The icon of the Egyptian letter: how it is called and how it looks

Ancient Egypt. Only one name of this country evokes a feeling of mystery and mystery, mysticism and some magic. With this edge of the deep Nile, many legends and myths, mysteries and adventures are connected. Who did not want to get hold of the legendary treasures of the pharaohs? Who has not heard about the curse of the rulers of this state? Who has not dreamed at least once in his life to visit the cradle of human civilization and touch the wall on which the icon of the Egyptian letter is beaten? Probably, such people can not be found, because every stone here breathes history. And every object can be moved to a time when people worshiped gods with animal heads.

Culture in the Nile Valley

This country is very different from other ancient civilizations by its mythology, worldview, religion and culture. The icon of the Egyptian letter differs greatly from the letters of the ancient world, Phenicia, Mesopotamia. Until now, scientists are puzzling over the true purpose of the monumental pyramids. We, 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 purposes the inhabitants of the Nile valley were carved from the Sphinx stone - 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, engineering. But at the same time, we have a myriad of questions that have not yet been answered.

The writing system

High culture in the country required the development of letters. And it appeared in the valley of the Nile around the fourth millennium BC. First, each icon of the Egyptian letter displayed the object that it stood for. For example, the sun was represented by a circle with a dot in the center, water by several wavy lines and so on. But it is difficult to convey the image of the name of God or Pharaoh. Therefore, the Egyptians found a way out - they divided the word into syllables and each word was selected with a corresponding hieroglyph. For example, if a person needed to write the word "grain" (transat), then the first syllable was the icon of the Egyptian letter denoting the house (per).

It is worth noting that the system was quite complex, so scribes enjoyed a special honor at the court of the pharaohs. But for this they had to study hard and hard.

Materials for books

As mentioned before, the icon of the Egyptian letter name is simple - a hieroglyph, and the system itself is called hieroglyphic. Now I want to dwell in more detail on what the inhabitants of the Great Hapi used to create their books. Letters were beaten on rocks and rocks, on the walls of temples, palaces and tombs, on pottery, metal plates, wooden plaques, canvas. But the most common material was the papyrus, which grew on the banks of the sacred river.

To prepare a sheet of "paper", the cane was cut along into two parts and stratified. Then the strips were wetted with water and densely folded on the table in a certain order. Next, it was necessary to evenly apply pressure on the bed with a stone or a round stick - so it became homogeneous, solid and strong. And after drying the papyrus was suitable for use in writing. Covered with a cane stick and special paints, the sheet was rolled up and tied with a string. These scrolls could be stored for a long time without losing valuable information. It is they who are found during excavations.

What are the hieroglyphs spoken about?

An interesting question about what the Egyptian letter icon was for. In ancient Egypt, not only recorded economic expenses, for example, how many slaves were involved in construction, how much and what kind of food they were given, how many coins they paid for one or the other goods. With the help of hieroglyphs carved into stones, people brought to us their hopes and hopes, told about their beliefs, about the sadness of the deceased person. There are also real literary works, fairy tales, heroic stories about distant countries, about the hard work of the common people. Often found archaeologists writing about the cruel grievances and injustices that poor people have to endure from the nobility. But most often hieroglyphs recorded hymns to the gods, wishes to the deceased, songs that helped the soul go into the afterlife.

Complex decoding

It is worth noting that the Western world did not know for a long time what each icon of the Egyptian letter means. The answer to this question was found late, after the reign of Napoleon Bonaparte. A young and talented commander, whose idol was Alexander of Macedon, dreamed of conquering the planet. He carried his music with scientists and artists, researchers and historians. So Europe became acquainted with the culture of Egypt. Then was discovered Rosetta stone, which helped Jean Champollion, a brilliant connoisseur of ancient languages, to unravel the mystery of hieroglyphics. Years of painstaking work - and dead stones began to speak from the depths of centuries! And today every person can independently read mysterious letters.