Hieroglyphs Lessons
Jacques Kinnaer
If you have missed a lesson, or want to refresh your memory,
here is a list of the lessons which have featured on
Egyptvoyager, together with a taste of what is to come.

Orientation of signs
Basic signs 1 - Types of different signs
I : Basic signs 2 - Signs representing one
II :
consonant
II :
Basic signs 3 - Signs representing two
IV :
consonants
V :
Basic signs conclusion - Signs representing
VI :
three consonants
VII :
Understanding the royal titulary
 VIII : Numbers and dates
 
IX :
: Some gods and their titulary
X
A typical offering formula
Funerary statues
      
 

 
 
Lesson I : Orientation of the signs
The comparison of different hieroglyphic texts shows that the
signs were not always written in the same direction. Hieroglyphic
texts could indeed be written both in rows and columns, from right
to left or from left to right. Even within the same block of text, it
was possible for one part to be written in columns and the other in
rows.

With this kind of flexibility, however, it is necessary to first

establish the orientation of the signs and where to start reading.
As a general rule, signs representing people or animals all look
towards the beginning of the text. Thus, if the signs in a text all
"look" to the left, one should start reading from the left to the
right, and vice versa. Also as a rule the signs are written from top
to bottom.

The following example uses a piece of fictive text to show the different
orientations of hieroglyphic signs.

   

The texts with C and D are written in columns, with a vertical line
dividing the different columns. The signs in text C look to the left
so again the text is to be read from left to right (and from top to
bottom), whereas the signs in text D looks to the right.

This kind of flexibility allowed a symmetrical construction of texts on the walls

of temples and tombs. The example below demonstrates how symmetry was
obtained while writing on the lintel of a door.
 The text in the second row starts in the middle of the lintel with

the and runs to the sides. Thus the text to the left is read from
the middle to the left and the text to the right is read from the
middle to the right.

An additional benefit of the way signs could be oriented is that it is

also possible to add text to an image of a person, a god, an animal
or even an object and give it the same orientation. This way, the
text, acting as a legend to a representation is linked more closely
to the image. In scenes with two figures facing each other, the
respective texts of the figures face each other as well. It thus
becomes easier to distinguish between the legends and speeches
of different actors in a scene and to find the starting point of each
actor’s accompanying texts.

<< Back           hieroglyph : lesson 1 : exercise 1

 
Exercise I

 
   
Find the
starting point
of each of the
following
texts:
1
)

 
 

2
)

 
 

3)

<< Back           hieroglyph : lesson 1 : exercise 1 : solutions 1

 
  Solutions to Exercise I  

1) From right to left. The images look to the right, so that is where we start
reading.

2) From left to right.

3) This is a ritual scene, with two actors facing each other. The text of each actor
is written in the same direction as the actor is drawn. Thus the text of the person
to the left (looking to the right) is read from right to left. The text of the person
to the right (looking to the left) is read from left to right. The following image
shows which text belongs to which actor.
 

<< Back           hieroglyph : lesson 2

 
Lesson II : Basic signs (1)
1) Different types of signs

Although it used pictures as a means to transport ideas and thought,

hieroglyphic can not be considered as merely pictographic.  In a
purely pictographic writing, each sign means what it represents. For
instance, a sign representing a cow would convey the meaning "cow",
the image of a man would mean "man", and so on. A big
disadvantage of this type of writing is that it can only be used to refer
to material things. Writing words with a more abstract meaning is
near impossible.
The number of different words that can be written with a purely
pictographic writing is thus very limited.

To solve this problem, hieroglyphic basically distinguishes between

two types of signs:
   
 ideograms are signs that mean what they represent. One
ideogram can represent more than one word, or it can
represent a more general sense and not a specific meaning.
 phonograms are signs that have a phonetic value. They
represent one, two or three consonants.

Most words were therefore usually written by combining phonograms

and ideograms. The phonograms would make up the consonants of
the word whereas the ideograms conveyed the word's meaning. This
combination not only provided hieroglyphic writing a great flexibility,
it also allowed a better distinction between words that consisted of
the same consonants.
Because the Egyptians only wrote consonants and not their vowels,
several words would be written in the same way, even though they
may have had different meanings. For instance, the verbs "to seek"
and "to act stupidly" both consisted of the consonants w + kh + '. The
difference between the two different verbs can be conveyed only by
adding some ideograms to the written consonants. Thus the verb "to
 seek" could be determined by an ideogram representing running legs,
whereas the verb "to act stupidly" was determined by a sign
representing something bad.
To write the word "fool, a man who acts stupidly", it sufficed to add
the ideogram representing a man to the verb "to act stupidly".
Ideograms added in such a way to phonetically written words are
called determinatives because they determinate the meaning of the
written word.

Not all words were written in this manner, however. Very common or
short words were sometimes written by using ideograms or
phonograms only. Words that were normally written with phonetic
signs only are pronouns, some prepositions, such as "in" or "on" and
so on.
Some signs were used both as ideograms and as phonograms. The
word for house, for instance, consisted of the consonants p+r. The
sign that was used to write the word "house" could also be used as a
phonetic sign to represent the sound pr.
When such a sign is used to represent what it means rather than a
sound, it is often followed by a small vertical line, the so-called
stroke-determinative. For instance, when the sign that represents a
house is used to convey the word "house", it will be followed by a
stroke. A stroke-determinative thus indicates that the preceding sign
is an ideogram and that it means what it represents.
A stroke-determinative can also be used as a space filler. In that
case, it does not necessarily indicate that the previous sign means
what it represents.

2) Some ideograms

The following is a non-exhaustive list of signs that were used as ideograms.

Several of these ideograms have a more general meaning. As noted above, some
of these signs may also have had a phonetic value. These are covered in the
following lessons.

Sign   General meaning Sign  General meaning

man, person bird

woman small, bad, weak, negative

people, mankind, Egyptians fish

child, (to be) young snake, worm

old man, (to be) old, to lean tree

man of authority plant, flower

noble person, dead person wood, tree

god, king corn

king grain

god, king sky, above

goddess, queen sun, light, time

be high, rejoice, support, exalt night, darkness

praise, pray star, night, time

force, effort fire, heat, cook

eat, drink, speak, think, feel air, wind, sail

lift, carry stone

be weary, weak copper, bronze

enemy, foreigner, rebel sand, minerals, pellets

enemy, death water, liquid

to lie down, death, bury lake, channel

mummy, form, likeness irrigated land

head road, to travel, position

hair, mourn desert, mountain, foreign land

eye, to see foreign (country or person)

nose, smell, joy, contempt town, village (in Egypt)

ear, to listen house, building

 tooth door, to open, to close

force, action, effort box, coffin

offer, present boat, ship, navigation

arm, bend, cease clothe, linen

embrace bind, document

phallus, beget, urinate, moisture knife, cut

leg, foot hoe, cultivate, hack up

walk, run break, divide, cross

move backwards cup

flesh, part of the body loaf, cake, offering

tumour, odour, disease festival, ritual

cattle, cow, bull book, writing, abstract things

savage, storm one, stroke-determinative

skin, mammal plural, several, multitude

 
 << Back           hieroglyph : lesson 2 : exercise 2

 
Exercise II
 

To read hieroglyphic texts, it is necessary to be able to distinguish words. Often,

but not always, words would end with one or more ideograms. Below you will
find a random grouping of words. Try to distinguish the different words and find
a general meaning for them.

   

<< Back           hieroglyph : lesson 2 : exercise 2 : solutions 2

 
 Solutions to Exercise II  
Below you will find each of the individual words that made up the random grouping of
Exercise II. The concrete meaning of each word is given. Did you get all the words? And was
the general meaning you found close to the concrete meaning?

  Word Concrete meaning Notes

1) bird The last sign is a determinative.

Name of a god. The last sign is a

2) Sokar
determinative.

3) boat The last sign is a determinative.

The stroke before the determinative

4) man representing a man, is used as a space
filler.

5) to rise The last sign is a determinative.

6) heaven, sky The last sign is a determinative.

7) to adore The last sign is a determinative.

8) child The last sign is a determinative.

9) to approach The last sign is a determinative.

This word is written with two

determinatives. The first indicates an
10) hungry man activity of the mouth or head (to be
hungry), the second that the word refers
to a man.
Name of a god. The last sign is a
11) Ptah
determinative.

The last sign is a determinative

12) to know
indicating something abstract.
This word is written with two
determinatives. The first indicates joy,
13) joyful
the second an activity of the mouth or
head.
Strictly speaking, the man and the
people, mankind, woman are two separate determinatives,
14)
Egyptians with the three strokes indication a
plural.
15) sun The last sign is a determinative.

16) royal child The last sign is a determinative.

Name of a god. The last sign is a

17) Anubis
determinative.

The second last sign is a determinative.

18) birds
The three strokes indicate a plural.

19) day The last sign is a determinative.

The first sign is used as an ideogram

and represents a mouth, the stroke is a
20) mouth
determinative stroke that informs us that
the first sign means what it represents.

21) bull The last sign is a determinative.

The second last sign indicates

22) widow
mourning, the last sign a woman.

23) animal hide The last sign is a determinative.

The last sign is a determinative. Note

24) to row how the first sign also conveys the
meaning of the word in this case.

25) house The stroke is a determinative stroke.

26) land The stroke is a space filler.

27) sun The stroke is a determinative stroke.

What else can you learn from this exercise?

 Take a look at the words with the numbers 16 and 17. One sign, the
determinative, can make the difference between two words that are
written in an almost identical manner. The phonetic part of the two
words is identical and you can only derive their precise meaning from
the determinative. This example shows a practical purpose of
determinatives.
 Compare the words 15 and 27. Both have the same meaning. In fact,
word 27 is just a variant writing of word 15. Egyptian hieroglyphs were a
flexible way to write words, depending on the context, the available
space, the preferences of the writer...
  Compare words 2, 11 and 17, or 5, 15 and 19. The same determinative
can be used for words with a different meaning.

Back to Lesson 2

 
 Lesson III : Basic signs (2)  

1) Different types of phonograms

In the previous lesson, we have already seen that hieroglyphic

basically consisted of two types of signs: those that convey ideas
and those that represent sounds. Words were normally written by
combining these two types of signs. Signs that represent sounds
thus make up an important part of the hieroglyphic writing. These
signs are also called phonograms.

There are basically 3 types of phonograms:

 signs representing one consonant, or uniliteral signs,

 signs representing two consonants, or biliteral signs,
 signs representing three consonants, or triliteral signs.

Some exceptional signs also represent four or even five signs.

Lesson III will cover the uniliteral signs. The biliterals and triliterals
will be the subject of the following lessons.

It can not be stressed enough that, regardless of any conventional

reading, the Ancient Egyptians did not write the vowels of their
words. They only wrote the consonantal skeleton of the words that
made up their language. On occasion some unilterals and biliterals
may have been used to indicate the presence of a vowel in foreign
words. This was certainly the case when the Egyptians had to use
their signs to write Greek and Roman names during the Greek-
Roman Period, and perhaps also when they wrote the names of
foreign places during the New Kingdom or earlier.

2) Transcription and conventional reading

Egyptologists use a special kind of notation, known as transcription,

to write Ancient Egyptian words in a more readable way. In
transcription, each consonant in an Ancient Egyptian word is written
using one sign based on our own writing. For instance, the sound kh
is rendered as x in transcription. Transcription is useful in
grammars, sign-lists, dictionaries but also in scientific articles and
studies. It will be used throughout this course and will be part of
the exercises of this and the following lessons.
Hieroglyphic writing was used to reflect a language that was spoken
for more than 3000 years. The spoken language is bound to have
evolved and changed over such a long timeframe. The student may
wish to consider how his or her own language has changed over the
pas generations. Regional differences also are very likely to have
caused different pronunciations of the same words within a given
timeframe. This, along with the absence of vowels in hieroglyphic
writing, makes it near-impossible to try to reconstruct how the
Ancient Egyptians pronounced their words. 

In order to make conversation easier and to make abstraction of the

evolution and regional differences noted here, Egyptologists thus
have had to come up with a conventional reading of transcribed
texts. This conventional reading, whereby some weak consonants
are read as if they were vowels and whereby a mute "e" is inserted
after a consonant, is a modern-day fiction and does not reflect at all
how the Ancient Egyptians themselves may have pronounced their
language.

3) Uniliteral signs

Uniliteral signs are signs that represent one single consonant. The table below
lists all uniliteral signs of classical Egyptian, used from the Middle Kingdom on.
The first column gives the hieroglyphic sign, the second its transcription, the
third its conventional reading and the last column any notes and remarks about
the sign or the consonant it represents. The order by which the consonants have
been sorted is the same as the one used to sort words in dictionaries.

Sign Transcription Convention Notes

This sign represents a glottal stop and is
unknown in most western languages. The
A long a
closest relative would be the Hebrew
"Aleph".
i i (as in ee) This sign usually approaches the j but at
the beginning of words, it  sometimes
 represents the sound A . The sign is,
however, not interchangeable with the
previous sign.
Normally used under specific conditions
j y (as in yes)
in the last syllable of words.
This sign represents a guttural sound
a short a unknown in western languages. It
corresponds to the Arabic "ayn".

w w or u  

b b  

p p  

f f  

m m  

n n  

r r  

h h  

H h Emphatic "h".

x kh  

Only rarely interchangeable with the

X kh
previous sign.

z or s z or s  

In early Egyptian this sign represented a

sound that was different from the previous
c or s s
one, but at the latest during the Middle
Kingdom, they became interchangeable.

S sh  

q q  

k k  
 g g  

t t  

From the Middle Kingdom on, replaced

T tsh
more and more by the previous sign.

d d  

From the Middle Kingdom on, replaced

D dj
more and more by the previous sign.

4) Additional uniliteral signs

Some consonants could be represented by alternative signs, be it

that they were less common than the signs above and are not
always interchangeable with them.

The alternative signs are for w, for m, for n and for

t. The sign was also used in a few old words.

Click here for Exercise 3

 
<< Back           hieroglyph : lesson 3 : exercise 3

 
Exercise III
 

The random words below combine uniliteral signs and ideograms. Try finding the
transcription of every word and also the conventional reading for them.

   

<< Back           hieroglyph : lesson 3 : exercise 3 : solutions 3

 
  Solutions to Exercise III  

You may have recognised some  words from the previous exercise.

Conventional
  Word Transcription Meaning
reading

1) Apd aaped bird

 2) zkr zeker Sokar

3) dp.t depet boat

4) z es man

weben or
5) wbn to rise
uben

heaven,
6) p.t pet
sky

7) iAw iaaw to adore

8) Xrd khered child

to
9) Xam kham
approach

hungry
10) Hqr heqer
man

11) ptH peteh Ptah

12) rx rekh to know

13) rS resh joyful

14) ra ra sun

royal
15) inpw inepu
child

16) inpw inepu Anubis

17) hrw heru day

 
 << Back           hieroglyph : lesson 4

Lesson IV : Basic signs (3)

1) Biliteral signs

Biliteral signs are signs that represent a combination of two consonants. The
following list provides an overview of the most common signs.

Aw pH HA st

Ab mA Hw st

iw mi Hm SA

im mi Hn Sw
   
in mw Hr Sn

ir mn Hs Ss

is mr HD Sd

aA mr xA qd

aq mH xa kA

aD ms xw kp

wA mt xt gm

wa m(w)t XA gs
 wp nw Xn tA

wn nw Xn ti

wn nb Xr tm

wr nm sA TA

wD nn sA DA

bA nH sA Dw

bH ns sw Dr

pA nD sn Dd

pr rw sk

Some biliteral signs can also be used as ideograms. For instance,

the sign can be used purely for its phonetic value in words such

as   Hrj.t, "dread" and as an ideogram in the word

, Hr, meaning "face". Note the use of the determinative stroke in

the latter example to indicate that the sign (Hr) is to be interpreted

as an ideogram. Also note that the reading of still is Hr and that

the sign thus could also be viewed as being a phonogram.

In fact, the phonetic value of the sign can be explained as being

derived from the word "face" that consists of the consonants H+r.

2) Phonetic complement

Biliteral signs are often combined with one or exceptionally two

uniliteral signs that have the same phonetic value as one of the
consonants of the biliteral sign. Uniliterals used in this way
complement the reading of the biliteral signs and are called
"phonetic complements". They are not read separately but are part
of the phonetic value of the biliteral sign.

For instance, the biliteral sign is very often accompanied by

the uniliteral , but the combination of these two signs is

transcribed as mn and not as mnn. The added n only serves to

complement the phonetic value of the biliteral sign .

In some cases, phonetic complements can help to distinguish

between different values of the same sign. The sign , for instance,

can be read as Ab or mr. The combination , however, must be

read as Ab because the added b is a phonetic complement.

Similarly, the combination is read mr because the added m

and r are phonetic complements.

An additional benefit, at least for the modern-day reader, is that

phonetic complements betray at least part of the reading of the
signs they accompany.
It must, however, be noted that none of the biliteral signs actually

needs to have phonetic complements. Thus the signs and ,

for instance, can be written with or without any phonetic
complements. This can cause some ambiguity in reading and in text

interpretation, particularly for a sign such as that has more than

one reading.
One of the conjugated forms of the verb iri, "to do, to make" is irr,

which can be written both as and as . In the latter case,

the first r is a phonetic complement and the second r is part of the
verb's conjugation. Another conjugated form of the same verb,

however, is ir, which can be written as and as . The group

can therefore be read as ir and as irr. Only a careful

examination and a clear understanding of the context may help
determining the intended reading.

 
  

<< Back           hieroglyph : lesson 4 : exercise 4

 
Exercise IV

   

Try distinguishing and transcribing the words in the random list below. Signs that
you do not know, are new ideograms.
 

<< Back           hieroglyph : lesson 4 : exercise 4 : solutions 4

 Solutions to Exercise IV

Did you find the following words? The translations are provided between
brackets after the transcription. Parts of transcriptions between brackets are
parts of the words that are not written in the hieroglyphic text.

Hs(i) (to turn back) - ir.t (eye) - mni (to moor) - SAa (to begin) - msw.t (birth) -
msH (crocodile) - Hr (far)
   
sswn (to destroy) - ssAw (provisions) - swnw (tower) - Aw (long) - rmn
(shoulder) - swAS (pay honour)

swrd (to weary) - wDA.t (udjat-eye) - mr (pyramid) - is (tomb) - bkA (be

pregnant) - btA (crime) - HD (white)

imn (Amun) - smsw (eldest) - itj (monarch) - mAi (lion) - Hr (upon)

As an additional exercise, try composing a short vocabulary containing all the

words from this and the previous exercises. Try to get the words in the order
used for the uniliteral signs.

<< Back           hieroglyph : lesson 5

 
Lesson V : Basic signs (conclusion)
 1) Triliteral signs  

Triliteral signs are signs that present the phonetic value of 3 consonants. Even
more than was the case with biliteral signs, the distinction between phonogram
and ideogram is rather vague for the triliterals. The following list provides an
overview of the most common signs.

anx mAa Htp

aHa nfr xpr

wAs nTr xrw

wAD nDm sxm

bnr HqA sDm

As was the case with biliteral signs, triliteral signs can be

accompanied by one or two uniliteral signs as phonetic
complements. The phonetic complement either repeats the last or

the last two consonants of the triliteral sign: reads aHa, "to
arise", and not aHaa , with the last a being used as phonetic

complement ; reads anx, "to live, life" and not anxnx. In

some more exceptional cases, all three consonants can be repeated.
The triliteral signs can, like the biliterals, be used without any
phonetic complement.
Biliteral signs are normally not used as phonetic complements for

triliteral signs. Note however the group   mAa that combines

the biliteral sign   mA with the triliteral   mAa.

2) Special cases and peculiar writings

a) Abbreviations

It has already been mentioned that phonetic complements are

optional and that some words may be written with phonetic or
ideographic signs only. Some of the most common words,
stereotyped phrases and formulae are often also abbreviated. These
are some of the most frequently used abbreviations:

 is an abbreviation for anx wDA snb, "may he live,

prosper and be healthy". It is used after words referring to
 anything royal, including the king and his name. This phrase
was so stereotype that it was reduced to three vertical lines
in hieratic writings and later to just a number of vertical lines.

 or , fuller writing is read mAa-xrw

and literally means "true of voice", although it is also
translated as "justified". It is an epithet that was added to
the names of the deceased. It refers to the fact that the
deceased has passed the judgement and is allowed to enjoy
the afterlife.

 was used as an abbreviation for , nsw, "King (of

Upper Egypt)". The full writing of this word itself is a special
cases and will be explained in the next paragraph.

 is read nsw-bi.ty and is usually translated as "the

King of Upper and Lower Egypt". It was part of the royal
titulary that will be elaborated in the next lesson.

 is used as abbreviation for kA nxt ,

"victorious bull", often used to refer to the king.

In addition to these abbreviations, it must also be reminded that

words can be written using ideograms only. E.g. the sign can be

used for ra, "sun" and for ra, "Re", the solar god.

b) Transpositions of signs and words

The normal order of signs as explained in Lesson I, can be changed,

either for graphic or for honorific reasons. Transposition of signs for
graphic reasons was led mostly by a concern to use the available
space as much as possible.
Small signs may be placed under the breast of a sign representing a

bird, even when the latter sign needs to be read first. The group
can thus be read tw and wt, depending on the context.
Long narrow signs are usually written before a sign representing a
bird, where the normal sign-order would expect them to follow.

Thus we find for wD.

More drastic are the transpositions with honorific intent, which

could not only change the order of single signs, but also of words
and entire phrases. Words referring to the king or to the gods are
often written before other words to which they are closely

connected. For instance, the sign-group , meaning "scribe of

the king" must be read sS-nsw and not nsw-sS. The plant, used
as an abbreviation for the word "king" is placed before the sign sS,
 "scribe" because the king was more important than his scribes.
For the same reason the sign meaning "god" is written before the

sign meaning "servant" in Hm-nTr, "servant of god", "priest".

The names of gods may be moved to the front of phrases, even if,

grammatically, they belong at the end. Thus needs

to be read mry imn, "beloved of Amun". Any honorific titles added
to the name of a god, are moved to the front as well:

mry imn, nb ns.wt tA.wj ,

"beloved of Amun, Lord of the Thrones of the Two Lands".

<< Back           hieroglyph : lesson 5 : exercise 5

 
Exercise V
 

   
The following exercise puts to practice what you've learned in this and the
previous lessons. Try distinguishing and transcribing the words and word groups
in the random list below. Signs that you do not know, are new ideograms
 

 
Solutions to Exercise V
 

Did you find the following words? The translations are provided between
brackets after the transcription. Parts of transcriptions between brackets are
parts of the words that are not written in the hieroglyphic text.

sxm (power) - Hmt-nTr (god's wife) - aHa(w) (lifetime) - nfr.t (beautiful one /
Nefret; Nefret is a common name for women) - snTr (cense) - snTr (cense; this
  is indeed the same word as the previous one) - sA-nsw (son of the king /  
prince)

mAa.t (the goddess Maat) - swAD (make to flourish) - Htp.t (peace) - xpr.w
(shape) - xprr (the god Kheprer) - mw.t-nsw (king's mother)

mry ptH (beloved of Ptah) - mi ra (like Re) - xprS (khepresh crown) - mry mnTw
nb wAs.t (beloved of Montu, the lord of Waset; Waset is the name of the city we
currently refer to as Thebes)
 

 
Lesson VI : Understanding The Royal Titulary
1) The King

The Ancient Egyptians used several words to denote their king. In

some cases, the exact meaning of a word referring to the king or its
relationship to other, similar words is not known.

The most common word to refer to the king was , nsw, often

abbreviated to  . Note the graphical, or perhaps honorific

transposition of the signs, whereby , sw, was moved to be the

first sign of the group. The word nsw is derived from nj-sw.t, "the
one who belongs to the sedge plant", with the sedge plant as the
heraldic symbol for Upper Egypt. This word is therefore normally
translated as "King of Upper Egypt", although its context often
favours the shorter translation "King".

   
A word often used together with nsw was , bi.tj, "the one who
belongs to the bee", where the nee is normally taken as a reference
to Lower Egypt. bi.tj is thus translated as "King of Lower Egypt".
Contrary to nsw, however, bi.tj is only rarely used in contexts
where the shorter translation "King" should be favoured.

The combination of these two words results in   nsw-

bi.tj, "King of Upper- and Lower-Egypt", or more literally "he who
belongs to Upper-Egypt (the sedge plant) and Lower-Egypt (the
bee)". This combination is part of the royal titulary and will be
discussed below. It can, in some contexts, be translated simply as
"King".

We commonly refer to the kings of Ancient Egypt as "Pharaohs". This

was the word used by the Greeks and the Hebrews to denote the

rulers of the Nile-country. It is derived from the Egyptian  pr aA,

"the Great House", a word originally meaning "palace" or "court". 
From the end of the 12th Dynasty onwards the health wish "may it
live, prosper and be in health" was often added when referring to
"the Great House", but still it seems to mean only the palace or the
court. 
The earliest certain instance where "the Great House" actually refers
to the king is in a letter to Amenhotep IV (Akhenaten), which is
addressed to "Pharaoh, may he live, prosper and be in health, the
Master". 
From the 19th Dynasty onward pr aA is used occasionally to refer to
the King instead of the palace. We read "Pharaoh did such and such".
The final development was when a proper name was added to the
title, as in "Pharaoh Hophra". The earliest known Egyptian example
of this use is under one of the Shoshenks of the 22nd Dynasty. 

All words related to royalty, including the names of the Pharaohs,

could be followed by the auspicious wish-formula  "may he (or

she or it) live, prosper and be in health". This could be carried to the
extreme, where almost every word referring to a king might be
followed by this wish.

2) The Royal Titulary

a) The Horus-name

The oldest known part of the royal titulary is the Horus-

name    , sometimes also called the banner-name or the

Ka-name. It represents the king as the earthly embodiment of the
god Horus, the divine prototype and patron of the Egyptian kings.  
This name is ordinarily written within a rectangular frame, at the
bottom of which is seen a design of recessed panelling, such as we
find in the facades of early tombs and in the false doors of many
private tombs. The Ancient Egyptian name for this facade was
serekh. This name is often used in modern texts as well when
speaking of the (palace) facade. 
On the top of the serekh is perched the falcon of Horus, hence the
appellation "Horus-name". In more elaborate New Kingdom
examples Horus is wearing the double crown and is accompanied by
the sun and a uraeus. 
In the Early-Dynastic Period, the perched falcon of Horus was in fact
part of the name of the king. Aha, for instance, was actually called
Horus-Aha, "Horus who fights". 

This name was not the birth name of the king, but it was given to him
when he ascended the throne. During the first three dynasties it was
the king’s official name. His name of birth would not appear in
official documents. This has complicated the identification of many
early kings mentioned in the king lists, where only the name of birth
is mentioned. 
Although it would continue to be used throughout the entire Ancient
Egyptian history, it lost its importance to the Prenomen en nomen
from the end of the Old Kingdom on. 

b) The Nebti-name
The Nebti-name    shows the king in a special relation to two
goddesses: the vulture-goddess Nekhbet of the Upper Egyptian cities
of Elkab and Hierakonpolis and the cobra-goddess Uto of the Lower
Egyptian city Buto. Both goddesses are the deified personification of
Upper- and Lower-Egypt respectively, and as such, the Nebti-name
denotes the king as "the one of Nekhbet (Upper-Egypt) and Uto
(Lower-Egypt)", i.e. as the "one belonging to Upper- and Lower-
Egypt".  It is often translated as "Nebti" or "The Two Ladies".
1st Dynasty king Den is the first to have assumed this Nebti-name.
The use of this title by Den may perhaps indicate some governmental
reforms that may have occurred during this king's reign.

c) The "golden Horus name"

The meaning of the third part of the royal titulary, the "golden Horus

name"     , is more disputed. It represents the falcon god Horus

perched on a symbol that usually represents "gold". 
Based on the Greek equivalent of this title on the Rosetta Stone,
which translates into English as "superior to (his) foes", it has been
proposed that the hieroglyphs symbolised Horus as victorious over
Seth, "the Ombite" (another possible reading of the hieroglyph on
which the falcon is standing). This was, no doubt, the interpretation
of Greek times, when the opposition between Horus and Seth was
much more pronounced than in earlier times. For these earlier
periods, however, the evidence may point in another direction. 
If the "golden Horus name" symbolised Horus’ victory over his
enemy Seth, one might expect that the names following this group
should be aggressive in nature, but most of the time, those names
are far from being bellicose.
In a context dealing with the titulary of Thutmosis III that king says
"he (Amun) modelled me as a falcon of gold". Thutmosis III’s co-
regent Hatshepsut calls herself "the female Horus of fine gold". The
concept of the golden falcon can be definitely traced back to the 11th
Dynasty. An inscription of the 12th Dynasty describes the golden
Horus name as the "name of gold". 
The notion of "gold" is strongly linked to the notion of "eternity". The
burial chamber in the royal tombs of the New Kingdom was often
called the "golden room", not (only) because it was stacked up with
gold, but because it was there for eternity. The "golden Horus name"
may convey the same notion of eternity, expressing the wish that the
king may be an eternal Horus.

d) The Prenomen

The Prenomen is the name that follows the title     "King of

Upper- and Lower-Egypt". The oldest known example of this title is
again dated to the reign of 1st Dynasty king Den, when it was often
combined with the Nebti-name, without a distinct name added to it.
It would take until the end of the 3rd Dynasty before this title really
came into use. It would, eventually, replace the Horus-name as most
important official royal name.
The Prenomen itself almost always contained the name of the god
Re. Typical examples are "pleasing to the heart of Re" (Amenemhat
I) and "lord of the cosmic order is Re" (Amenhotep III). One of the
first cases of Re as an element in a king’s name is with Khephren of
the 4th Dynasty (Khaf-Re). 
The title "King of Upper- and Lower-Egypt" can sometimes be

followed by the phrase    "the Lord of the Two Lands", which

sometimes even replaces it entirely. A queen can be called "the
Mistress of the Two Lands".

e) The nomen

The nomen is introduced by the epithet    "son of Re". It was

added to the royal titulary in the beginning of the 4th Dynasty. It was
from that time on that the royal titulary became established in the
form discussed here. 
The name following this title was, as a rule, the king’s name of birth.
It is almost the equivalent of our family name, for the 11th Dynasty
affect the names Antef and Mentuhotep, the 12th Dynasty the names
Amenemhat and Sesostris, the 13th Dynasty shows several kings of
the name Sebekhotep and the 18th Dynasty consists almost entirely
of ruler named Amenhotep or Thutmosis.

Sometimes, the phrase    "the good god" is placed before the

nomen of the king, in addition to or in place of the "son of Re".
Another title sometimes placed between "son of Re" and the actual
nomen was    "lord of the apparitions", sometimes also
translated as "lord of the crowns". This title again confirms the
narrow link between the king and the sun: the king’s apparition on
the throne is compared to the rising of the sun on the Eastern
horizon. 

From the later half of the Old Kingdom on, the principal name is the
Prenomen, and this is often found alone or accompanied only by the
nomen. The Horus-name would serve only rarely for identification
purposes. 
Both Prenomen and nomen are almost invariably written within
"cartouches" or "royal rings". The cartouche depicts a loop formed
by a rope, the ends tied together so as to offer to the spectator the

appearance of a straight line:  . Strictly speaking this loop

should be round as it conveys the notions of "eternity" and
"encompassing the entire creation". It is elongated and oval because
of the length of the hieroglyphic names enclosed in it.  In
transcription, it is a good practice to indicate a cartouche by
parenthesis: (ppy), Pepi.
Occasionally, one may find the name of a god or goddess in a
cartouche. This was especially the case for Osiris-Onnophris and Isis
in the temple inscriptions of the Greek-Roman Period. 

Cartouches were often followed by either a wish-formula such

as  "living eternally" or  "bestowed with eternal life",
or by a phrase which relates the king to a particular deity, for

instance  "beloved by Amun-Re". Note the honorific

transposition whereby the name of Amun-Re was moved to the start
of the phrase.

3) Some royal names

We will now proceed with a list of prenomen and nomen of some of

the most popular kings. It is possible that you do not know all the
signs, but it should be possible to derive the value of some unknown
signs through the transcription that is provided. It should be noted
that for most, if not all names provided here, there are several
variants.

Cheops (Khufu)

xwfw
Khufu (Greek version: Cheops).
This name is an abbreviation for Xnmw-xw=f, "Khnum is his
protector".

Chefren (Khafre)

xa=f ra
Khafre (Greek version: Chefren).
This name means "Re appears".

Mykerinos (Menkaure)

mn-kA.w-ra
Menkaure (Greek version: Mykerinos)
This name means "The Kas of Re remain". Note that repeating a sign
three times indicates a plural, which, in transcription is rendered as
.w.

Neferirkare

nsw-bi.tj (nfr-ir-kA-ra) sA ra (kAkAi)

The King of Upper and Lower Egypt (Neferirkare), the son of Re
(Kakai).
Neferirkare means "It is good what the Ka of Re has done". Kakai is
probably the king's personal name. Neferirkare is the oldest known
king to have had a prenomen and a nomen.

Unas

wnis
Unas.

Pepi I

nsw-bi.tj (mry-ra) sA ra (ppj)

The King of Upper and Lower Egypt (Merire), the son of Re (Pepi)
Merire means "Beloved of Re".

Pepi II

nsw-bi.tj (nfr-kA-ra) sA ra (ppj)

The King of Upper and Lower Egypt (Neferkare), the son of Re (Pepi)
Neferkare means "The Ka of Re is beautiful".

Mentuhotep II

nsw-bi.tj (nb-xrw-ra) sA ra (mnTw-Htp)

The King of Upper and Lower Egypt (Nebkherure), the son of Re
(Mentuhotep)
Nebkherure means "Re is the master of the voice". Mentuhotep
means "(the war-god) Mentu is at peace".

Amenemhat I

nsw-bi.tj (sHtp-ib-ra) sA ra (imn-m-HA.t)

The King of Upper and Lower Egypt (Sehetepibre), the son of Re
(Amenemhat)
Sehetepibre means "The one who appeases the heart of Re".
Amenemhat means "Amun is the foremost".

Sesostris I
nsw-bi.tj (xpr-kA-ra) sA ra (s-n-wsr.t)
The King of Upper and Lower Egypt (Kheperkare), the son of Re
(Senuseret).
Kheperkare means "The Ka of Re has come into being". Senuseret
(Greek version: Sesostris) means "The man of Useret". Useret is a
reference to a goddess meaning "the strong one". It is often
assumed that Useret refers to Hathor.

Sesostris III

nsw-bi.tj (xa-kA.w-ra) sA ra (s-n-wsr.t)

The King of Upper and Lower Egypt (Khakawre), the son of Re
(Senuseret).
Khakawre means "The Kas of Re have appeared".

Amenemhat III

nsw-bi.tj (n-mAa.t-ra) sA ra (imn-m-HA.t)

The King of Upper and Lower Egypt (Nimaatre), the son of Re
(Amenemhat).
Nimaatre means "The one who belongs to Maat is Re".

Seqenenre

nsw-bi.tj (sqnn-ra) sA ra (tA-aA qn)

The King of Upper and Lower Egypt (Seqenenre), the son of Re (Taa
the Valiant).
Seqenenre means "The one whom Re has made valiant".

Ahmose

nsw-bi.tj (nb-pH.t-ra) sA ra (iaH-ms)

The King of Upper and Lower Egypt (Neb-peht-Re), the son of Re
(Iahmes).
Neb-peht-Re means "Re is the master of Force". Iahmes means "the
moon has born (him)".

Amenhotep I
nsw-bi.tj (Dsr-kA-ra) sA ra (imn-Htp)
The King of Upper and Lower Egypt (Djeserkare), the son of Re
(Amenhotep).
Djeserkare means "the Ka of Re is holy". Amenhotep means "Amun is
at peace".

Thutmosis I

nsw-bi.tj (aA-xpr-kA-ra) sA ra (DHwtj-ms)

The King of Upper and Lower Egypt (Aakheperkare), the son of Re
(Thutmosis).
Aakheperkare means "The shape of Re is great". Thutmosis means
"Thot has born (him)".

Thutmosis III

nsw-bi.tj (mn-xpr-ra) sA ra (DHwtj-ms HqA-wAs.t)

The King of Upper and Lower Egypt (Menkheperre), the son of Re
(Thutmosis, ruler of Waset).
Menkheperre means "The shape of Re remains". Waset was the
Ancient Egyptian name for Thebes.

Hatshepsut

nsw-bi.tj (mAa.t-kA-ra) sA ra (Xnm.t-imn HA.t-Sps.wt)

The King of Upper and Lower Egypt (Maatkare), the son of Re (Joined
with Amun, Hatshepsut).
Maatkare means "Maat is the Ka of Re". Hatshepsut means
"Foremost of the noble ladies".

Amenhotep III

nsw-bi.tj (nb-mAa.t-ra) sA ra (imn-Htp)

The King of Upper and Lower Egypt (Nebmaatre), the son of Re
(Amenhotep).
Nebmaatre means "Re is the master of Maat".

Amenhotep IV / Akhenaten
nsw bi.tj (nfr-xpr.w-ra wa-n-ra) sA ra (imn-Htp nTr-HqA-
wAs.t) sA ra (Ax-n-itn)
The King of Upper and Lower Egypt (Neferkheperure Waenre), the
son of Re (Amenhotep, de god who rules in Waset). This nomen was
later replaced by the following: the son of Re (Akhenaten).
Neferkheperure means "the shapes of Re are beautiful". Waenre
means "The One of Re". Akhenaten means "Ray of the Sun".

Tutankhamun

nsw-bi.tj (nb-xpr.w-ra) sA ra (twt-anx-imn)

The King of Upper and Lower Egypt  (Nebkheperure), the son of Re
(Tutankhamun).
Nebkheperure means "Re is the master of shapes". Note that three
strokes can also be used to indicate a plural. Tutankhamun means
"the living statue of Amun".

Seti I

nsw-bi.tj (mn-mAa.t-ra) sA ra (mrj-n-ptH stXj)

The King of Upper and Lower Egypt (Menmaatre), the son of Re
(beloved of Ptah, Seti).
Menmaatre means "The Maat of Re remains". Seti means "The one of
Seth).

Ramesses II

nsw-bi.tj (wsr-mAa.t-ra stp-n-ra) sA ra (mrj-imn ra-ms-

sw)
The King of Upper and Lower Egypt (Usermaatre Setepenre), the son
of Re (beloved of Amun, Ramesses).
Usermaatre means "The Maat of Re is Strong". Setepenre means
"The chosen one of Re". Ramesses means "Re has born him". Note
how in the second cartouches the signs representing Amun and Re
are placed together, making this variant of Ramesses' name a
wordplay on the name of Amun-Re.

Ramesses III

nsw-bi.tj (wsr-mAa.t-ra mrj-imn) sA ra (ra-ms-sw HqA-

iwnw)
The King of Upper and Lower Egypt (Usermaatre, beloved of Amun),
the son of Re (Ramesses, the ruler of Iunu).
Iunu was the Ancient Egyptian name of Heliopolis.

Ramesses IV

nsw-bi.tj (wsr-mAa.t-ra stp-n-imn) sA ra (mrj-imn ra-ms-

s HqA-mAa.t)
The King of Upper and Lower Egypt (Usermaatre Setepenamun), the
son of Re (beloved of Amun, Ramesses, ruler (in) Maat).
Setepenamun means "the chosen one of Amun".

Ramesses IX

nsw-bi.tj (nfr-kA-ra stp-n-ra) sA ra (ra-ms-s xa-wAs.t

mrr-imn)
The King of Upper and Lower Egypt (Neferkare Setepenre), the son of
Re (Ramesses, who appears (in) Waset, beloved of Amun).

Psametikos I

nsw-bi.tj (wAH-ib-ra) sA ra (psmTk)

The King of Upper and Lower Egypt (Wahibre), the son of Re
(Psamtek).
Wahibre means "the heart of Re endures".

Neko II

nsw-bi.tj (whm-ib-ra) sA ra (nkAw)

The King of Upper and Lower Egypt (Wehemibre), the son of Re
(Nekau).
Wehemibre means "the heart of Re is repeated".

Amasis

nsw-bi.tj (Xnm-ib-ra) sA ra (iaH-ms sA-nt)

The King of Upper and Lower Egypt (Khenemibre), the son of Re
(Iahmes, son of Neith).
Khenemibre means "Joined (with) the heart of Re".

Nectanebo I

nsw-bi.tj (xpr-kA-ra) sA ra (nxt-nb=f)

The King of Upper and Lower Egypt (Kheperkare), the son of Re
(Nekhetnebef).
Nekhetnebef (Greek version: Nectanebo) means "His master is
victorious".

<< Back           hieroglyph : lesson 6 : exercise 6

 
  Exercise VI  

1) Try to recognize the different parts of the royal titulary in the examples
below. It is possible that you can not translate all the examples, but you should
at least recognise some of the names.

a) f)

b) g)
c) h)

d) i)

e) j)

2) Try to identify the king in the following images.

a)

b)
 c)

 
  Solutions to Exercise VI  

1)

Pepi II:
a) Golden name: Hr nbw sxm Golden Horus, the powerful one
b) Horus-name:  Hr nTr xa.w Horus, the god of appartions
c) Prenomen: nsw-bi.tj (nfr-kA-ra) The King of Upper and Lower Egypt
(Neferkare)
d) Nebti-name: nb.tj nTr xa.w The Two Ladies, the god of appartions
e) Nomen: sA ra (ppj) The son of Re (Pepi)

Mentuhotep III:
f) Prenomen: nsw-bi.tj (sanx-kA-ra) The King of Upper and Lower Egypt
(Seankhkare)
g) Nomen: sA ra (mnTw-Htp) The son of Re (Mentuhotep)
h) Horus-name: Hr sanx tA.wj=f  Horus, who lets his Two Lands live
i) Nebti-name: nb.tj sanx tA.wj=f  The Two Ladies, the one who lets his Two
Lands live
j) Golden name: Hr nbw Htp Golden Horus, the one who is satisfied

2)

a) (wsr-mAa.t-ra stp-n-ra) (Usermaatre Setepenre), the prenomen of Ramesses

II on an architrave in the Great Hypostyle Hall of the temple of Amun at Karnak.
 b) (DHwtj-ms xa-xa.w) (Thutmosis, shining of appartions), the nomen of
Thutmosis IV on a block in the Open Air Museum at Karnak.

c) (xpr-kA-ra) (Kheperkare), the prenomen of Sesostris I on the White Chapel,

not reconstructed in the Open Air Museum at Karnak.

 
 Lesson VII : Numbers and dates  

1) Whole numbers and fractions.

The Ancient Egyptian numeric system consisted of a sign for units, and special
signs for the various powers of ten.

Units Tens Hundreds

Thousands Tenthousands Hundredthousands

Millions

Whole numbers were written by using as many of these signs as

needed to make up the total number, starting with the highest. Thus

the number 5 was written by repeating the unit-sign 5 times: ; 50

by repeating the sign for "tens" 5 times: ; and 55 by repeating

the sign for "tens" 5 times, followed by 5 times the unit-sign:

. The latter could be interpreted as (5 times 10) + (5 times 1) = 55.

Care must be taken not to confuse the number 1 with the

determinative stroke mentioned in Lesson IV.

The sign for million, which also means "many" and "infinity", early
fell into disuse. Higher numbers and values were sometimes written

in a different way: means 4 times 100,000 = 400,000.

The numeric system did not include a decimal point. Decimal

numbers were written as fractions. With the exception of 1/2, 2/3

and 3/4, fractions were always written using the sign ,

combined with a whole number, to convey the meaning 1/x. E.g.

means 1/5. This example can be transcribed both as r-5 and

as 1/5.

Fractions with numerators bigger than 1 were written as a sum of

fractions with numerators equal to 1. Thus 2/5 was written as

. Complex fractions were always broken down to the

simplest sum of 1/x type fractions. 3/8 was written as ,

1/4 + 1/8 and not by repeating the group for 1/8 three times.

The already mentioned exceptions to this rule are 1/2, which is

written as , 2/3  and 3/4 .

2) The use of numbers to indicate amounts.

Amounts were written after the word of which they render the
amount. The word to which the number is added, is normally written
in singular. Some examples follow:

ds 2, "two jugs"

HfAw 75, "75 snakes"

s 2, "two men"...

3) Dates

The Ancient Egyptians used three different kinds of calendars: an

agricultural, a lunar and an astronomical. The latter two were
mainly used for liturgical purposes and were mostly limited to
temples. Thus the lunar calendar was used to make specific rituals
for lunar gods, such as Khonsu, coincide with specific lunar phases.

The agricultural calendar, on the other hand, was used to date all
kinds of events, documents, … It divided the year into 3 seasons of
4 months:

Ax.t, the season of inundation

pr.t, the season of sowing

Smw, the season of harvesting (summer).

Although months had names they were only rarely used in dates.
Most often, months numbered from the start of each season on; e.g.

ibd 3 (n) Ax.t, "the third month of Akhet" or "the

third month of inundation". The word for month is transcribed ibd
or Abd and was written using a sign that represents a part of the
moon.

Each month was divided into 30 days. Days were counted from the

beginning of each month on. E.g. ibd 3 (n)

Smw ssw 25, "the 3 month of Shemu, the 25 day". The word
rd th

for "day" in dates can be either ssw or hrw. When it is only written
using the sign that represents the solar disk, one can chose between
either two of them.

The Egyptian year thus counted 12 months of 30 days, or 360 days

in total, to which 5 so-called "epagomenal" days were added to
make the year correspond more or less to the solar cycle.

In theory, the first day of the first month of Ax.t was supposed to
coincide with the start of the annual inundation of the Nile. There
were no leap years, so the agricultural calendar lacked one day
every four years. For this reason, the 1st day of the 1st month of Ax.t
could fall on any day of our calendar.

From the Middle Kingdom on, years were numbered starting the
accession to the throne of a new king. A regnal year was written as

, HA.t-sp, followed by the number of that year; e.g. ,

HA.t-sp 15. The regnal year can be followed by a more precise
 date, following the agricultural calendar, and the name of a king.
The name of the king could simply be his prenomen or his nomen,
but it could also be his full titulary.

E.g. HA.t-sp 2, ibd

3 (n) Ax.t, ssw 1 xr Hm n (n-mAa.t-ra) , Year 2, the 3rd
month (of) Akhet, the first day under the Majesty of (Ni-Maat-Re).

 
Exercise VII
 

   
1)

2)
 3)

4)

5)

6)

7)

8)

9)

10)

 
Solutions to Exercise VII  
 
 1) 966

2) 152,128

3) 18

4) 26

5) 26. Note that the disposition of the signs is different but that the number is
the same is in the previous exercise.

6) 5 + 1/2 + 1/7 + 1/14 = 5 + 5/7

7) 2 + 1/2 + 1/14 + 1/28 = 2 + 6/7

8) 2 + 2/3 + 1/6 + 1/12 + 1/36 + 1/54 = 2 + 26/27

9) r-9 n 9 m 1 : 1/9 of 9 (is) as 1.

10) HA.t-sp 24 ibd 2 (n) pr.t hrw 30 xr nsw-bi.tj (mn-xpr-ra), year 24, month 2
(of) Peret, day 30 under the King of Upper and Lower Egypt (Menkheperre).

Lesson VIII : Names and titles of Gods

In this lesson you will learn to recognise the names of some of

 Ancient Egypt's most popular gods and the epithets (titles) that  
very often accompanied these names. The reader should be aware
that the names and epithets presented here can be and were
written in many different ways. This lesson covers the most
frequent spellings.

 
1. Some more general epithets

Some epithets had a more general nature and applied to a wide

range of gods or goddesses. As the Ancient Egyptians loved
stereotypes, such epithets occur throughout religious texts. Some of
the most recurring epithets are:

 , nb p.t, "lord of the heavens" (gods); ,

nb.t p.t, "mistress of the heavens" (goddesses)

 , nb mAa.t, "lord of the cosmic order". This

epithet is often used for creator-gods or gods related to
justice.

 , nTr aA, "the great god"

 , Hnw.t nTr.w, "mistress of the gods"

 , xpr Ds=f, "who created himself". This is

usually applied to a creator-god.

2. Some gods and their epithets

, imn, is the most common way to write the name of Amun.

Variant writings may add different determinatives to this name:

, , or the more generic determinative for a god . Amun's

name can also me written using the first two determinatives alone.
Associated with the solar god Re, Amun became a solar god himself,

named , imn-ra, Amun-Re.

The most common titles for Amun (-Re) are:

   , imn-ra nsw nTr.w, "Amun-Re, king of

the gods". This combination was so frequent, that it became
the name of a manifestation of Amun-Re: Amunrasonther.

 , nb ip.t-s.wt, "lord of Ipet-Sut". Ipet-Sut

is one of the names of Amun's temple at Karnak. It means
"the (most) secret of places".
  , nb wAs.t, "lord of Waset (=Thebes)"

 , nb ns.wt tA.j, "lord of the Thrones of the

Two Lands". The "Thrones of the Two Lands" is a reference to
Amun's principal temple at Karnak.

, inpw, Anubis. Variant writings may use different

determinatives: , , … His most common epithets are:

 , imj-wt, "the one who is in Ut". "Ut"  refers to

the embalming tent.

 , tpj-Dw=f, "the one who is on his mountain"

, transcribed is.t or As.t, is the wife of Osiris and the mother

of Horus, Isis.

, wsir, is the most common way to write the name of Osiris. A

playful writing found mostly in Thebes during the Greek-Roman era
combines part of the name of Thebes with part of the name of Osirs:

.
One of his most common titles is:

 , nb AbDw, "the lord of Abedju (=Abydos)

, ptH, Ptah, was the primary god of Memphis.

 
 , mAa.t, Maat, the goddess representing the cosmic
order.

, mw.t, is Amun's wife, "Mut". Her name literally means

"mother". One of her most common titles is:

 nb.t iSrw, "the mistress of Isheru", where

Isheru is the name of Mut's sanctuary south of Amun's great
temple at Karnak.

, ra, Re. Variant writings may either abbreviate this name to

or even  , or add some determinatives: .

Alternative determinatives are or . The latter determinative

may also be used to refer to this god. The name of Re is combined
with the names of different other gods who gain a solar aspect by
this association.

, Hw.t-Hr, Hathor, the goddess of love, music and

procreation. Among her epithets, we find:

 , nb.t iwn.t, "mistress of Iunet (=Dendara)"

, Hr, is the god of kingship, Horus, the son of Osiris and Isis.
Such was his popularity, that different manifestations were
worshiped as individual gods. Here are the names of some of the
more popular manifestations:

 , Hr-Ax.tj, "Harakhte", or "Horus of the horizon",

a reference to Horus as the rising sun. This name is often
 combined with the name of the solar god Re as , ra-
Hr-Ax.tj, Re-Harakhte, "Re-Horus of the horizon". Note that

Ax.tj can also be written as .

   , Hr-wr, Haroëris, or "Horus the Old", referring to

the grown up Horus who has avenged his father.

 , Hr-pA-Xrd, Harpocrates, or
"Horus the Child", the young Horus

   , Hr-sA-is.t, Harsiësis, or "Horus, the son of

Isis"

, xnsw, is a lunar-deity considered to be the son of

Amun at Thebes, Khonsu. The actual translation of his name is not

known. Khonsu is sometimes associated with Re as ,

xnsw-ra, Khonsu-Re, making him the god of the two most
important celestial bodies. He is also often associated with another

important lunar god, Thot , xnsw-DHwtj,

Khonsu-Thot.

, sxm.t, Sekhmet, "the powerful one".

, or more frequent , DHwtj, Thot, the god of wisdom,

justice and writing.

 
  

 
Exercise VIII
Transcribe and translate the following names and epithets. Note
that the given examples are ficticious.

1)

2)

3)

   

4)

5)

6)

7)

 
  

 
Solutions to Exercise VIII
 

1) wsir nTr aA nb AbDw, Osiris, the great god, lord of Abydos

2) inpw tpj Dw=f imj wt, Anubis, who is upon his mountain, who is in the
embalming tent

3) Hr nb p.t, Horus, lord of the sky

   
4) Hw.t-Hr nb(.t) p.t nb.t iwn.t, Hathor,  mistress of the sky, mistress of
Dendara

5) imn-ra nTr aA nb ip.t-s.wt, Amun-Re, the great god, lord of Karnak

6) ptH nb mAa.t, Ptah, lord of Maat

7) imn-ra-nsw-nTr.w nTr aA nb p.t nb wAs.t, Amunrasonther, the great god, lord

of the heaven, lord of Thebes.

   
Lesson IX : A typical offering formula
The Ancient Egyptian society was a very traditional one. This
explains the love of the Ancient Egyptians for repetition and
stereotypes. Quite often, many texts that have been discovered thus
far are variations on texts that have been discovered before. This
makes it easier to fill in the gaps, or to read words that have been
written with different or previously unknown signs.

Nowhere is this love for stereotypes more obvious and present than
in religious texts. This is not surprising, as religion in general tends
to be conservative and traditional. This lesson will use the
knowledge acquired in the previous lessons to explain the standard
structure of a funerary offering formula known as Hetep-di-nesu. As
it was a funerary formula, it can be found in tombs, on lintels of
doorways, on false doors, on stelae, ... Most museums with an
Egyptian collection at least have a couple of objects with this
formula.

The formula consists of different parts:

1. The introduction is invariably , to be read Htp di

nsw, "an offering which the king gives". Note how the

abbreviation for king, , (n)sw(.t), is moved to the front

of the group for honorific reasons. This word is not
necessarily abbreviated.
The triangular sign representing the word (r)DI, "to give", is
sometimes written at the end of the group, which is
grammatically correct, or just after the abbreviation for king.
In the latter case, the scribe has preferred to move the sign
to the front for esthetic reasons.
This phrase is of great antiquity and has been found from the
Old Kingdom on. It suggests that, at least at its origin, this
type of funerary offering was a special favour from the king
for the deceased, in that it is the king and not the deceased
who presents the offering.

2. Next, the names and sometimes titles of one of more gods are
given. Typically, funerary gods such as Osiris or Anubis can be
invoked, although gods that do not have a direct relationship
with the funerary cult may also be prominent. The latter
indicates a special relationship between that god and the
deceased.
The meaning of the presence of this list of gods can vary.
Either the king presents the offerings to these gods, in which

case the preposition , n, "to" may or may not be written;

or the gods also participate in presenting the offering. As a
rule of thumb, texts from the Middle Kingdom on usually have
the king as sole actor making the offering to the gods,
whereas during the Old Kingdom, the gods actively
 participated in the offering.

3. This can be followed by a conjugated form of the verb "to

give". If only the king gives the offering, then the form ,
DI=f, "that he may give" is used. If the gods also play an

active part in the offering, then DI=sn, "that they

may give", is used.
When this part of the formula is lacking, it is safe to assume
that only the king presents the offering if the text dates from
the Middle Kingdom or later.

4. The actual list of offerings is then given. This list is very

variable and would probably depend on the wealth of the
deceased, his or her personal preferences and perhaps even
on the gods that are mentioned. Typical offerings that are
mentioned are:

, pr.t-xrw, "invocation-offerings" (literally: "the coming

out of the voice")

, t, "bread"

, H(n)q.t, "beer"

, kA.w, "(meat of) bulls"

, Apd.w, "(meat of) birds"

, x.t nb.t nfr.t, "every good thing", sometimes with the

additional adjective , wab.t, "pure". This part of the

offering can be followed by the phrase , anx.t

nTr im, "in which the god lives".
A mention of the amount of these offerings is sometimes also

provided; e.g. , Apd.w 1000, "a thousand birds".

5. The last part of the formula usually starts with , n kA n,

"to the Ka of" or "on behalf of the Ka of", followed by the
titulary and name of the deceased. In some cases, n kA n, "to
the kA of" is not mentioned and the formula proceeds with
the identification of the deceased..

Often, this will start with , imAxj, "venerable", an

honorary title used for deceased people. This can sometimes
 be followed by , xr, "by" or "with", and the name of a
god such as Anubis.
The name of the deceased itself can be followed by the

indication , mAa xrw, "true of voice" or "justified", yet

another way of expressing that the person is deceased. In
some cases, this may be followed by the mention of the name
of the mother or father of the deceased.

Despite the traditional nature of the Ancient Egyptian society, it is

clear that this formula allowed for many variations: the list of gods
that were included, the choice of their titulary, the list of actual
offerings and the titles of the deceased can all be used to create
individual instances of the Hetep-di-nesu formula.

 
Exercise IX
The object of this exercise is to try to recognize the different parts of
the Hetep-di-nesu formula on the picture below. The picture
represents a stela from a man named Senuseret (can you find his
 name?) on display at the Louvre. It was scanned from Christianne  
Ziegler e.a., Le Louvre. Les antiquités égyptiennes, Editions Scalla,
1997, p. 37.
  

<< Back           hieroglyph : lesson 9 : exercise 9 : solutions 9

 
Solutions to Exercise IX
 The standard parts of the formula are underlined in red on the black-  
and-white version of the picture.
 Back to Lesson 9

Solutions to Exercise IX
The standard parts of the formula are underlined in red on the black-and-white
version of the picture.
 Back to Lesson 9
Solutions to Exercise IX
The standard parts of the formula are underlined in red on the black-and-white
version of the picture.
 
 Lesson X : Funerary statues  

Another frequently occurring formula can be found mainly on a type

of funerary statues known as Ushebties.
Ushebties are usually mummiform statues made out of stone, wood
or faience, of varying size and quality. The crudest ones are barely
recognizable as Ushebties and the typical formula is sometimes
lacking or unreadable. Others are of such high quality that they can
be counted as being among the finest examples of Ancient Egyptian
art.

Ushebties owe their name to their function: the word

wSb.tj comes from the verb wSb, "to answer" and

literally means "the one who answers", for if called upon to do some
task for their (deceased) owner, they would answer and fulfill their
chore. In their hands, Ushebties often hold agricultural or other
tools, the tools that they need to complete their tasks.
In Ancient Egyptian texts, Ushebties are sometimes also called

SAwAb.tj or SAb.tj, both forms

being derived from the original wSb.tj. In modern-day literature,
Ushebties are sometimes also referred to in modern-day texts as
Shabties or Shawabties.

The text on Ushebties can vary from nonexistent to quite verbose.

Ushebties without any text can only be identified because of their
shape, the presence of tools (if any) and the archaeological context
in which they are found.
Text can be written in a single column on the front and/or back of
the statue, or in multiple rows across the front and back, depending
on the length of the formula and the size of the Ushebtie in
question.

The following elements are usually present in the short formula

found on Ushebties:

* sHD, "Illuminate".

* wsir, "Osiris". The deceased is normally associated with the

god Osiris.
* Name of the deceased
The name of the deceased can sometimes be preceded by his

titulary, and followed by , mAa-xrw, "true of voice", an

indication that the deceased has passed the judgment of the dead.

In addition, the name of the deceased can also be followed by

ms or more complete ms n, "born of" and the name of the

deceased's mother. The name of the father is but rarely mentioned.

The longer formula has more elements and there is a lot more
variation possible:

· i wSb.tj, "O, Ushebtie".

· ir ipw wsir NN, "if Osiris NN calls", where NN

represents the name of the deceased. As was the case with the
shorter formula, the name of the deceased is usually preceded by
the name of the funerary god Osiris. A titulary can sometimes also
be present and is written between the name Osiris and the name of
the deceased.

· r ir.t kA.t nb(.t) irj m Xr.t-

nTr, "to do any task that is done in the underworld". This general
description can be followed by some more specific tasks that the
Ushebtie can be required to do. It should be noted that the presence
of agricultural objects in the hands of the Ushebtie does not per
definition imply that the tasks would be limited to the argricultural.

· mk wi, "behold, I am (here)". This part can be

preceded by Dd=k, "you shall say". It can be omitted in

abbreviated versions of the longer formula.

The longer formula is also referred to in modern literature as

chapter 6 of the Book of the Dead. Both formulas can also be
combined into one, which increases the number of possible
variations of the formula. For the standard parts of all formulae
provided here, variant spellings are, of course, always possible.

 
 

 
Exercise X
1) Identify the type of formula below, and identify its standard parts.
Can you also indicate the name of the owner and tell whether or not
his mother was named?
   

2) Identify the type of formula below, and identify its standard parts.
3) Identify the type of formula below. You will normallly not be able
to identify all standard parts, as some different words are used. Who
did this Ushebtie belong to?

 
  

 
Solutions to Exercise X
 

1) This exercise represents the shorter formula. The name of the deceased's
mother is mentionned at the end.

   

The transcription and translation of the text go as follows:

sHD wsir irw ms n tA-Xbs

Illuminate Osiris Iru born of Takhebes.

2) This exercise represents the longer type of formula, as you probably already
derived by its length. The standard parts of the formula are underlined in red:
The transcription and translation of the text go as follows:

i wSb.tj.w ipt ir ip.wj wsir imj-r p(r) n dwA.t-nTr p(A)-di-

n.t r ir.t kA.t nb(.t) m Xr.t-nTr iS.tw sDb.w
im m s r Xr.wt=f mk wi sw
///.tw tn ip.tw tn ir///
///w ir im r srwd
sx.t ir ir mH wDb.wj
r Xnt Sa.j n imn.t(j).t r iAb.t(j).t
mk wi
tn

O, Ushebties, if Osiris, the overseer of the house of the Divine Adoratrice, Pa-di-
Neith, calls you
to do any task in the underworld, (if) obstacles are imposed
there like a man who has his duties, behold you will
/// you shall make yourselves accountable and do ///
/// what is done there, by cultivating
the fields, by irrigating the banks
and by transporting sand from the West to the East
(you shall say:) "Behold, here I am".

Note that the text calls upon Ushebties in plural. It has been found on an Ushebti
that is likely to be considered as the chief of some other Ushebties. It is dated to
the later part of the Late Dynastic Period (26th Dynasty or later).

3) This text is a variation on both types of formula. The presence of the

cartouches should already have shown you that this is a royal Ushebti. It
belonged to Tutankhamun. In red, I have indicated the words that you should
normally have been able to recognise.

The transcription and translation of the text go as follows:

Dd in wsir nsw (nb-xpr.w-ra) sHD

SAb.tj ipn irj Hsb irj aS.tw
ip.t(w) wsir nsw (twt-anx-imn HqA iwnw Sma)
m Xr.t-nTr r ssrd sx.t r smHj wDb.w
r Xnt Sa n iAb.t r imn.t

Said by Osiris, the king (Neb-kheperu-re), who illuminates :

"These ushebties, if one reckons, if one cries
or one calls Osiris, the king (Tutankhamun, the ruler of Southern Heliopolis)
in the underworld, to cultivate the fields, to irrigate the banks
or to transport sand from East to West".

This concludes the introductory course to the language of the Ancient Egyptians.
If you have gone through all the lessons, you should now be able to distinguish
between the different types of signs, transcribe most texts, recognise royal
names, names of gods and some stereotype formulae.

For those who wish to study hieroglyphs beyond this introduction, there is a list
of recommended books at http://www.geocities.com/amenhotep.geo/bib/ in
the section "Language".

 

 
Writing in
Ancient Egypt  
The Ancient Egyptian civilisation was
one of the first, if not indeed the
first, to go beyond the mere pictorial
representation of events and to
develop some kind of writing. The
oldest known samples of Ancient
Egyptian writing were discovered in
Abydos and are dated to 3.100 BC or
before. They are the oldest samples
of writing known to mankind up to
now.
Coloured hieroglyphs from a royal tomb at
  the Valley of the Kings.
Throughout their more than
3.000 year long history, the
Ancient Egyptians developed
and used three kinds of
writing: hieroglyphic, hieratic
and demotic.
HIEROGLYPHIC
The writing most commonly
associated with the Ancient
Egyptians is called hieroglyphic, a
name that comes from the Greek
words hieros (sacred) and glypho
(inscription). It consists of a large
variety of images representing
sounds as well as ideas and actions.
The images were normally clearly
drawn, although the amount of detail
would depend on such matters as the
size of the signs, the available time
to actually write the texts, and
personal taste. Thus the quality of
writing can vary from exquisitely
carved signs to clumsily drawn ink
marks.
Being handwriting, hieratic 
would change and evolve over
time. The hieroglyphic basis of
hieratic would, however,
always remain present. Most
hieratic texts are therefore
transcribed into hieroglyphic by
modern-day researchers.
Hieratic was originally mainly
used in administrative texts,
but because it was more
practical and less time-
consuming than hieroglyphics,
it found its way into literature,
wisdom texts and even
religious writings. From the
25th/26th Dynasty on, its use
would become more and more
restricted to religious texts. It
was normally written using a
reed brush on sheets of
papyrus, but hieratic writing is
also seen on tissues, pieces of
cloth, and occasionally on other
substrates. Like hieroglyphic
writing, it could originally be  
written in rows or columns. In
time, however, the writing
orientation would become
standardised and hieratic
would only be written in rows
from right to left.
DEMOTIC
Demotic evolved from an even more
cursive form of hieratic and became
the standard for the administration
from the 25th or 26th Dynasty on.
Contrary to hieratic, demotic texts
are normally not transcribed into
hieroglyphics prior to translation
because it is often impossible to
relate a demotic sign to a
hieroglyphic counterpart. Sometimes
one hieroglyphic sign would be
written as a group of demotic signs;
or a group of hieroglyphic signs
would merge into one single demotic
sign.
 The entire scene symbolises the unity of
Upper- and Lower-Egypt.
Its versatile nature allowed it
to be written in rows or in
columns, oriented from right to
left or from left to right. All
signs are normally positioned
as if looking towards the
beginning of the text. Just how
versatile this orientation was,
is shown in the many temple
reliefs that show a king facing
one or more gods. The texts
share the orientation of the
representations they
accompany and like the king
faces the gods, so do their
respective texts.
Hieroglyphic writing was used
from the end of Prehistory,
until 396 AD, when the last
hieroglyphic text was written
on the walls of the temple of
Isis on the island Philae. It was
used in many different
situations; for monumental
inscriptions on walls of temples
and tombs, on furniture,
statues, papyrus, jewellery,
sarcophagi and coffins,
amongst others. It could either
be carved into a hard surface,
or written in ink. In time, its
use would become more and
more restricted to religious
texts on temples or in tombs,
or to official royal decrees.
HIERATIC
The earliest known examples of
hieratic are only slightly more
recent than hieroglyphic. It is a
more cursive form of
hieroglyphic, the result of
Deeply carved hieroglyphs in the temple of
Ramesses III at Medinet Habu. The text is
part of the ritual scene where the king,
burns some incense for Amun-Ra.
The variety of possible readings
for one single demotic sign is
far greater than with any
hieroglyphic sign. As a further
evolution of hieratic, demotic
was only written in rows from
right to left. Older demotic
texts were written with a reed
brush, but from the Ptolemaic
era on, the reed pen would be
favoured. Demotic was mostly
used for administrative and
private texts, but also for some
stories and quite exceptionally
in inscriptions. The last known
demotic text is an inscription in
the temple of Philae, dated to
the 5th century AD.
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN
HIEROGLIPHIC, HIERATIC &
DEMOTIC
It is important to note that no
single type of writing would
entirely replace another, but it
would merely restrict the other
writings to specific domains
and be restricted itself to other
domains. Thus demotic would
become the writing of the
administration from the 26th
Dynasty on, but it did not
entirely replace hieratic as a
handwriting, which was still
 quickly drawing signs by hand
on a sheet of papyrus with a
reed brush. Here the original
hieroglyphic signs were
reduced to their simplest form.
Some common signs could even
be reduced to a simple stroke,
smaller signs would become
mere dots or would be
combined into one new sign.
 
 
being used in religious
texts.
Hieratic, on its part, did not
replace hieroglyphic either.
From its beginnings it was
hieroglyphic, but more cursive,
and written by a speedier hand
than hieroglyphic. As the two
writings evolved, practicality
caused hieratic to be used
when a text need not be
written in the slow but detailed
hieroglyphic signs. Therefore
hieratic was used in such
contexts as administrative
texts; texts that were not to be
inscribed on monuments or
funerary objects and texts that
mattered for their contents
only.
(Jacques Kinnaer)