Do you want to learn how to read ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs but donโt know where to begin? Here are some book recommendations to get you started! I started to teach myself ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs starting at the age of six and Iโve been reading them for over 25 years now! I love teaching people how they can learn too – if I can do it, anyone can! This is not an ad – I brought all of these books myself and these are my honest opinions. Follow me to learn all about ancient Egypt, hieroglyphs, Egyptian mythology, art, culture and more! This is my personal video and original text. DO NOT repost. #ancientEgypt#hieroglyphics#egyptianhistory#languagelearningtips#languagelearning#bookrecommendations#hieroglyphs#letsreadsomehieroglyphs#ancientegyptblog
Hi ๐๐๐ everyone! Today ๐๐๐๐ณ I am here with two ๐ป book recommendations if you want to learn to read hieroglyphs ๐น๐๐ช too! The first book is โHieroglyphs for Complete Beginnersโ by Bill Manley and the second book is โHow to Read Egyptianโ by Mark Collier and Bill Manley!
This video shows my honest opinions! However, I am an Amazon Associate and if you use my links to purchase the books I recommended, I will earn a small commission. This helps me keep my website and educational materials free for everyone!
Seeing ushabti ๐ ฑ๐๐๐๐ญ๐พ figures in museums will always bring me back to seeing them with my Nonno as a kid. Just like with the Imhotep ๐๐ ๐ต๐๐ช statues ๐๐ ฑ๐๐พ๐ช, he was always so excited to show my sister ๐ข๐๐๐ and I the ushabti ๐ท๐ฟ๐ฏ๐๐๐ฎ๐พ figures and tell us all about them.ย I wish I could hear Nonno tell his ushabti stories again. I miss listening to him speak about ancient Egypt and ancient history more than anyone can even realize. He was always so passionate when he spoke about these things, and I think I get that from him because other people tell me that I am the same way.
Many people debate if the word is โshabtiโ or โushabti,โ when in reality, both pronunciations would be correct because it appears both ways in hieroglyphs ๐น๐๐ช too! โ๐ ฑ๐๐๐๐ญ๐พ usbtyโ is where โushabtiโ comes from and โ๐ท๐ฟ๐ฏ๐๐๐ฎ๐พ sawabtiโ is where โshabtiโ comes from! My Nonno always said โUshabti ๐ ฑ๐๐๐๐ญ๐พโ so that is what I tend to use as well!
Here are some other variations for โushabtiโ in hieroglyphs ๐น๐๐ช that arenโt used as much as the ones I have listed above. These variants are basically shortened versions of ๐ท๐ฟ๐ฏ๐๐๐ฎ๐พ or just use a different determinative!
๐ท๐๐๐ฎ
๐ท๐๐๐ฎ๐พ
๐ท๐ฟ๐๐๐ฎ๐ญ
๐ท๐ฟ๐ฏ๐๐๐ฎ๐ญ
๐ท๐ฟ๐ฏ๐ฟ๐๐ฒ๐๐๐ฑ (the ๐ฑ symbol as a determinative is interesting – probably because wooden ๐ฑ๐๐บ ushabtis were popular in the 19th Dynasty).
The text ๐๐๐ฅ on the blue ๐๐น๐๐ฟ๐ธ๐ฅ faience ๐ฃ๐๐๐ธ๐ผ ushabti ๐ท๐๐๐ฎ๐พ is a version of the โShabti Spellโ from Chapter 6 of the Book of the Dead. This spell ๐๐๐ gives the ushabti ๐ท๐๐๐ฎ๐พ the power to complete tasks (farming, manual labor, etc) for the deceased ๐ ๐๐ฑ in the Field of Reeds ๐๐๐ ๐๐ฟ๐๐ ฑ๐ฐ๐.
The โShabti Spellโ usually starts off with the following phrase:
๐ด๐๐๐ถ – The Illuminated One
๐น๐จ๐ญ – The Osiris
Then the โShabti Spellโ will usually list the deceasedโs ๐ ๐๐ฑ job/titles:
๐ – Scribe
๐ – Treasury
So this specific ushabtiโs spell starts off with โThe Illuminated One, The Osiris, The Scribe of the Treasuryโฆโ
A lot of the time, the pieces that catch my eye in the museums are the unassuming limestone ๐๐๐๐ fragments that contain colorful hieroglyphs ๐น๐๐ช. Once upon a time, most Egyptian reliefs were as colorful as this piece, however with the passage of time, most of the colors faded. Itโs so cool to almost catch a glimpse of what the colors were like thousands ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฒ of years ago!
Letโs read some (very fragmented) hieroglyphs ๐น๐๐ช – or at least examine the symbols that we can! We are going to start from the left, since the symbols are pointing to the left!
๐ – the โibis headed godโ symbol is both an ideogram and determinative for โThothโ and is associated with the sound โแธแธฅwtj.โ
๐ – the โbasket ๐โ symbol is a biliteral phonogram that has the sound โnbโ (pronounced like โnebโ). Can be used to represent the words Lord, All, Every, and many others!
๐น๐ผ – This word means โGreat God.โ โ๐นโ is the triliteral symbol for God and has the sound โntrโ which would be pronounced like โneter.โ โ๐ผโ is the symbol for โGreat,โ which is a biliteral phonogram and has the sound of โห3โ which would be pronounced like โah.โ ย
๐ง๐๐ฅ – the first symbol ๐ง looks like the uniliteral phonogram โd,โ the second symbol ๐ is the uniliteral phonogram โtโ and then the third symbol ๐ฆ is the โthree strokesโ symbol which can be used to make a word plural, but can also mean they, them, their, of, three, and much more. This word might mean โhands,โ or โhandful,โ but I donโt have a full inscription so I donโt know!
๐๐ญ๐ ฑ – this word means โwould thatโ or โpleaseโ and can also be written as โ๐๐ ฑ๐ญ.โ It is associated with the sound โhwy.โ
๐ญ๐ญ – the โseated godโ symbol acts as a determinative for the words God or King, and can even be used as the pronoun โIโ when the God or King is speaking!
๐ – the โwater jars in a rack ๐โ symbol is most commonly used as a triliteral phonogram, and is associated with the sound แธซnt. This symbol usually is used for the prepositional phrase โIn Front Ofโ but can also be used to mean โFirst.โ
This relief is from an 18th-19th Dynasty tomb wall. The 18th-19th Dynasty was part of the New Kingdom Period of ancient Egypt, and is my favorite time period to study!
This sandstone ๐๐ ฑ๐ง๐๐๐ piece, located in one of the tiny ๐๐๐ด๐ ฉ offshoot galleries at the MET is a stela ๐๐ ฑ๐๐ธ from the New Kingdom (c. 1400โ1390 B.C.E.) with two ๐ป people, Siamun and Taruy, worshipping Anubis ๐๐๐ช๐ ฑ๐ฃ! Usually on stelae ๐๐ ฑ๐๐ธ๐ช, people are shown worshipping Osiris ๐น๐จ๐ญ, so seeing Anubis ๐๐๐ช๐ ฑ๐ฃ on one makes me very happy!
Letโs read some hieroglyphs ๐น๐๐ช! I’m going to start on the right, with the cartouche!
(๐ณ๐ ๐ฃ๐ผ) – Thutmosis IV
Now, above Anubis:
๐๐๐ช๐ ฑ – Anubis
๐ – Lord
๐พ๐ค๐ ๐ฆ – Sacred Land
Above the Two People:
๐๐๐๐ข – Giving Praise
๐๐ – To
๐๐๐ช๐ฒ – Anubis
๐๐ – by the
๐ – Wab Priest
(These hieroglyphs ๐น๐๐ช are etched out, but probably read โSiamunโ)
๐ข๐๐ – Sister
๐๐ – Beloved
๐ – His
๐๐ฟ๐๐ค๐ญ๐ ฑ – Taruy
So all ๐ together ๐๐, the inscription ๐๐๐ฅ reads:
โ๐๐๐ช๐ ฑ๐๐พ๐ค๐ ๐ฆโ – Anubis, Lord of the Sacred Land
โ๐๐๐๐ข๐๐๐๐๐ช๐ฒ๐๐๐โฆ๐ข๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ฟ๐๐ค๐ญ๐ ฑโ – Giving praise to Anubis, by the Wab Priest (Siamun) to his beloved sister Taruy.
This inscription ๐๐๐ฅ is very simple because it contains the shortened variant of both of the words!
๐บ – Beloved (๐ป๐๐)
๐ง – Maโat (๐๐ด๐ฃ๐๐ง)
I havenโt spoken about Maat ๐๐ด๐ฃ๐๐ง in a while, so letโs learn a bit more about her! So why would a pharaoh ๐๐ป want to be the โBeloved of Maat ๐บ๐ง?โ
Maat ๐๐ด๐ฃ๐๐ง, the goddess ๐น๐ of truth ๐๐ด๐ฃ๐๐, justice ๐๐ด๐ฃ๐๐๐, harmony and was an extremely important goddess ๐น๐ in the Egyptian pantheon.
Maat ๐๐ด๐ฃ๐๐ง was not only a goddess ๐น๐ but also a concept in ancient Egypt ๐๐ ๐๐ – to live ๐น by Maโat ๐๐ด๐ฃ๐๐ง was to always act truthfully and with good intentions, as opposed to chaotically – which is how the ancient Egyptians viewed other societies at the time. The goddess Maat ๐๐ด๐ฃ๐๐ง was the personification of these concepts and of cosmic order.
Being a โBeloved of Maat ๐บ๐งโ was the pharaoh ๐๐ป taking the place of Maat ๐๐ด๐ฃ๐๐ง in the creation myth. When Ra ๐ณ๐บ๐ emerged from the primeval mound, he set his daughter ๐ ญ๐ Maat ๐๐ด๐ฃ๐๐ง in the place of chaos and to keep cosmic order. One of the roles of the pharaoh ๐๐ป was to do the same.
Maat ๐๐ด๐ฃ๐๐ง is always portrayed as having a feather ๐๐บ on her head, whether in reliefs or even in hieroglyphs ๐น๐๐ช! You can always tell that an image ๐๐ ฑ๐ is of Maat ๐๐ด๐ฃ๐๐ง by looking for the feather ๐๐บ!
Maatโs ๐๐ด๐ฃ๐๐ง most important role was in the judgement of the dead ๐ ๐๐ฑ. The god ๐น Anubis ๐๐๐ช๐ ฑ๐ข would weigh the heart ๐๐๐ฃ of the deceased against Maatโs ๐๐ด๐ฃ๐๐ฆ feather ๐ to see if they lived a true ๐๐ด๐ฃ๐๐ and just life ๐น. If the deceasedโs heart ๐๐๐ฃ was balanced with the feather ๐, they were declared โtrue of voice ๐๐ค,โ and could meet Osiris ๐น๐จ๐ญ.
Also, notice the similarities between all of these words that have to do with Maat – the determinatives are different, which changed the meaning of the word, but they would have been pronounced the same!
Today ๐๐๐๐ณ I am going to be re-sharing one of my absolute favorite reliefs of Anubis ๐๐๐ช๐ ฑ๐ฃ! This relief of Anubis ๐๐๐ช๐ ฑ๐ฃ is from a larger limestone ๐๐๐๐ piece that was made for Amenemhat Iโs ๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ โHeb Sedโ festival,ย better known as the 30 ๐๐๐ Year Jubilee!ย
There are so many amazing facts about Anubis ๐๐๐ช๐ ฑ๐ข; I could probably write a book about him! Aptly named, โLord of the Necropolis ๐๐พ๐ฆ๐,โ he was guardian of tombs ๐๐ซ๐๐๐ฆ and cemeteries. Anubis ๐๐๐ช๐ ฑ๐ข was the god ๐น of mummification ๐ด๐ง๐๐ ฑ๐, and the title โHe who is in the mummy wrappings ๐๐ถ๐ ฑ๐๐๐โ signifies Anubisโ ๐๐๐ช๐ ฑ๐ฃ role in the mummification ๐ด๐ง๐๐ ฑ๐ process, which is what he is most known for.ย
Anubis ๐๐๐ช๐ ฑ๐ฃ also could act as a guide to souls ๐๐๐ in the Underworld ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐(referenced in the Pyramid Texts of Unas ๐น๐๐๐ด). One of his most famous roles is in the Weighing of the Heart, in which the dead ๐ ๐๐ฑ personโs heart ๐๐๐ฃ would be weighed against Maatโs ๐๐ด๐ฃ๐๐ฆ feather ๐๐บ by Anubis ๐๐๐ช๐ ฑ๐ฃ. Basically, Anubis ๐๐๐ช๐ ฑ๐ฃ played a big role in all aspects of a personโs death ๐ ๐๐ฑ, and death ๐ ๐๐ฑ was a huge part of the Egyptian religion.
Letโs read some hieroglyphs ๐น๐๐ช (the ones above Anubisโ ๐๐๐ช๐ ฑ๐ฃ head)! This is part of a much larger inscription ๐๐๐ฅ!
๐ถ๐ ฑ๐๐- He Who is in the Mummy Wrappings – (the first symbol is cut off in my picture, ๐๐ถ๐ ฑ๐๐๐, but it actually can be written both ways)
๐๐ฟ๐ฟ – Lord of the Two Lands (we have seen this one many times before – part of the titles of the pharaoh)!
Such a simple and easy phrase, however, this phrase was extremely powerful in ancient Egypt ๐๐ ๐๐! If you look at inscriptions ๐๐๐ฅ, it is literally everywhere! A lot of inscriptions ๐๐๐ฅ either started or ended with โGiven Life ๐๐น.โ Usually, inscriptions ๐๐๐ฅ were meant to preserve the name ๐๐ of the deceased, so their soul ๐๐บ could continue to live on.
My Nonno ๐๐ฏ๐๐๐ฏ๐ loved ancient Egypt ๐๐ ๐๐ and shared his passion with me; he is the reason Iโm able to read hieroglyphs ๐น๐๐ช and is the reasons I have a lifelong passion for the history of Egypt ๐๐ ๐๐. My Nonno ๐๐ฏ๐๐๐ฏ๐ gave life ๐๐น to my passion, and now I am giving life ๐๐น to his name ๐๐ and memory.
As Christmas approaches, dealing with the grief of not having Nonno here for a third Christmas has been extremely difficult. Grief can be an overpowering emotion. This morning I had no inspiration to write because while usually going through my pictures and writing helps me handle my grief on a daily basis, this morning that felt impossible until I came across this picture I took.
The simple phrase โGiven Life ๐๐น,โ that Iโve read thousands of times over the years gave me comfort. It is wild how a phrase uttered and written by people thousands of years ago, can bring comfort to me today. The power of words, language, and ideas never cease to astound me.
The Four Sons of Horus were an integral part of ancient Egyptian religion – usually in a funerary aspect. During the process of mummification ๐ด๐ง๐๐ ฑ๐ (which took about 70 ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ days), the embalmers removed the internal organs ๐๐ง๐๐น๐ฆ and placed them in Canopic Jars. Each of the four ๐ฝ jars was for one of the major internal organs ๐๐ง๐๐น๐ฆ and each jar had a different head which represented one of the four Sons of Horus. Qebehsenuef ๐๐ข๐ข๐ข๐๐ญ (falcon head) held/protected the intestines ๐๐ช๐ ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ผ. Hapi ๐๐๐ช๐๐ญ (baboon head) held/protected the lungs ๐๐ด๐ฅ๐ ฑ๐บ Duamutef ๐ผ๐ ๐๐๐ญ (jackal head) held/protected the stomach ๐๐ฃ๐ป Imseti ๐๐ ๐๐ฟ๐ญ (human head) held/protected the liver ๐ ๐๐๐น๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ For some reason the captions are not working I apologize!! #ancientEgypt#egyptianhistory#egyptologist#egyptology#historytok#themummy1999#metropolitanmuseumofart#canopicjars#egyptianmythology
The Four Sons of Horus were an integral part of ancient Egyptian religion – usually in a funerary aspect.
During the process of mummification ๐ด๐ง๐๐ ฑ๐ (which took about 70 ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ days), the embalmers removed the internal organs ๐๐ง๐๐น๐ฆ and placed them in Canopic Jars. Each of the four ๐ฝ jars was for one of the major internal organs ๐๐ง๐๐น๐ฆ and each jar had a different head which represented one of the four Sons of Horus.
Qebehsenuef ๐๐ข๐ข๐ข๐๐ญ (falcon head) held/protected the intestines ๐๐ช๐ ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ผ.
Hapi ๐๐๐ช๐๐ญ (baboon head) held/protected the lungs ๐๐ด๐ฅ๐ ฑ๐บ
Duamutef ๐ผ๐ ๐๐๐ญ (jackal head) held/protected the stomach ๐๐ฃ๐ป
Imseti ๐๐ ๐๐ฟ๐ญ (human head) held/protected the liver ๐ ๐๐๐น๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ
My Nonno always made a point to make sure we saw Imhotep ๐๐ ๐ต๐๐ช in every museum that we went to. It was part of the fun of going to the museum!! After seeing โThe Mummyโ for the first time when I was about ten ๐ years old, I had already known about Imhotep ๐๐ ๐ต๐๐ช for years from a historical perspective!! Imhotep ๐๐ ๐ต๐๐ช, meaning โHe who comes in peace,โ was a non-royal man ๐๐๐ค who became deified (reached godly status). This is a very rare occurrence, as it was thought by the Egyptians ๐๐๐๐๐ช that the Pharaoh ๐๐ป was the only god ๐น on the Earth ๐พ๐พ. Imhotep ๐๐ ๐ต๐๐ช was not deified in his lifetime โ it was about 2,000 ๐ผ๐ผ years after his death ๐ ๐๐ฑ that he began to be worshipped ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ข as a god ๐น. Not much is known about Imhotep ๐๐ ๐ต๐๐ช from his lifetime โ much information about Imhotep ๐๐ ๐ต๐๐ช is from Demotic texts or stelae ๐๐ ฑ๐๐ธ๐ช that were written thousands of years after his death ๐ ๐๐ฑ. Imhotep ๐๐ ๐ต๐๐ช is famous for being an incredible architect and is credited with designing Djoserโs ๐ฆ Step Pyramid (aka the first ever pyramid ๐๐ ๐๐ด) at Memphis ๐ ๐๐ค๐๐๐ด๐ (modern day Saqqara). He was also a physician! Imhotep ๐๐ ๐ต๐๐ช is always depicted as a man ๐๐๐ค seated in a chair, usually with a piece of papyrus ๐ ๐๐๐ in his lap. Much like the god ๐น Ptah ๐ช๐๐๐ฑ(who he is said to be the son ๐ ญ of), he wears a cap on his head. Once you are able to remember what Imhotep ๐๐ ๐ต๐๐ช statues ๐๐๐๐ญ๐พ๐ช look like, you will be able to recognize them in any museum that you go to! This is my personal vodeo and original text – DO NOT repost! #ancientEgypt#egyptianhistory#egyptianmythology#metropolitanmuseumofart#metmuseum#egyptology#ancientegyptblog#anticoegitto#imhotep#IFoundImhotep
My Nonno always made a point to make sure we saw Imhotep ๐๐ ๐ต๐๐ช in every museum that we went to. It was part of the fun of going to the museum!! After seeing โThe Mummyโ for the first time when I was about ten ๐ years old, I had already known about Imhotep ๐๐ ๐ต๐๐ช for years from a historical perspective!!
Imhotep ๐๐ ๐ต๐๐ช, meaning โHe who comes in peace,โ was a non-royal man ๐๐๐ค who became deified (reached godly status). This is a very rare occurrence, as it was thought by the Egyptians ๐๐๐๐๐ช that the Pharaoh ๐๐ป was the only god ๐น on the Earth ๐พ๐พ. Imhotep ๐๐ ๐ต๐๐ช was not deified in his lifetime – it was about 2,000 ๐ผ๐ผ years after his death ๐ ๐๐ฑ that he began to be worshipped ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ข as a god ๐น.
Not much is known about Imhotep ๐๐ ๐ต๐๐ช from his lifetime – much information about Imhotep ๐๐ ๐ต๐๐ช is from Demotic texts or stelae ๐๐ ฑ๐๐ธ๐ช that were written thousands of years after his death ๐ ๐๐ฑ.
Imhotep ๐๐ ๐ต๐๐ช is famous for being an incredible architect and is credited with designing Djoserโs ๐ฆ Step Pyramid (aka the first ever pyramid ๐๐ ๐๐ด) at Memphis ๐ ๐๐ค๐๐๐ด๐ (modern day Saqqara). He was also a physician!
Imhotep ๐๐ ๐ต๐๐ช is always depicted as a man ๐๐๐ค seated in a chair, usually with a piece of papyrus ๐ ๐๐๐ in his lap. Much like the god ๐น Ptah ๐ช๐๐๐ฑ(who he is said to be the son ๐ ญ of), he wears a cap on his head. Once you are able to remember what Imhotep ๐๐ ๐ต๐๐ช statues ๐๐๐๐ญ๐พ๐ช look like, you will be able to recognize them in any museum that you go to!
This is my personal video and original text. DO NOT repost.ย
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Today ๐๐๐๐ณ we are going to look at a stela ๐๐ ฑ๐๐ธ for a man ๐๐๐ค named Irethoreru and it is dated to the 25th Dynasty (Third Intermediate Period, c. 775-663 B.C.E.). I have posted about the full stela ๐๐ ฑ๐๐ธ in the past, but today ๐๐๐๐ณ we are going to take a closer look at some of the inscriptions ๐๐๐ฅ on it! I like to highlight the titles/epithets associated with Gods ๐น๐น๐น and Goddesses ๐น๐น๐น๐, because they are inscriptions ๐๐๐ฅ that you can easily recognize a lot!ย
Letโs read some hieroglyphs ๐น๐๐ช! We are starting right underneath the solar disc!ย
๐น๐จ๐ญ – Osiris
๐ผ๐น – Great God (this is actually written backwards and should be โ๐น๐ผโ)
๐ – Lord
๐ฏ – Sky
๐พ – Ruler
๐ – Eternity
All ๐ together ๐๐, this reads: โOsiris, the Great God, Lord of the Sky, Ruler of Eternity.โ โLord of the Sky ๐๐ฏโ is usually Amunโs ๐๐ ๐๐ญ title, so itโs interesting to see it associated with Osiris ๐น๐จ๐ญ here! Also, โ๐ฏโ can mean the word โabove,โ as โskyโ is more commonly written as โ๐ช๐๐ฏ.โย
Hereโs the next inscription:
๐จ๐๐ – Isis
๐ จ๐ – Great One
๐น๐ – Godโs Mother/Goddess
All ๐ together ๐๐, this reads: โIsis, the Great One, the Godโs Mother.โ
Next to each Uraeus ๐๐๐๐๐, the name ๐๐ of the city โBehdet ๐๐ง๐๐โ (modern day Edfu) is written. Behdet ๐๐ง๐๐ is an Egyptian city ๐๐บ in Upper Egypt ๐. Horus of the Winged Disc or โBehdetiteโ was the chief god ๐น of the city ๐๐บ.
