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Reading Hieroglyphs

Geb in Hieroglyphs

Let’s read some Hieroglyphs π“ŠΉπ“Œƒπ“ͺ!Β Today π“‡π“‡‹π“ˆ–π“‡³ we are going to learn about the god π“ŠΉ β€œGeb 𓅬𓃀𓀭!”

These hieroglyphs π“ŠΉπ“Œƒπ“ͺ pictured below spell out the name π“‚‹π“ˆ– of the god π“ŠΉ β€œGeb 𓅬𓃀𓀭.” Geb 𓅬𓃀𓀭 is the god π“ŠΉ of the Earth’s 𓇾𓇾 surface, which the ancient Egyptians called the Upper Earth. Anything that occurred on the Earth’s surface was considered to be Geb’s 𓅬𓃀𓀭 domain! For example, it is said that Geb’s 𓅬𓃀𓀭 laughter is what caused earthquakes to happen! Geb 𓅬𓃀𓀭 was also responsible for allowing crops to grow!Β 

Geb in Hieroglyphs
The name of the god Geb in Hieroglyphs on a sarcophagus at the Brooklyn Museum

Here are the two most common ways to write Geb’s name π“‚‹π“ˆ– in hieroglyphs π“ŠΉπ“Œƒπ“ͺ: 

𓅬𓃀𓀭

𓅬𓃀

Let’s break down each of the symbols! 

The β€œgoose 𓅬” is a biliteral phonogram that represents the sound β€œgb” which would have possibly been pronounced like β€œGeb.” It can also act as a determinative in certain cases.  

The β€œfoot 𓃀” symbol is a uniliteral phonogram that represents the sound β€œb.” Here, the β€œfoot 𓃀” symbol is acting as a phonetic complement, meaning it’s emphasizing the β€œb” sound from the previous symbol, and was most likely not pronounced. 

The β€œseated god 𓀭” is a determinative symbol and isn’t pronounced! It acts as β€œpunctuation” at the end of the name of a male god!

The hardest part about some of the hieroglyphs π“ŠΉπ“Œƒπ“ͺ is distinguishing them from each other! The β€œgoose 𓅬” and the very popular β€œpintail duck 𓅭” symbols are almost indistinguishable from each other! Not going to lie, sometimes I have difficulty telling the two symbols apart!Β Β 

This is my personal photograph and original text. DO NOT repost. 

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