead?
~A set of scrolls for Pharaohs and other important Egyptians on Papyrus; instructions and spells to help them find their way to the after life; commissioned by the users themselves before death


How did Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics become a forgotten language?
~By the time the Greeks and Romans ruled Egypt, few Egyptians were capable of reading or writing them;


Post an example of the Rosetta Stone.



What is the Rosetta Stone? Where was it discovered?
~A slab with inscriptions on it

~Rosetta, Egypt

What three languages are included on the stone?
~Egyptian hieroglyphics

~Demotic
~ Greek



Why couldn't the text on the Stone be deciphered?
~A chunk of the stone was missing and none of the three texts were complete


Who finally deciphered the text? What was his breakthrough?
~Jean Francois Champollion (in 1822)

~He was able to match up the hieroglyphic symbols with the Greek version of the name Egyptian Pharaoh Ramses with the Greek version of the name

Why does the interpretation of the Rosetta Stone have such significance?

~We know a great deal about the Ancient Egyptians and Egyptian Hieroglyphics

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