Ancient Egypt. Only one name of this country evokes a feeling of mystery and mystery, mysticism and some kind of magic. Many legends and myths, riddles and adventures are associated with this edge of the deep Nile. Who just did not want to seize the legendary treasures of the pharaohs? Who has not heard of the curse of the rulers of this state? Who did not dream at least once in his life to visit the cradle of human civilization and touch the wall on which the Egyptian letter icon is knocked out? Probably, such people cannot be found, because here every pebble breathes history. And each item is able to transfer at a time when people worshiped the gods with animal heads.
Nile Valley Culture
This country is very different from other ancient civilizations in its mythology, worldview, religion and culture. The Egyptian letter icon is also very different from the letters of the ancient world, Phenicia, Mesopotamia. Until now, scientists puzzle over the true purpose of the monumental pyramids. To us, the inhabitants of the twenty-first century, it seems ridiculous to build such a grave for the pharaohs. It is also completely unclear for what purpose the inhabitants of the Nile Valley carved from the stone the Sphinx - a lying lion with a human head. We know a lot about the customs of the Egyptians, the high level of development of science, astronomy, medicine, and engineering. But at the same time, we have a myriad of questions for which no answers have yet been found.
Writing system
High culture in the country required the development of writing. And it appeared in the Nile Valley around the fourth millennium BC. First, each icon of the Egyptian script displayed the subject that it signified. For example, the sun was depicted in a circle with a dot in the center, water - in several wavy lines and so on. But it is difficult to convey the name of a god or pharaoh with an image. Therefore, the Egyptians found a way out - they divided the word into syllables and for each word they selected the appropriate character. For example, if a person needed to write the word grain (peret), then the first syllable was the icon of the Egyptian letter designating the house (per).
It is worth noting that the system was quite complex, so the scribes enjoyed special honor at the court of the pharaohs. But for this they had to study long and hard.
Materials for books
As mentioned earlier, the icon of the Egyptian script has a simple name - a hieroglyph, and the system itself is called hieroglyphic. Now I want to dwell in more detail on what the inhabitants of the Big Hapi Country used to create their books. The letters were knocked out on stones and rocks, on the walls of temples, palaces and tombs, on pottery, metal plates, wooden planks, and canvas. But the most common material was papyrus, which grew on the banks of the sacred river.
To prepare a sheet of “paper”, the reed was cut lengthwise into two parts and layered. Then the strips were moistened with water and folded tightly on the table in a certain order. Next, it was necessary to evenly press the formation with a stone or a round stick - so it became homogeneous, monolithic and durable. And after drying, the papyrus was suitable for use in writing. Written with a reed stick and special paints, the sheet was rolled up and tied with thread. Such scrolls could be stored for a long time without losing valuable information. It is they who are found by scientists during excavations.
What are the hieroglyphs talking about?
An interesting question is why the Egyptian writing icon was needed. In ancient Egypt, they recorded not only household expenses, for example, how many slaves were involved in construction, how much and what kind of food they were given, how many coins were paid for one or another product. With the help of hieroglyphs knocked out on stones, people conveyed to us their aspirations and hopes, spoke about their beliefs, about sadness for a dead person. There are also literary works, fairy tales, heroic stories about distant countries, about the hard work of the common people. Often, archaeologists found letters stating the cruel grievances and injustices that poor people are forced to endure from the nobility. But most often with hieroglyphics they recorded hymns to the gods, wishes for the dead, songs that helped the soul go into the afterlife.
The most difficult decryption
It is worth noting that the Western world did not know for a long time what each icon of the Egyptian script means. The answer to this question was found late, after the reign of Napoleon Bonaparte. A young and talented commander, whose idol was Alexander the Great, dreamed of conquering the planet. He carried music with scientists and artists, researchers and historians. So Europe became acquainted with the culture of Egypt. Then the Rosetta stone was discovered , which helped Jean Champollion, a genius expert on ancient languages, solve the mystery of hieroglyphs. Years of painstaking work - and dead stones spoke from the depths of centuries! And today, everyone can independently read mysterious letters.