Learn To Read Egyptian Hieroglyphs Mark Collier by Ioannis Marios Kosmas

How to Read

Egyptian Hieroglyphs A STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE TO TEACH YOURSELF

Mark Collier and Bill Manley New illustrations by Richard Parkinson

University of California Press Berkeley

Los Angeles

London

Contents

Introduction

C II ; \'(.· I "' " ~·

0 1 L\ litorni<1 Pit' ''''' Ik rkdt'Y .u td :.tb .-\ 1I ~d es . l ~ .\ li l lH r i .l L n i vt.' rs it ~·

( a; ifor lt ~;.

Ch a p t e r 3 Spec ial wr it ings

vii

Chapter I Hieroglyphs

Pn -s.... Lid.

Loud o n . F n ~ l d l lt l

lt ltr'1d uCli<tn

§2

Reading h ie ro glyp h s

§4

1 -co ns o n ant signs

§5

Arra n geme nt of sign s

ISIJ:\ 0 -52 0-2 1507 -4

§6

Dete rm in atives: mean ing-signs

§7

Dire ct iOIl of w ritin g

§S

qi a nd 1-

§9

" " Uns

§ 10

Adje ctive s

} l llg~d l1s.

Exira d i,lail ifs .md hiero glyph s h ~"

Si ge l Su u dwi ck .

fxacis es ( l iver

d t.·::.ign:

" t~ n Il Cl Ii

Cove r: ln scnp uon

dcd tc.ne.t by

Oil J

ri 11lJI i mp letncr u .

I hi II;S J nt" CS\ or

Kiq : i\ k l: lj uh t lh 'V :1. For .11: cxp l.nr.ui u n ,\ 111o::,CIH!1 u f An , N r-w Yo r k , 1 92 ·~ i ll ( ~ r(' Jl

Brhar n

§ 26 Th e .:fferin g fo rm ula 35

§ 27 The ge nitive 39

t :q,l'priall fwu rary deities 40

Exercise,

an d plurals

.1CC.

.J3

Chapter 4 Scenes and capt ions

§28

C1pti,) m : the m lin irivc

0: l i h'

lt d . 2 ~ . ] I , R l)~l'r "

§ ll

2-con son ant signs

§ 12

, -col15on ant signs

§"

11/', 'lo rd, master'

§ I; RUy.1l na mes a :..I tu les

§1 9 Da tiug

E'(crclSrS 2 3

J<}

§ >2 tn rrod uruo u : descri pti'1n §B Th e pas t: slim,,, r=j ) ~ ,4

A ux ilin ric~

2':

§ 35 Or u isviot: o f th e first perso n s lIffix p ro uuuu

Chu rt {If r,'y ,11 J.VJt.1' tIL~S

5.J

Ch a p te r 5 Descript ion

J<)

§ 16 =" lib, 'a il, cver v. .my' and

!j III Roval epithers

5.2

§ I 5 Wri t ing th e pl ur a l

The [,1f1) lS o f th e inf in itive

Till' cult ofCh iris at Abydo:

§ 13 Ideo gram s: s' lu lld- m e.1ning ; iglls

§ , 0 Verb classe s an d t h e tutm irivc

Chapter 2 More u ses of hieroglyphs

t:i 14 Varia n t w riti ngs Pru .u -d

§ 25 Epithets 35

§2 9 Adur ation

in sc npn ou . se t' p a s t' I ~~ '" T ilt' ,\.k lr n jl()lil.l ll

fu ud .

Ca Iroll

J\: i n ~ S n l\ vnSf e l

Def ect ive o r stra nge writings 34

§ 24 Titles 34

Tra llsl itl'r ati oll

II'

Ch a nge of o rd er: spacillg 32

§23

§3

bv And re w St-oolh rc d Ty pt'<;t ' l ill Me rid ie-nh y ;-.sigci St rnd v·>1c \.. , 1l "' [ J1 ~ h ieroglyphs 1: 0111 th e l~kl1 Forn J("si~lI t'd b v ~:~(.'l )

Ahl rrcvi a : ion s 32

§2 !

§ 22 Change of ord er : prest ige 33

§1

Pilb lish c d oy a n angc- uc ru wh h : 11C Brn isl: ,\1 11 ~ (.·i1 t11 Pres...

D l>~ i g ll l 'd

§2 0

~ 'b

Su ffix

07'

PT d I Wl111 <;

~, 7 'Th e lM')l rcl .u ivc [o rm : .'; J 111 t . J1 (~J)

Names and ki nship terms

ยง54 The' appeal W llte living t i : ยง5) Wishes. expect.'tion s and reqnesis:

the tuiurc s4m( ~fJ Cha p ter 6 Furt her aspec ts of descr ip tion ยง 38 CantinUJI:Oll

ยง57 Pur pose and cau sar iou

ยง 39 Negalion

114

! 15

ยง5S :'-:egaiioll 115 ยง59 for ms of th e srlmly-!" an d the futur e

ยง40 Making someone do ",met hing

Introduction

1 ;ยท1

ยง56 The Abydos formnla

s!f.m (~.')

nยซ

ยง4 1 Depcnd ent pr onou ns 82

ยง60 Adjectives in -y

ยง42 The present tens e

Exercises

ยง43 Other things going on

117

J J9

About the Iront cover

126

Exercises 85

HIerog lyp hic sign-lists for t he exercises I- con sona nt signs

Cha pter 7 Char acterisation

ยง44 Adjectives 9 3 ยง45 Adjectives used as nouns

II Somc common 2-consonant signs

;21

111 SOniC common 3-collsonall! signs

ill

ยง40 Participles

IV Som e conuno n ideograms

ยง47 Participles and epithets ยง48 Participles as no uns

ยง50 Passive pan iciples

ยง52 Relative Iorms again

:nO lOu

144

Pronouns, nouns and adjectives

Egyptian-English vocabu la ry

luI

104

Key to the exercises

148

151

16::

Bibliog raphy a nd furt her readi ng

Chap ter 8 Th e future ยง53 The s4m ty.fy rOflll

129

Refer e nce tables Verb forms

ยง5 1 ill + n oun + participle

Exercises

V Full sign list

128

ยง49 CharaClerisalion with ~ ink 96

Midd!" Kin yd,' m titles

127

II I

Index

I "

_, ,~

Th e aim of th is book is 10 ena ble you to read and e njo y the h ier oglyph s a nd the langu age of ancient Egyp t. It is ch iefly aimed at th ose who ha ve had no previous experience of reading h ieroglyphs, bu t shou ld also benefit ot h e rs who w ould like to im pro ve their kn owled ge in line w ith contemporary research . Above all, this is a pra ctical guide: from the ver y beginning yo u will be in tro d uced 10 ge nu ine hieroglyphic text s. with full su ppo rting exp lan at ions and study aid s. In or de r to do this, we have con centrated on monuments in the British Museum, in particular th e ste la e (or funera ry im criptions ) of Egypt ia n officials, as well as coffin s, romb scen es, and the famou s Abydos King -list of Ram esses II. Each ch apter introdu ce s yo u to a n ew feature of the hie rogl yphic scri pt o r the la ngu age, and ends with copies of in scriptions on which you can pr actise your skills . We belie ve thi s approa ch ha s a number o l advantage s. First. by reading gen uine anci en t inscri ptio ns from the first les so n , yo u can build up yo ur familiarity with the tricks of the trade: everyth in g here (fro m indi vid ual sign s to whole ins criptions) is typi cal of the kind of monuments displa yed , no t j ust in the Bri tish Mu seum, bu t in m use um s through out the world . Secondly, by reading th ese monuments, we hop e yo u will feel a real sen se of achievement at each sta ge of the book. Th ird ly, con centrating on a coh er e nt group of monument s W1]] allow u s to raise so m e im po rt ant topics - suc h a s th e ro le of Osiris, god of the dead, and the Mysteries cele brated at hi s cult ce nt re. Abyd os - which will help yo u to u n de rsta nd th e cu ltural backgro u nd of these monumel1ls. Rather tha n cra m m ing in unnecessary de rail. w e will give you plem v of pr acti ce in reading hieroglyphs, and introduce yo u to the most comm on fea tures o r th e ancient Egypt ian langu age as it appea rs on these monuments. Th is will give yo u a firm basis on which 10 buil d, if yO ll later move on to stud y other genr es of the we alth of te xts whi ch surv ives from an cient Egypt -literature, religiou s wisdom . ro yal de cree s, or whateve r. Th is book has developed a lit of a course wh ich we h ave been te ach in g sinc e 199 2. It wa s clear to US back the n tha t the exis ting introductions to ancient Egyptian were either 100 bri ef or 100 det ailed , and th at there

Int rodu ai on vii i

How

read E.qypli an iIie,,',qlyphs

studying at hom e. We have taught the co urse in va n ou s guises for seve ral gro ups a nd insti tu tio ns: the Unive rsity of Londo n Cen tre for Ext raMural $1 udtes. the Egypt Exploration Societ y. the Universit y o f Glasgow. th e Workers Edu ca tion al Associa tion. the Sussex Egyptol ogy Societ y a nd the Tha me s Valley Egyptological Soc iety at the University of Rea ding . At the Bloomsbu ry Summer Sch oo l in part icu lar. we h av e had th e cha nce 10 introduce people to hiero glyp hs in the ho t-house of a single. conce ntrared wee k of stu dy. Th is book OWl' S a great deal 10 the co nstr uctive feed ba ck of the stu de n ts at all these ven ues . wh o have helped us (som eti mes forced u s' ) to re fin e and clari fy the text. and as a resul t it is m uc h cleare r a nd more accessible. Altho ug h it woul d be impossible 10 ac knowledge so many by name . w e are immensely gra teful 10 each a nd eve ryo ne of them for the ir en th usiasm an d feedba ck. and for encourag in g US in our belief th at th is hook - and th e approach it em bodies - is a worthwh ile pr oject. In developing th is p rojec t into book form. we h ave ha d the good for tun e to be able 10 draw o n the kn owled ge a nd sup por t of ma ny peop le. At the British Museum, Vivian Davi es. Keeper of Egyptian Antiq ui ties . first brou gh t th e pro ject to th e a ttention of British Museum Pre ss. and encour aged us 10 ma ke use of Richar d Parkinson 's exp ert ise in copyi ng hier oglyph ic mo nume nts: Stephen Quir ke freely sh ared hi s co n side rable knowled ge o f Middle Kingdom officialdom. as well as e ncourage ment and th e first roun d of drinks: a s noted. I'll' are especially grateful to Rich ar d Par kin son lo r hi s outs tanding line dra wi ngs. At Bloom sbu ry Su mme r Sch ool. we would like to than k th e Director. Christo ph e r Coleman. who allowe d LIS ca rte blanc he 10 dev elop lan guage course s. a nd a lso his admirab le staff fo r diligen tly keep ing u s all (tu tor s and stu de n ts) alive . Seve ra l colleagu es have h elped u s to teac h hie ro glyph s at the Sch ool: Ludwig Mo renz. Toby Wilkinson. and especially Jose -Ram on PerezAccino , who is now a regu lar partner in o ur teaching. At the Univ e rsity of Lon do n Cent re for Extra -Mu ral Stu dies. our grateful th a nk s are due to Tony Legge and Lesle y Han niga n. who allowed us th e freedom 10 dev el op t he cou rse as I'll' Si\W fit. a nd also to Louise Lam be. Ma rk drafted his co ntrib u tions to the boo k wh ile a resident Fellow at All Souls College . Ox ford. and completed th em afte r h is a ppo intm ent to the Schoo l of Arch aeology. Classics and Orienta l Stu dies. Unive rsity of Liverp oo l; h e would like to ackn owledge the sup port o f both these institution s. His work on th e langu age sections of the hook has deve loped in ta ndem w ith his comprehensive u ndergradua te gramma r co urse. tntrodu ction to Middl e f.:qyptiml . whic h w ill be published sepa rately. We arc gra tefu l to the stal! of the British Mu seum Press. not least for agreeing to take on such a complex book ; above all our editor. Carolyn Jo nes . for he r de dicati on and goo d h umour in dealing with su ch a

deman ding project . We wou ld specially like to thank Nigel Strudwick for undert ak ing th e Eng lish and Eg~'Ptia n type settin g. and Helen Stru dwic k for correc ting proofs in Nigel's abse nce . Finally o ur than ks are due to Ma rk Mechan . wh o prepared th e map o f Abydo s on page 55. It is customary to ad d a fina l wor d about part n ers. nut in th e present case ou r love a nd gen u in e heartfelt th anks a rt' due 10 our wive s. Jo an ne Timpson an d Kathy Mc Fall. w ho h ave put LIp with us, a nd th is pro jec t. for a long tim e . In part icu lar. Joa n ne. as well as toping with the a rrival of Oliver a nd a preoccupi ed husba nd. still fou nd t ime to com m en t o n the fina l dra ft. Ma rk Collier Bill Manley

t.h apter J

Illustrations

The lin e drawin gs of ih e stelae re- prod uced in th is boo k were d rawn by Richa rd Par kinson, Dep artment of Egyptian Ant iq uities , British Mu se um . The sce nes from ihe Middle Kin gdo m io mbs .n Me ir ar e from A.M. Bla ckm an, The Rock Tom bs of Mm . vols I and 11. Egypt Expl or ati on Societ y. Lon do n 19 14 an d 1915; w e ar e graieful to ih e Society [or pe rm issio n 10 reprodu ce rhem . The ph oio graphs on pages 31. 44 . 63. 64. 108 a nd 125 a re suppli ed court esy o f th e Tru ste e s of the British Muse um . C Briti sh Museum Photograp hic Service. Ma rk Meeh an prepa red th e map of Abyd os o n page 55.

A uth ors' note: Due 10 refurbish m ent wo rk a1 the British Museum duri ng 199 7 -8 . it has not alwa ys bee n possible fo r the auth ors 10 collate their own co pies again st ihe orig ina l m onument s.

Hieroglyphs

ยง 1 Introduction Hier oglyphs a n ' pict ures use d as signs in writ in g. Man y depict living crea iures o r o bjec ts (o r t h e ir pa n s ):

:it

scale d mart

<:::;-::>

mou th

wat e r-pot

And . as yo u might expect, som e signs rep rese nt th e object th ey dep ict . So. for exa m ple, the mouth -sign -=--> is used 10 write the wo rd for m o uth , us ually in combinatio n wli h a stroke -sign (see ยง 13 belo w fo r ihi s sign ):

mou th

Ho wever, ver y few wo rds a re act ual ly wrinen in ihi s way . Inste ad. hiero glyphi c pio ur e -sigu s a re used to convey the sound (and meaning ) of th e an cient Egyptian lan guage, j ust as th e letters of our own alphabet con ve y ihe sou nds o f Eng lish . So. fo r exa mple. ihe hi e roglyph s abov e ibe figure roastin g the goo se do not rea d ' reed. ch ick. ma ti, face ' eic.. which ma kes no sen se; rat h er, i hey co nvey ihe sounds of var iou s words in Egyptian w hich toge ther have the follo wing m ea ni ng:

' f h ave be en roast tu g since th e beginnin g of rime - I hav e neve r see n ihe like of thi s goo se' (Meir Ill, pI. 23 )

The pu rpose of this boo k is 10 sho w yo u j us: h o w this is done ,

§2 Reading hieroglyphs Ho w then ca n hi e rog lyp hs be read to sho w us somet hing of th e so u n d of an a nci e nt Egyptian word ? The easiest way to sec thi s is throu gh look in g at a real e xample . Th e sign n depicts a sche ma tic house (in plan ) a nd is used to w rite th e word fo r 'ho use ' as fo llo ws ( I is th e strok e -sign al rea dy noted abo ve):

cont ribu tes a single sound towards the readi ng of a word, rather like th e let ter s of o ur o wn alp hab e t:

§3 Transliteration In th e last secti on we rendered L( in to our writi ng syste m as pro It is the norm al pr actice am o ng Egyp tol ogi sts to transliterate the soun ds of a h iero glyp hic w ord in thi s wa y. It is a very go od discipline to get u sed to thi s right from th e beginning a n d we en courage you alw a ys to transliterat e when reading . The o n ly rea l odd ity a bo u t thi s is th at hieroglyphs ar e n ot us ed to wri te vowels (a, e. i . 0 , u ), on ly co nso na nt s; a ltho ug h thi s wi ll seem a bit stra nge a t first. yo u sho u ld soo n get used to it.

§4 t-consonant signs It is now tim e to get yo u started readin g hicr oglvnhs for vourself. The m ost

SA Y

SIGN

it a

4 44or \\

TRAN S -

SA Y

SIGN

ur.

TRAN'SLIT.

w/u

SAY

} orl:'

go out, leave

In thi s w ord , n is no lo n ger bein g u sed to depict a h ou se, but rath er to 'pict u re : the sou n d combin ati on pr (t his is discussed in Cha pter 2) . Put more formally, n is being used as a sound -sign or phonogram. This is terme d th e rebus principle; it is as if we were to writ e th e Eng lish word belief wi tlt a picture of a bee a nd a leaf as . . ~ . On thi s basis hieroglyphs ca n be used lO in d ica te sounds rather than things and can thus be used in word s quite unrelated in meaning to th e objects they depict. Th e word n Jj pr, 'go o ut', also displa ys an other tWOsign s w ho se use will be ex plainedmore fully lat er. Th e m outh -sign <r> reads r as it did in ~ r 'mou th ' , alt ho ug h it has not hi n g to do with 'mou th ' here, be ing used inst ead to complement or clarif y the reading of n pr (this is discussed in Cha pter 2 ). The walking legs Jj are used as a determinative, a sign sometimes pla ced at th e e n d of a wo rd to give a genera l idea of iTS meaning, here of moti on (see §6 belo w ).

TRA NS irr.

SIGN

house

As it happen s, thi s w ord is ba sed on th e tw o consonant s p and r combin ed to give proWe sh all di scuss t he way the a ncie nt Egyptian word is put in to o ur o wn wr iting system - how it is transliterated - in §§3 a n d 4 below . Now, th e re is another wo rd whi ch ma ke s use of th e sa me so und combination p a n d r. the word for 'go o ut' , ' leav e". In hier oglyphs thi s is written as: ~ Jj

Hieroglyphs

How to read Egyptian hieroglyphs

tj d

~ or _

We sh all co nce nt ra te here o n the reading of these signs . If yo u wish to iden tify the objec ts th e signs depic t. co nsu lt the fu ll sign-list be gin n ing on p. 129 . The proper valu e of ea ch sign is the transllteranon value given in the seco nd co lu mn; th e th ird column simpl y give s a w ay in which we , as En glish spea kers, can voc a lise the se sign s fo r our o wn co nve n ie nce . Most of the se sounds resembl e their En glish co u nt e rp a rt s and ca n be transliterated dir ectly int o familiar letters from our ow n alphabet. How e ver, som e l-co ns onant sign s ar e used to represent so u n ds no t pre sent in spo ke n or written En glish , and th ese require specially a da p ted transl iterat ion sym bols of th eir o wn: like trying to say 'ah ' while swallowing. Made by clenching the throat mu scles: to imitate, say ' eto ' wi th finger on thr oat

--'

glottal stop, like Cockney 'bo'::le' for 'bottle'

emphatic h. made in the th roat

€>

like Scot tish 'loW'

-= b

like Germa n 'ig !'

as in '.illip'

back k. made furthe r back in the mout h llke qunc'

like French 'dieu or

Ii English 'lok~

Each l -co nsonant sign repre sents a di snnci sou nd in th e ancie n t Egyp tian

Hieroglyph s

H,'\\' ((1 read Fgy pti,m hieroalyphs

inclu de all th e va rious dot s and da she s wh en trauslitcraung - th e y ar e not optional. In tra nslile rat ion you shou ld use ih c proper symbo l given in th e second column of ihe table on p. 3. This is tr ue eve n if we find it difficult to tell the diffe rence between tw o sou nds . Fo r exampl e. k a nd k are quite difIcrcru sounds in Egypt ian , even though disting uishing betwe en th em is rather difficu lt for us as English speake rs. The re is no need to tr y an d pron ounce ancie ru Egyptia n words exactl y (in any case this is imp ossible, since tile vowels are no t written ant for us ). However, it is useful 10 be able to read out yo ur translite ra tions and vocalise wh ole word s, rather than spellin g iheru out sign by sign. So, a p urel y con verniona l pronuncia tion, ent irely for our convenienc e, is usua lly ado pt ed . These are th e rende ring s given in the third column in the table on p. 3. Man y signs have value s si mila r to lette rs of our own alp hab et an d pr esent n o problem, whe reas the m ore un usual one s ar c usua llv given a convenient Eng lish approxima tion. We also need to add vowels. The con ven tion normall y ad opt ed is to in sert a n ' e' between ea ch con son ant , except in the cases of J and -, where 'a' is u sed, and '.1', w here ' u is some time s used beca use the y are easier to pro no u nce . Onc e aga in, th ese pro nu nciations are pur ely a practical con venience an d are n ot intend ed to bear an y relat ion to spoke n Egypt ian . For example, the follow ing is tile word for 'birds', ipd w (a wri ting discussed in §8) , given with its tran sliteration an d its English m eaning: ~~~ ~ .~ ipdw birds

a nd then carry on as n onna!. You w ill see a number of exam ples of group ing throughout the rest of this chapter. Yon may wis h io read this paragraph again whe n readin g §7 on th e dire ction o f wr iting. At th is point, y vil may wish tc attemp t Exercises 1.1 and 1.2

:it

man and his occupations

t51

god, king

sun, light. lime

.f'.

motion

s, @

'- ~11-< -, J

The nam e is wr itt en from le ft to righ t, sta rting with the s (I) . But notice ih ar the signs maki ng up th e na me are gro up ed tog et her, so that the 11 (2), as a long thi n sign, is placed ab ove both th e tall thin signs fm b (3) an d I (4). form in g a hloc k. The rule for such arra ngements is qu ite simple: wh en you

<'1l

PI', to -I I.

§6 Determinatives: meaning-signs So far w e have stu d ied words w ritte u ou t wit h so u nd -signs alone. Howe ver, in hieroglyph ic wr iting words a re so me tim es writte n wit h mea nin g-sign s, or detemlinan'ves, pla ced at th e end of the word afte r th e sou n d-signs . Th e followin g a re examp les of some com mo n deterrnina tives an d words writte n with them:

Pur ely for o ur o w n con venien ce we cou ld pron o unce th is 'aped u'.

§5 Arrangement of signs It may alre ad y have str uck you, from looking at the exa mples discu ssed so far, that hieroglyph s ar e no t arrang ed one afte r the oth er as in o ur ow n alpha betic syste m, but in balanced groups or 'blocks' arra nged to fill the ava ilable space. In part icu lar, so me signs ar e placed ov er othe rs in ord er to fill the spa ce in a mo re plea sing m anne r. As an e xam ple , her e is th e name of t he official Senbi (Sl/bi) fru rn Exercise 1.8 on p. 13:

~ kJ. I 'C'> • -~ -cz»

ma n skr

(ihe god) Saker

~ }0

!lrw

day

ru~ j .J)

h sb

send

small bird used for bad, weak or lillie things

JQ ~

bill

bad. evil

iown. village

LlQr@

kls

Qis (place-name)

I)et erminatives do not con tribute to the sounds o f th e word and so ar e not transliterated . From our point of view, th ey simp ly help US to ge t som e genera l idea of the me aning of a word . A lar ge n um ber of signs ca n be used as dere rnunati ves. but for tw o reason s thi s Iact sho uld not get in yo ur wa y. First . as alrea dy m ent ioned, we do n ot tr an sliter ate detcrrnin attvc s. so they do not need 10 be at th e centre of your att enti on. especially ea rly on in your stud ies. Seco nd ly, in th e ins cription s yo u will be reading in thi s book det erminaiivcs are quite frequ ently om itte d . Howe ver, if yo u a re bothe red by a particular deter minative, consu lt the fnll sign -list begin ning on p. 129 . Two oth er co mm on deterrninati ves req uire a little more de scription . ~ (not 10 be co nfused with 'ma n' ) is the mean ing -sign used with w ord s for wha t can be taken in or expe lled through th e mo uth , either literally (ea ting, speaking) or met aphoricall y (em ot io ns, attitude s. thinkin g) as well as the rele vant activ ities con ne cted with th ese, for exam ple:

:it

Qf ~

n is

call our. summon

Hieroglyphs

How 10 read Egyplian hieroglyphs

The mos t comm on determinati ve. however, is ~, th e papyrus ro ll, u sed fo r abstract word s or concepts. Alth ough su ch words could Dot easily be re pre se nt ed by a picture. t he y could be written down, for e xa m ple o n papyrus, thus acq ui ring a tangi ble ph ysical fonn . This writt en form co u ld then be depicted in the shape of the rolled -up pa pyrus sheet:

r1 ~

S1!b

n~~

siJ r counsel, plan, conduct. ma nner

health. healthy

IJI

thingts)

The word fJ l is often written w ith the plura l strokes I I I (see §8 belo w) , although it is not itself a plura l word . Noti ce th at , for reasons of spaci n g, the papyrus roll can be positi oned ei ther hori zontally or ve rt ically - yo u will find th at a nu mb er of long thi n signs ca n be arranged like th is. Som et imes a word ca n ha ve m ore th an one de termi n at ive : -

.,t,.

"l l'jf..l!f

nds

individual, ordinary man, person (from root meaning 'little, small'}

Having a det e rm in at lve thus gives us a seco nd w ay of getting at a w ord _ a general clue as to its m eaning . Th is has the advantage th at we can disti n guish between two word s written with the same sou n d-s igns : ~),} ~

fi ll'

old, the old

4),}1

i llv

roast

AI this point. you may wish

10 attempt

Put another wa y, signs n or mall y loo k tow ard s th e beginni ng of th e te xt . So, if we look at the foll owing sce ne. the hieroglyphs a re to be read in the o rde r numbered. Notice that th e ori entation of a figure helps, part icularl y when t he re a re n ot many signs w ith a clear 'front' :

c:::J /

80 J

Offe ring scene from th e tomb of Se nbi at Me ir (read from right to left ) (Me ir I. pI. 9)

adoration, praise

As we sh all see in Ch apt er 2, th ere are othe r fea tures of t he h ieroglyphic scrip t whi ch tend to ensure that d iffer ent words ar e w ritt en d iffer e ntl y ev en when th ey share the sam e sound s. In practice, however. as on the monumental in scription s we shall be study ing in thi s book, de terrninat ives ar e oft en omitted . Fo r e xample, in Exe rcise 1.2 yo u a re aske d to tr anslit era te the followi ng w ords (fro m th e ro asting scene in § I) without der erminauves. They a re sho w n h er e alo ng side ex a m ples with a determinati ve :

k il' or k il' \l.

ticul ar , th ey often Io rm ed a fundam ental pa rt of the ae sth et ic scheme of a monument . Alth ough we sha ll co n tin ue to p resent the hie roglyp hs in leftto- righ t o rde r wi thin the text of t his book, when yo u stu dy real ex am ples of insc riptio ns , these may well be or gan ised fro m right to left (t h is is in fac t th e more usu al directio n ) and poss ibly in col um n s. Fort unately, th er e is a ve ry sim ple trick to reading hieroglyp hs in the right o rde r:

Read into thefroIII orfaces of the various signs, and f rom above 10 below.

On e important word ofte n written with the papyrus roll determinative is: ~ ,~

Exercise ].3on p. 11.

§7 Direction of writing 50 far. we hav e ordered the h ieroglyphs foll owing our ow n syste m of w ritin g, i.e . wr itin g th e m in lin es fro m le ft to right. However. hie ro glyphs w ere

In thi s ca se, the inscription is fitted in to th e space surro un ding the figure. The ov e ra ll d irection of writing is indicated bes t by t he foot -sign (10): to read into the from of this sign we n eed to read from right to left, the direction we would also n eed to look in to th e face of th e acco m pa nying figure. Verticall y, we a lways read from top to bottom (se e §5 ab ove), so th e text begin s at the to p right. Th e first three signs read horizontally above th e top of the foreleg of beef ca rried by the figure . Th e re m aining signs th en read down the column, but still from righ t to left within each bloc k, as indicat ed by nos 4 · 13. You ma y well recognise the na me of Senbi di scu ssed in §5 above . Com pa re th e right · to- le ft wri tin g of this na me (nos 8- 11) w ith the left- to-right orde ring given in §5 (take n from a noth er inscripti on in Senbi's to mb) . To in crea se yo ur co n fide nc e in thi s skill, a full vocabu lary fo r thi s inscription is prov id ed at th e end of this chapte r. so tha t yo u ca n pra ctise reading it for yo urself. As an ex ample read ing from left to righ t. we can lo ok on ce more at the inscript ion we use d to introduce this book , show n on p . 8 wit h th e o rde r of

Hieroglyphs

flow IL' read Egyptian hieroglyp hs

indicate the plural. th e -wendi n g is often simply le ft out of the writing (a nd transliterated in brackets), lea vin g a m ore com pa ct grou p o f h ierogly phs:

~ '.

Me}

(

In this ex ample, there a re two ro ws ot inscript ion s. an upper on e which is rea d fir st and a lo we r one, read se co nd . Notice , once again , tha t the hieroglyphs have been fined a ro u nd the figure. So, Line I reads from left to righ t horizonta lly (rea din g into th e fac e of the chi ck, the sea ted man, th e ow l an d the bird in flight) an d the n at th e end turns the co rn e r, as it w ere, dr opping d own to fini sh in a co lumn with nos 13 - 15. As with o ur w riting sys te m , we the n ret u rn to th e sta n of th e ne xt line and read a lo n g on ce more (in to the face of signs suc h as the seat ed man and the chick ). As these examples al so indi cate, hieroglyphic signs were placed in a continuous seq ue n ce wi th out an y pu nc tuation marks o r word spacings. No do u bt thi s will see m quite intimidating at first, b ut we hope to sho w you by exam ple th at. as you bec om e fam iliar with the script an d gai n a gr asp of u sef ul word s. thi s is nothing like as bad as it mi gh t see m . Exe rcise 1.8 (see pp , 13- 14 ) will give you fu n he r practice in thi s skill.

ยง8

a n d } wa n d plura ls Hieroglyphic writ in g is q uite ec on o m ical. Along with vow els, t he conso nant s ~ i and } ware often o m itted in w riting, except a t th e beginning of word s. This is parti cularly tru e for grammatical ending s. For e xa mple, the plur a l is in dicated by a -w cnding (just as it is typ ica lly in d ica ted in En glish by adding '-s', as in 'bird ', 'birds') ; th is is som e tim es fully writt e n ou t, bu t m ore o fte n the -IV is omitted. The word for 'bird ' (singu la r ) is: ~ ~ ?~

Jpd

bird, fowl

ยง9 N o uns Lea rn ing to read h ie ro glyp hs is, however. on ly o n e pa rt of readin g a h ieroglyph ic in scription, esp eciall y if yo u aspire to making rea l progre ss with yo ur s tud ies. Since h ie rogly phs were used by th e a n cie nt Egyp tians to write down thei r own language, it is n eces sary to b uild up a familiarity wi th h ow words ar e pu t toge th er in Egyp tian . Through ou t th is bo ok, w e will in tro du ce you step by ste p to th e m ost common featur es of ancie n t Egyptian w hich yo u a re likel y to m ee t in th e sort o f in scrip tio ns stud ied he re , Some of the ways Egyp tia n works ar c rathe r like Eng lish, and so will see m qu ite n ormal to you, but so m e of its fea tures ar e n ot as we w ould expect fro m En glish , and will need a little more discu ssion and thought. As a sta rt in g point, it is u sefu l to k now so m e th in g a bout no u ns in Egy ptia n (nouns are the words typically used to refer to pe ople, object s, living th in gs a n d th e like). In Egyptia n , all nouns a re t rea te d as being eith er masculin e o r feminin e, even if th ere is n o obv io u s rea son (to us ) wh y this sh o uld be the case; yo u may be fa m ilia r with a sim ila r convention in French. Fortunatel y, this d istin ction is ve ry ea sy to Spo t in ancient Egyp ti an, sin ce feminin e nouns alm ost alw ays end in <:> - L, whe reas m asculine nouns ra re ly do . For example :

'it I

man

woma n

Also th ere a re no special words for 'th e' or 'a ' in cla ssical Egyp tian and so I S 'man ' ca n mean e ith e r ' a man ' o r 'th e m an ' (although one or the o th e r often suggests itself in transla tion into Engl ish ). On e feature o f Egyp tia n w hic h is rather like En glish is the usc of pr epositions iwo rds which are 'p re-po sed ', or put before, o th ers) to in dic a te loca tions (i n ' ). direction s ('tow a rds ' ), tim es (' d ur ing' ), accomp animent (' With ') and how things are d one ('b y' ). As in Engli sh , th e sim plest preposi tions tend to be very short word s and are wri tt en wi th I- co nso na nt signs :

'l!

m in. with , from, as 11

For o u r co n venie nc e thi s w ord ca n be sou nde d 'aped '. Th is is made plural by a dd ing on a -w, A plural determi native of th ree str ok es I , i is a lso usua llv a dded. Since the de termi native I I , su ffices to

)

<a>

toj w ar ds) tpeople). for

to twa rds ) rplacc t. a r

Q~ J ~ ,, ~

loll'

with

How to read Egyptian hieroqlyphs

Hieroglyphs

For example: ~ C(

1.2 Words from the roasting scene m pr

in the house

n snbi

for Senbi

the house

r pr

in snbi

by Senbi

In the roasting scene used in our introduction, some words are written out with I-consonant signs. Transliterate the following and see if you can isolate the words in the original scene in ยง I: goose

roast

ยงlO Adjectives An adjective is a word used to describe a noun, to give it a particular property or quality (e.g. 'a stupid man', 'a clever woman'). The distinctive feature about adjectives in Egyptian is that they follow their nouns and also they agree with the noun - if the noun is feminine and ends in -L, then so does the adjective:

1!t IJ~3i-.

s bin

the/an evil man

:].J~~ 51 bini the/an evil woman

1.3 Gods' names The names of certain gods are typically written with I-consonant signs. Transliterate the following. Once again, the traditional English rendering will help to guide you in most cases (although 'Anubis' is derived from a Greek version of the god's name - 'Inpu' or 'Anpu ' might be a more conventional rendering into English). Remember to use the proper transliteration symbols from the second column in the table in ยง4. Any unfamilar sign (such as the seated dog) is a determinative and so not to be transliterated:

The word for 'this' behaves in a similar manner: iJ

ihls (masc.)

this

Like adjectives, pn and tn follow their noun and agree with,it.iAn example this occurs in the inscription used at the beginning of this book, where the text ends with the phrase 'this goose':

-=- 3;> ~

srw pn

Anubis

Hekel

Ptah

Sebek or Sobek

(fern.)

this goose

Exercises

Ra or Re

Seker or Soker

'Sobek' and 'Saker' are usually rendered with an 'a' because of the Greek forms of these names. There is nothing of importance in this traditional practice. Many readers of this book will be familiar with the famous pharaoh Akhenaten. his wife Nefertiti. and Akhenaten's innovative religious programme centred on the solar disc, the Aten. In hieroglyphs, the Aten is written as follows. Once again, try to transliterate:

1,1 Kings' names You are now in a position to read the names of several Old Kingdom kings. First here is the name of the famous builder of the Great Pyramid of Giza, who'is usually known by a Greek adaptation of his name as 'Cheeps'. In hieroglyphs his name is written as follows (we have given you a conventional rendering in English afterwards to guide you in your transliteration; for the use of the name-ring or cartouche see p. 20):

!~}-~~

Khufu

Here are two further names of Old Kingdom kings. The first is one of two names of a 5th dynasty king, Djedkare Isesi. Which is given here? The second is a name shared by two kings of the 6th dynasty; (11-= y', .~=cJ)

f~O ~'j

Aten 'Aten. like 'Anubis', shows the alternative conventional use of 'a' for initial I (Tten: would be the other way of pronouncing this word in English).

1.4 Transliterating words Transliterate the following words written with I-consonant signs and determinatives (any sign which is not a I-consonant sign is a determinative and need not be transliterated); individual. ordinary man, person

name

festival

bad, evil

Hieroqlyphs

How I<' read Egyptiall hieroqlyphs

Poker (place-name. see p. 55 )

thro wing (the throw su ck in fow ling scenes )

go north.

staff

\J,-<,_"~119

go do wn st rcarn

sky

fish

garment

alabaste r

for eleg (join! o f meal u se d in offe ring s )

shoou ng . spe aring

1.5 Writin g out words in hieroglyphs Write o u t the following w ords in h ie ro glyp hs usin g th e determi native su p plied . Re m ember to a rr a ng e th e h ie ro glyph s iruo groups as noted in § 5 a bove :

Y'"

fall

!J em

13}

offid al

kr st

g C

(v.)

sea l. dose:

(n .) a/ th e

seal

Th e sce ne on p , 12 wa s u sed to illu stra te th e use o f h ierog lyphs w ritt en in rig ht -t o -le ft order in §7 a bo ve . Ha ve a go at tr ansla ting the cap tio n w it h t he hel p o f ihc vo cabu lary pr o vided a n d the o rde ri ng o f the sig ns given in §7. (Th e co n te x t of th e scen e is that th e figu re is offering the for eleg of a sla ug h tered bu ll 10 th e to m b owner Senbi: ih e inscri pnon relates h is spcerh .} This ex e rcise is useful in illu strating a co u ple of ot her p oint s as well. Fir st, th e se a re d ra w ings o f re a l hie ro glyphs found o n the wall of th e to m b of Sen b i a n d nOI the vi a ndard hi croglvph s of a font suc h a s tha t u sed in thi s book ( rec a ll ho w Eng lish wnue n le t te rs di ffer a little from sta nda rd lyp e Iom s) . This is rea lly just a m att er of ge tt ing u sed to v ari ab ilit y. particula rly in th e infill of sig n s - u se the vo ca bu lary p ro vi de d to see the st anda rd hi e ro glyp hs . Se con d ly, the inscrip tion con tains w ords wr itten in other wa ys than with 1co ns o n ant signs wh ich yo u will n ot be ab le to re ad thro u gh at pre se n t. In stead . u se a 'cut -and -pa ste ' approach. re lyin g o n u s to iso late th e co r rect gro u ps of hieroglyph s in th e voca bulary and to give their co rr ect reading and m eani ng. Yo u sho u ld JUSt ' cu t -a n d -pa st e ' the rel ev ant grou ps in to yo ur translations. By t he end o f i h e n e xt cha p te r. even these w ord s should be clear to you.

burial

VOCABULAR Y I ' -~--" '-~l-"- !J ' n. -v- -- - · _..__._._.

.- - - -- - - _._- -

rhe j ust ified

1.6 Trans lation Transliteratr an d translate th e foll owing phra ses:

Io~= : c::::J

~ r ~lft t~J

~=rJ~

1.7 Trans lati ng tile offe ring scene

c::=J

bps

foreleg (o f ox in o fferin g!

USl'O

k!J

n ki n

for the ka of

snbi

. . Se n bI (na me)

l'1'j

tmr -hrw is use d like our o w n R.LP as a phrase re ferri ng to t he blessed dead: offerin gs a re made to the ka- spiri t o f the dec ea sed.) Not e the int eraction o f an a n d text in th is example. wh ere rhe foreleg is an int egral pa rt o f the sce n e, but als o serves a s the determinati ve of the w ord IIp.( (it can be ' rea d ' a t th e co r rect poi nt o f th e in script ion at the e nd of th e word fo r fo re leg \. Th is inscri p t ion co m es from the Mi d d le Kin gdo m to m bs at M c ir, th e ce m ete ry site for Q is. the principal to w n o f the 14t h Up p er Egyptia n n ome (p ro vin ce ). We s ha ll m ake us e o f ihese to m bs. part icularly th at of rh e gov er n o r Scnbi, for sce nes to su p plem e nt your st ud y of th e M idd le Kin gdo m s te lae in the British :\l u seu m . 1.8 Study exercise: A [ish inq and fo wling scene Tra nslite ra te an d translat e the label s abo ve the scen e on p . 14 usin g the vocabula ry a n d n otes be low the picture .

How to read Egypriall hi eroqlyphs

Chapter 2

i~ 'I~ L

More uses of hieroglyphs fbF' 1

The aim of this chapt er is to introducey ou ro the 2路con,;onan r an d s-consonant siq ns, which provide much ofthe sub tlety and flexibility of rlre hierogly ph icscript. Ir will a lso su pply yo u with the inf orma tion needed to read the names of mriou,;famous k ings of ancien t Egypt. including the names on the Abydos k ina -list ill the British M useu m .

:r '

'"' I

搂 11 2- conso n ant sig n s The second major gro u p o f signs a re th e 2 -co nsona nt signs, wh ich contribuie tw o consonants 10 the read ing of a wor d. We have already see n an exam ple in th e use of the 2- consonant sign n p r in th e wor d n.IJ pr 'go (out)' . The 2 -consona nt signs are rather com mon - ove r cight y~e used in th is book - and becom ing famili a r with the m repre sents th e major hurd le to be ove rco me in rea ding hieroglyph s. The sign -list on p. 128 gives a table of the most comm on 2路con sonant signs used in the inscri ptions studied . and we shall a lso in trod uce several at a time in the vo cabula ries to the va rio us exe rcises to allow yo u to become familia r wi th them in conven ient number s. Th e follow ing are som e com mo n exam ples of 2- con sonant signs to get you start ed, a long w ith some com mon wor ds in wh ich the y occur (in cludi ng pr a gain so th at you can see how the ta ble wo rks):

-= I

'?~

EX... MPI.E

SIGN r

3&, wr

=~\~ 3&,

EXAMPLE

SIGN

' I

great, large

)r.

)r. t

bsk

servant

gr ea t. im portan t

"'Z.

:;;: ~

love, want

;:: .f.l

go out

ill

"!.

!J'

thousand

~~7

lord , ma ster

U:M

praise, favour

Cons ide r the wor d bsk 'se rva n t', ln its most basic for m, th e word is huil t up through usin g th e 2'COJlSona nt sign hi followed hy the t -rnn so nan t sign '=' k , w hich togethe r give the read ing of th e word as bsk (it may also be fin -

5r-

th e word refers to ~ per so n ). No lic, ' ho w th is ~ i \'es a mort' visua lly di stinctive writ in g for the word th a n if it were si mply w ritten out wi th I- conson ant signs . Alt h ou gh w e mi gh t view th e num be r o f 2-Cc1ll 50Jlam ,i gn s as rath er forbidd ing, it i s no thing compared to the cnu rruou s number of w ords which an y language con iaius. By having a mixed syste m in w h ich th e y ca n he w ritte n w it h differin g co m bm a n ons of h ie ro glyph s, w o rd s ta ke o n more di stin ct iv e and memorab le w rit in gs than if they w ere sim ply writte n o ut in a n .Ilphabl"l-li ke syste m (think of the dilli cultivv of En glish spcIling "). The secon d no tice able poin t in th e w ritin g of so m e of th ese words is that I -co ns on ant sign s ofte n occ u r a s sou nd comp lem ents flesh in g out th e rea din g of a 2- co n sonaJ1l sign , he lp in g to jog the m em ory, as it w ere , about its read in g. Th er e is a sim ple rule about thi s: if a I-con sonant sign s ha res the sa me value a s a n acc om pa n yi n g 2 -co n so n a n t sign . then thi s I -co n sona nt sign is not read a s ~ se p a rat e so u n d. So , if w e look at ~ .J', aga in , we read pr and not prr even t hough it is w ritten wi th [ J pr + <z> r. beca us e r jogs

co=

our m e m ory abou t t he r of pro If. however. t h e j- co n so naiu sign ha s a different valu e [rom th e sou n ds of an accompa n ying 2 -co n so n an t sign , then it sh o u ld be read a s a sepa rat e so un d . So , if we lo ok at the w o rd bsk, the n the I -consonant sign,=, k must be n -ad separatel y. sinc e the sign on ly reads /)1 on its

5r i

§ 12 3- con sonanl si g ns TI1<' fin al maj or group of sound- signs a rc the 3-co n soll ant sign s, w h ich co n tribut e th ree conso n a nt s to th e readin g of a word . 3·con so n ant sign s a re also often a ccompanied b v one or two 1-o1l1sonant signs as so un d complcmcms helping to flesh ow t he reading o f thr sign . Then- ar e far fi-wvr of t hese signs a n d a lso man y o f th e m a re eruhl emarir - tlI ,' \' arc used o n lv ill cert a in words and an' oft e n ronne r u -ri t o. or com e to DC' el;1hlc-ms for, tll'e word s in w h ic h they a rc used . Per ha ps the m ost fa mous ex ample o f th ese signs is ' 11[1, 'a n kh', use d in th e word for 'life ':

SIG ~

EXAM PLE

' Ilil

nf r

'" """=

,, -

(' n[I life

r:XANIPLE

SIG I'

It ) r

1~=

w5r

strung, powerful

1"- nfr

good

11fT

ntr

god

!lIp

="=

htp

rest, satisfy

til

I;rr

I;pr

become

m r:

=:~

n B f'

true, ri ght. proper

i m \'

!} ~

~~ ->

0 0

hrw voice

own . So read btk , Fro m our poi nt o f vie w, th is m ight se em an u n n ecessa rily complex w ay to go abou t w riting words, b ut th e re a re a n umber of ad vant age s. Fo r ex ample, su ch a syste m provides the flexibility 1O be able 1O write word s in blo cks as n ot ed in §5 . More impo rta n tl y, it allow s a go od deal of flcxibili tv in th e a ct u al choice of signs u sed; th is w a s parti cularl y usef ul in view of the fact t h at m ost h ie ro glyphic in scr iptions w ere written on fixed a n d infl exible

Th e tw o word s 1111' and [trw ha ve already been m e t in th e p hrase mr- h rw ' tr u e of voice ' or 'j u stifie d' . Th is, as alread y noted , is a co m m o n e pit h et be stowed on the blessed dead (w h ose co n d u ct has been ju dg e d before t he go ds to be true ) a n d is u sed a fte r t he nam e s of the decea sed in a sim ila r man n er to o ur R.I.P. I > is a z -consonant sign readi n g 1111) :

surfa ce s s uch as sto n e. Sup pose th at w e hav e two insrriptiou s. each with a dHferent -sized sp a ce left at t he end of a line, a n d we wis h to write the w ord luk: ' se n' a n l' in eac h of th ese spaces. The h icr oglvph ic svstcrn all ows liS a convenie nt and elegant wa y out of o ur problem . In the srualk-r spa ce we can write hs): as it is writt en in the tab le a bo ve : ~ ':;z; . III the larger space , we could in clude a .. .Jr h sou n d -co mplem ent JB, fle shi n g ou t th e J of th e hi-s ign an d thu s fill th e

You ha ve e n co u nt e re d this in m o re co n de n se d writing s. (Se c furthe r § 14 on p . 18 bel ow. )

5r 'it'

.~ sli gh tly larger spa ce : Th e two w ord s readjust the same , th ey arc JUSt 'spclt out slightlv di lIercn tlv. Word s in hiewglyplIic writing, th erefore. do not h a ve one sing le co rr ect spelli n g b ut ar c rat he r ' cla st ic' and ca n he co nt ra cte d or ex p a nd ed throu gh . for exam ple, the inclusion or omissio n of so u nd -compleme nts . Fortunately, we ca n lea ve it 10 thr ancient Egypti ans to do all the spe llin g [or u s - the im po rta nt point [or u s is ju st to be aware of th e Hcx ibilitv of t h e

2'~ ~ ! ~

m r -hrw

tru e of voice, ju stified

§ 13 Ideograms: so u n d- m e a ni ng sig ns The final signs to he looked at in th is chapter ar e the so u n d -m e an ing sig ns (idcogr.nus} w hic h combine so u nd and meaning and which com e rlo sest to ou r o w n p reco n cep tio ns of ho w a pict u re- script sh o u ld w o rk: \7

---!

I .

hca n

mo uth

arm

the su n

h ou vr

<;>

!tr

fan '

As tht' e xamp les ind icate, these sign s are oftell fo llowed bv i w hich hel ps to 1 ~ : _ .I. I:" L •

• • 1. "

:~ L "

• _ _ •._

.. __

•.•• " , 11

.. . , . : _ ..

~ l~ _ .

" • • 1• . ,., • • ,',

. I,_, ~ _ . '

" , __

Mort' uses ojhieroqlyphs

How tc read Fgyptian Ili erL'-iJ1yplls

m ea n t; it also serv es as a sp ace hile r to gin' a con venient gro u pin g of the signs. A fuller list of ideoj<rams is give n on Pl' · 128 -129 . So und -II1eaning signs ca n be acco m pa n ie d by so u nd co m ple m e I1ls o r der c rm inat ivc s: ",,-

r~ =

¢1~

\\" 1> sdm

pu re, pnc st

hea r

c ; r

c..

:IT

;

rn pt

yea r

land

This u sag e of signs illust ra tes an impo rt ant po int for using this book . Alt hough you may b e able to ' spe ll out ' a co uple o f th e w ords given in thi s section , most of them w ill n ot be immed ia tely read ab le (you sh ould, h ow e ve r, ra pid ly grow u sed to reading Q a s \V'b. tor exa mple ). The refore we en courage yo u to focu s on words a s a w h ole, rather th a n tr yin g to puzz le th ro u gh th e u se of every single sign from first princip les, We w ill do th e work for you by s u pplyin g yo u with word s in the format used in th e tab le above : hieroglyphic writin g followed by transliteration and tran slation. If yo u conce n tra te on whol e words as o pposed to sin gle s ign s, you sh o u ld fin d th a t you m ak e fa ster pro gres s in read ing . § 14 Variant writings Hieroglyph s a re w ritten in gr oups , accommoda tin g ae slhetic considerations an d th e limi ts of ph ysical space by lIsing d iffer ing com bina tions o f sign s. Fo r th e se rea son s, words ca n be writt e n in a numb er of dif ferent ways. For e xample, we hav e a lrea dy encou ntere d t h e ph rase Ime-Lznv 'tru e of voice' or

§ 15 Writing the plural (see also Refe ren ce ta ble o n p . 149 ) Th e m os t co rruuon wa y o f w riting the plural has alread y b een discu ssed in §8 • above . ,It . IS tvpica . llv ' w . ritten with plura l stro kes ' (.' "1. a t Id ma y o r ma y n ot ~ lJ o w a -w soun d -SIgn (m the latte r case, a IV is added to the tran sliter ation III bra ckets fo r con ve n ien ce ):

IJrl> T

~J r ~

Jll>swor !l b;'( w}

d Olhe s

Another way of wri ting the plura l is for a sign to be repe ate d three tim es: ~ t stw) lands Th is method is rarer in practice, al though it is fav o ured for certa in w or d s su ch a s II(W ) ' la n ds'. " Egy ptian also s ho w s a restricted u se of a d ua l en ding : msc. ~ S\ -wv an d fern . c.\\ -t y (in d ica tiug tw o o f som ething ). but t his is common o n ly' w ith rhi ngs w h ich ten d to co me in pa irs:

I"'.'!?'

' uy

arms

tmy

the two land s (Egypt: Delta and Valley)

tlwy is wri tt en by re peating tw o sign s, lik e the se cond plural m ethod not ed above .

§1 6 C / nb ' a ll, every, any' and nb 'lord, master' Th e re arc two import a nt words which can be wri tten a like. Th e firs t i s th w ord for 'all', 'ever y ' or 'any ': e

I1b all, every, an y

'ju stified' in a number of diffe rent w ritin gs:

=. I1b 'a ll.' every' any ' , b e h a ves ra t her . er Iilike an adjective (se c § I 0 ): it follows the n ou n It go es WIth an d, like an adje ctive , a gree s wi th i t: As a lready no ted , we ca n safely lea ve it to the ancient Egypt ia ns to sh ow u s how it sh o u ld be done . We ne ed only be aware th at va ria nt spelling is a perfectly no rmal fe a tu re of hieroglyphic writing. However. it is wort h no ting tha t 'spe llin g' is const rained by co nvention and tr ad ition w ithin fa irly str ict limi ts. So , even thou gh m l ' -tlnV is writt e n nut in a n umbe r of d iffe rent ways, the re are usu a lly distiucuve and recogni sable ele ment s to th e p hrase (in thi s ca se == and! ). Furthermore, by tradition , nil ' is n ever found written nut wi th 1-con son ant signs as * ~~,---" n il' (* is the sy m bol for 'n ot found' ); rath er th e ra n ge o f 's pe lling ' of ms: co nc erns w h ethe r = 1111' w a s writt en al on g wit h > ml a s a so u n d cOlllp k m e n t (o ften co mbined into .jp ). and pe rhaps a lso w ith ot he r so u nd com plem enls in diffe rin g combin atillns, to sui t aest heti c and p hy sical cll ns ide ra tilln s.

~~ ~

ill nbt

every thing

also o ccu rs in another comrnnn word , th e word I1b meanine ' lo rd' . most abbrevi at ed form . is writt en sim p ly: eor ' ma ste r' , w hiI CII, .m liS "-.' 7

Il l>

lord . m aste r

Fortunat ely , wh en I1b m ea ns ' lord ' or 'm aste r' it co mes fir st in expres sion s: <z:»

lib Ib.f w

lo rd of Abydos

(Se c Exercise 2 .2 fo r tbd w .Ab vdos") • •So the rule .is q uite sim p le: wh en I1b comes second in its phrase (a rid agrees w ith . t he . first noun ) th e n it is t h e word nb "u II, ev e ry, an y ' ;r whcn w e n Iti rr)l nf'~ nr' l In 11 . . nhr::J ~ f' . 11 j~ th,... word 11h 'l ou t m a xte-r '

Mort' USt'S of hieroqlyph s

How TO read EHyptl<m hieroglyphs

§ 17 Ro yal n ames and titles One o f the p rin cipal gn ab of this chapte r is to eq uip vuu to read the name s of t h e ki ngs o! Egypt. lu rhe n e xt lew pa ra graph s. we will dea l wi t h some of th e b ackgro u n d ab out ru y alnam es. focu sin g on th e titles. ep it hels and th e da ting for mula. In th e Exe rcises to this chapter. we sh a ll set you loo se o n the name s u] the kin gs themselves . Th e king in ancient Egy pt had an elabora te mu lary ma de up of his n am es. titles an d epithe ts . Prom th e Old Kingdom o nwa rds . each kin g ha d five n a m es. of wh ich thre e a re panicu larly com mon on mo n u ment s (the o t he r two _ the ' tWO ladi e s' a n d the 'gold e n Horus' na mes - are used less often ). The t h ree commo n names arc t he Ho ru s name and the names co ntai n ed in carlouches - the praenorn e n and t he n omen. The Horus nam e design ates the king as the god Horus. th e so n a nd suc cessor o f Osiris (for w h om. se e pp. 40 -42 ). Th e n ame is int ro d uced by t he fa lcon ~ hr. As an ex a m p le th e Horu s na me of senwosrei [ is: ~ Sf-

ffi ~

hr rnh -ms» :

llv arcompa' nving . f- th <' p racnnrncn ) aArcco: u p le o f other tit les o[ th e kinu' u vpica .

'1 *

JIb tnvy

the perko god

ntr nlt

lord o f I lIt-'

) \, \, 0

lan ds

§ 18 Ro yal epithets

The kin gs name and tit les a re usually as so ciate d wi th a number of epi the ts. Among the most com mon arc ep it hets co nnected with life:

1- ~

'n !! <ir

Jiving cn duringlv

di ' n tr

given Jife

often extended :

~~.r:: R. i. j

like Re

mi r'

J;.;;.

nhh

end urin gly and repeat edly (for ever and eternity)

On the written or der o f t he phrase till r: 'lik e Re' . vou may wi sh to look ahead to §22 in the ne xt c hapter. .

the Horus Ankhme sut §19 D ating

The ot h e r tWO co m m on n ames are wri tt e n in cart ouches (name- ring s). Th e praenomen. or first cano u che- name (a na me as signed on th e kings a ccession ), follows the r.~ nsw -bity title 'kin g of the d uali ties' , 'd ua l king' - i.e . t he k ing as ruler of the dualitie s which comp osed the Egyptia n world : Upp e r and Lower Egypt ; de sert and cu ltiva tio n; th e h uman a n d th e d ivine . It ha s be e n tra ditiona l to focus on th e d ivision of Egyp t into the Nile Valley and th e Delt a a n d to tran slat e this title a s ' kin g of Up per a nd Lowe r Egypt' . Th e

D ~ t e s w e~e

The nomen, o r secon d cano llche -name. is th e kiug's ow n bin h n a m e a nd migh t be co mmo n to other members of t he dynasty . It is al so t he n ame by w hi ch sc holars n ow a da ys refer to t h e k ings : ln-ncc w e have Semvosret I, 1I, and III in t h e 12th dy n a sty. Th e n u m bers a re a m od ern conv ention and d o n ot oc cur in t lte anci ent n a m es. Th e n om en is ty picall y introd u ced by the ~ 51 r: title 'so u of Rc ' - i.e . th e kin g a s th e h e ir ol th e su n- go d Re o n

t h e reg n a l yea r o f the

rnpt -sp

regno I yea r

ltm

person

f,r u nder It

hm is u sed to refer ind ire ctl y to the k ing . Egyptian n u m beri ng is de cimal, brok en up in to te n s and u n its. Th e ten s ~ re reckoned by repetition o f the sig n n (so n nn = 30 ) a nd the un its b y r epetltt ~)u of I (so 1111 = 4 ). Consi d er the foll owing exa m ple (here vear 2 8 of king Nin iaatrc Amcn cm hct Ill ) which sh ow s how t he fornl~la is p ut toget her and h o w the nu m bering sy ste m works: Til t'

dat e in the lunette of HAl EA 82 7:

l oU;' e n I t ~:0;C:~1.'2";::->

earth . The n om e n of Senwo sret I is:

B,\ l FA

~27 :

(Se e Exe rcise 2.7 o n pp. 2 6-2 7 [or th e rea din gs of t he cartouche na me s themselves, and the or d eri n g of the signs .)

formula ha s a fix ed and re gular for m base d arou nd the follo w in g w o rd s, along with th e names, titles and ep ithets o f t he kin g and th e n u m b fv e r 0 year s of his reign :

praenomen of Senwosret [ is: th e king ur Upper and Lo w er Egypt Kheperkare

record ed in a n cient Egvpt a ccord in g

r c rgrn n g king an d no t by some abso lu te dating syste m like Rei AD . Th e d at in g

<z> ~ __ .,

. . ·,_~~ , .G~)T ~(

rnpt-sp 28 tr r hm 11 nsw -btty (m -m r t-r: <n h dl

Reg_nal year 2~ und er.lh e person of the ki~g of Upper and Lower Egypt "mwatrt' In-'ll g cnd uri nglv

ia n the tit le and epithet s of t h e king, se e t he previous paragraphs. On t h e na me of th e ki ng himsel f. St 'l' Exercise 2 .7 o n pp, 26-2 7. The 1/ o [

~~nouc he

22 Exercises Exc urs us : ch a rt o f ro ya l dy nastie s K itt~s ul f~yp t prin f hl ti lt' h rvav iutt I-v Akx tllltl,,-' r ih e G r,,-',ll()32

J r.l' (lr~J t ti S l'd lrv c" chn la rs i t ~1U thirt y d ynasti es, further arran ged intrt ru ajttr pert(lct.., kn ow n J:-. Kin gdum s (tturrn all v when un lv u n e ktng a t ,1 tim e ntk- d Egyp t) and IntcrmeJiaw Per io ds rwhr -n the kin gs h ip w as Oft C II d tvtd ed). Thi s lnm k pri nci pally (U l1ll'r nS rmu n un e nt v from rh e Firs! jun-rrue-diatePe-riod aud M itltllc Kingd u n t ((.2 150 iK - t·. 16 -t 1 H,,- :I. h111 tlu- kin gs 1i~I,,-,d

be low a n' tlhc ll')st..' tl

.",n-h..UI:

ti ll

li t.:)

pp. 26· 3 1.

Old Ki l1~d om

Uyn.1:<.ti,'S ) 4",

12th Dynas ty (c. 1937- 1759 RC) Sehetepibrc A menem her (II Kheperk ar< Senwos re( II ) ~ubbun: An ll." l\~mhel ilil

18th Dynast y (c,1539-1295 BO

N ebp< h l ~ re Ah r nuse

Djeserkare Am enho tep r l) Aakhcpc rkare Thur mose (0

urn

1 00 0

Ha t sh c: p~ul -kh~ onl ~l am u n

Aakh cpe rure Amenhocop (In I) V', Nebm aarre ,\ m.:nho lep l III)

~ c nkhepc ru re Thut m os ~ .Ifd lJl c ,m l~i <l t l'

Pe rllxi ~· I1 i1 st ie--< ::' I -2.~

Nef<r1Jlep<rure ·" ·aen", Akhcna tcn Ankhkh epcrur e SnJenkh k,m: S t"bkhqx·ru n.>T ntan khar uun-

l..<l\e Pt'riod

NutI' : all dates a n ' apprllx imate; you will fin d slightly di ffe re n t sch e m e s used

in d iffe re n t book s .

nor

;=~

ffi

(,.,j

,f ll/

"nlj

n'[r

f ";;

4:::

htp

"11;

life

"'I

nfr

~(]Ild

hip

re st sati sf y

wsr

l'r=......

u'.\" r

[nrwe rf u !

god

II (r

"'i

II ,r

!!p r

brr becom e

fu n he r uv- Iul j -consoua ru sign is: ~ an n!

FXA.'-1PlE

SI G~

:J 4--"

J)j e s e n.:: h<= pe ru r(- se l ~ pe n rc

11Of(' nlhe b--me0 amu n

> r-;

ASS, vase w ith wa ter flowi ng . com bined wit h

( 9, fla t allu viall and with

Khepcrkheperure jmeqcr- Ay

19th Dyna say Ic . 129 ~ 11 86 BC) Mcupehtyre Rame sse (I) Menmaatrc Sety (11 Usermaarrc -se'e pcr't" RJm.:..~. m~ ry a rr, u n (II)

'r WI

c. /tA'og rallls

hck aiunushem a

D,,",,:,>t ie-;2t>-30

b. J·cv!lStmanr s(qns

Khakaure Se nw os rt"1 11U,

Maatkure

.b ut r nr

The fo llo w in g J -collso na m s igns we re imroduo 'd ill the main text above . \Vrite o ut a nd lea rn the se stgns a nd t he lollowtng co mm on words rhev oc cur in, lI sin ~ th e o p po r ru n u v 10 follo w th e use (If so u n d -co rup le rne n rs and determin illives.

Nimaau c A n~ nt" n1h ':llll n Maakhcru re An k'o crn he t (IV ) Sobekkure Ndro~oht.-k

A akhcpcrenre ~ rn u (mo~ t l l ) ~knkhepcrn.· Thuunnse

K hakh~perre S~nwo<;.rel l i ll

Some IIf 11Il.'S C s i ~n orcur i ll th e wor d cxr- rciws lrelo w: o thers wi ll l« - of lise whe n ~ t l1 dy i n g king s' names in Ex c n'is e s 2. 7 an d 2.8:

1-:

25 0 0 BC

50 0 BC

t1. 1 ·l.'om O/ la Il15(qllS

I'l' l ltoJ

D:-'n ~"'I ~-,

2.1 Signs The followin g are a Ii!<lt uf signs III llc use d in th e Exe rcisr-s. The v arc wort h m e m o risin g iw rni ng them ou t is a go o d \'\-'J~' of fa mil ia ristug Yl;u rsclf w ul t th cm i .

~ ri1 in s

F42, ruad bo rde re d by sh ru bv

o f san d

le~

.'.'-

!.J.=

...J.

pure

:0: :

i·

lan d

"""

Wit

road, wa v

To ai d yo u in fu rth er st u dy, th ese sig n s have In-en quon- d with th eir class itira rion (com pos e d or a leit e r a nd a numbe r} as In und in the !<Iigll -li,)1 on pp. 119 -14 3.

N ote: __ .. o fte n oc cu rs withou t the gra ins of sand a s ...-.,. (C l Or a lou c .

2.2 Words a. Co py Ollt a nd rrau slit cr ..He t he Ioll owiug wo rds ( y o u ma y wi sh 10 r efer (( I the list o f sign s above o r the sigu -rabl e s at the en d o f th e book ):

How

More uses of hieroglyphs

read ( qyplic111 hieroglyphs

son

ka (the spirit of sustenance )

y or u

Sin ce both of th ese comm on w ords re ly o n a sing le 2 ·c onson a nt sign , it is n ot at a ll unu sua l t o fin d th em w ritt e n at th e ir b riefe st w ith j us t th e 2· con -

,; ,

e G c::-" t~ ~":::""

~ c-c? ( j =

As so ofte n , t he sa m e phra se ca n be w ritt e n ill a more con densed ma n n e r (a lth o ug h it is read in th e sa m e w ay ), for e xample:

so n ant sign . love, wi sh .

f !,J?\:;"

rni

road , way

wan t desire

cOlllpan ion

open, separate

(Notice th at in th e w o rd for 'road ', 'w a y', 1:;;'" can be u sed a s a determi native wi th th e word ' spe lt o ut ', o r as a n ideogra m a s in Exer cise 2 .1.; b. Two im p orta nt to wn -sit e s which oc cur in common epi the ts o f th e go d

(You m a y wi sh to co n su lt §§ 9 a n d 10 on nouns a n d adj ectives in Egypti a n . ) 2.5 Words So me ve ry co m mon w o rd s a re writt e n with othe rwi se uncommon sign s and w ith so m e idiosyncracies of th ei r own . Co py Oll! th e foll ow in g a n d rea d the a cco m pa n ying not e s:

Osiri s a re : Djedu (Busiris)

Abydos

It seem s that "'- is an obscuredeterminati ve h ere' fath er how ever, the com mon phrase i~'h is fathe r' is ' probab ly influent ial too (cl. §§33, 36).

ISI r

Osiris

'- -

c. Som e more nam es o f go ds: Khnu m

Am li n

0 = Try and translit era te the na me of the god Wepwawet (you m ay nee d to

Gi l

Written with E60-seat above A36-ey e for reasons which are still obscure . tsir is a recent ly suggeste d readi n g (rath er tha n older wsirv Written with D2 5 and F9 or FlO-bread

bread

de term ina uves and plu ral strokes. In offerin g formul ae it is often abbreviated to G.

co nsu lt § 15 aga in) :

2.6 Dating

w epwaw et

The names of these gods can be wri tt en wi th or with o ut th e de termina tive for gods:

m(A3 ).

The fo llowin g a re exam p les of da te s from British Mu seum ste lae . It is perh ap s better to do this ex ercise a fte r th e st udy exercis es on pp . 26 -30 , when you will be able to rea d th e kin gs' names m ore ea sily. The lunette of tile round- lopped stela of Scn wosretsenbu (EM EA 55 7) begins:

2.3 Variant writings In § 14 in t he te xt, yo u w er e int ro du ce d to th e noti on o f va ria n t wri tin gs. w hich a llow a word to be str e tched or compr essed to tit space. The example u sed wa s th e phra sc mv-hrw 'jus t ified' O f 'tru e of vo ice' , u sed as arr epithet of th c blessed de a d . Th e va riant s giv e n in previous ex a m ple s are repea ted h er e . Work th rou gh th e wri t in gs, id en tifyin g t he var iou s signs , a n d satisfy in g yoursclf tha t de spite th e dil fcrcnces. the y all y ield th e sa m e tran s-

8M EA 557:

In the first lin e of EM EA 586 the k ing 's cartouch e is su rm oun ted by the sky hiero gly ph, wh ich is not read:

lite ra tio n: m r-hrw. = d.

8M EA 586, Line I :

2.4 EXl,ressions Translite rate and tr anslate the follo w ing phrases (b o th o f which are co m mon e lem ents of the offering formula wh ich yo u will st u dy in m or t'

Mort' Wt-S of hieroqlyphs

How [(1 read Egypri,:n h ieroglyphs

BM EA 567 begins with

BM EA 567 , lines 1-2:

2,7 Study exercise: Middle Kingdom kings of the 12th dynasty It is now time for you to read th ro ugh the cartouche names of various kin gs of Egypt. The kings we hav e selected com e from the some of th e most celebrated dyna sties of ancient Egypt: the 12th dynasty in the Middle Kingdom, and the l Sth. 19th an d 20th dynasties in the New Kingdom . You can eith er piece their names together fro m the sign resources provided below or you can go furt her and refe r back to Chapter s I and 2 (as well as making use of the sign- tables at the end of the book ) to improve your fam iliarit y with th e sign s. The two most common nam es of th e kin g - the prae nomen an d no men - a re wri tten in ca n o uches and are thu s easy to spot . However. th e way that th e names themselves are written is actu ally surprisingly complex, playing with the va rio us resources of the script for ae sthetic an d spacing reason s. The one Iactor we have not covered so far (because it finds a more appropri ate place in Chapter 3) is that elements drawing on divine na mes are written first. regar dles s of the ord er in which they are read , For example, the sun disc rr (the name of the sun god) regularly app ear s first in the praenomen but is rea d last (as the tr ansliteratio n values and Anglicisation of the na mes below show), For the purposes of this exercise, we would ask you to follow the reading orde r we give below, but yo u may wish to look forwa rd to Â§22 in Cha pter 3 for an account of this peculiarit y, rill in the first cart ou che names from the list bel ow into the prs per place in the following table (the first one is don e for yo u), Notice , on ce again, tha t the clement r' is written before the oth er elements of the nam e (sim ilarly with wsrt in s-n -wsrr). although it is not rcad first: Amenemh et (I)

shtp -lb-r ' imn -m-h u

Sen wos ret 11 )

s-n-wsrt

s eh etepibre

~.;b;1 '_ _GlJ-=-,

(~ i!l:JJ

CS -- :.351 :4 ~~_ÂŁ;U

:1l : .__J ,_ __ _

1rJ\

im n- m- h it

', F"l_ U j

( . c:::i~J;'

:L...,.",. , .:>J

'i r= ---''j

'0 '-=_.<3> 1!t IV'

Senw osre t (II)

s-n -wsrt

Scnwos re t (III)

s-n-u.:sn

Amene rn he t (III)

imn -m -hn

Am enern het (IV)

imn -m-h u

Ncfruso be k

... . . . .... . . nfrw-sbk

\.... _' u J~" u~j

List of first-carrouche names lin ju mbled orde r): L,("- kn,v-r ("

h'-opr-r'

iJpr-b -r'

m v -h rw-r r

Kha kaure

Khakhcperre

Kheperka re

Maakh erure

n- m srt-rr Nim aa tre

nb w- k sw-rr

sht p -ib- r:

sbk -k s-r t

Nub kaure

Seh etepibre

Sobekkare

SIGNS

'C'

i~ ~

ws rt

ml'

--JJ

h ea rt wosret the po we rful on e m aa

true ell

or 111

!111

orw

kh eru

L__U_

am lllllamt?n ~ --' (th e god ) Amun

em in

maar m ir t

nefru

<3>

sbk

> :: ~

Ilbw

kha appea rrance)

lnt tl

1""1

bea uty

~ or

I1fn"

--- ~

r 0--i.iu i A O"lp nr n 1 h et

- --A"

a date; the writing of nsw-biry is to fir the rounded shape:

upr

(the godde ss) Ma at (tru th) nllb

gold hetlha t (f orej front

kheper

bein g/ for m s(e)

voice

man

sebek /sobek

sehetep make sdlisiled

(the god) Sobe k ka

the ka -spirit _. -

~.,.b

UU U

--_... _

ship

- _.

kau

th e ka -spiri ts -- -

-_ .

.\1ore usesof hieroalyphs

H ow to read E:Jyp lian hicroqlvp h»

,\ l en pchtyre

All the first ca[louche n a m es « lIuain the [ollowing d e mcllt :

.-- (0 - -e;-''i ',.. p 6...;-.,)

Rarncssc (I )

rL1 or re

iZ'

(the ~()(I ) Rc IOrRJI

Memnaa rre Se t y-rnc rvenpia h (I)

Ma ny o f th ese elements h a ve pr oper meanin g as WI ird s (In their own, which w e ind icat e he re . However, th e re is no n eed to Iry a nd rran sla re the n am es. 2,8 Study exercise: New Kingdom killgs Tra nsli te rat e bot h the cartou ch e names [o r e ac h ol t he f" lI",vin g Ne w Kin g d om kings, usin g th e <lids p ro vid ed , A wmplica ting Iactor is tha t. during th e Ne w Ki ngdom , it is not a t all u n comm on to find epi t hets inclnd ed within ro ya l ca rto uc h es. So m e 01the na mes below con tain suc h epi th et s (for exa m p le that of the ruling q u ee n Hatsh ep sn t. which r egu larly incl udes t he ep ithet ljn ml-im ll - 'jo in e d with (t h e go d) A m u n') . If th e ep ithet contains the name o f a god , this divi n e ele m ent ma y be writt en at the fro nt o f t h e carto uc he . eve n if it is no t rea d first. Foll o w th e lead giv en in the Augliciscd versio ns o f

Userm a.n rc -setepenre Rarn cssc -mcrvaru un III ) Use rrnaa t rc -m e rv arn u n Ra m essc -h c kaiuuu (111 1

VOCAIlClA RY .-- ---

-_ ..

j; ~ ~..e. 0

II; ' Il'IIlt'

the names bel ow : Ah mo sc

MenkheJlerre rhuunose (JII )

,~J3' _.d

(G-c:JJ~)

~~~~tj

Nebkhepentr e TlIlJllkhame n- hekai unu shema Djcs erkh cp eru rc - S<' tc pl'IIrc

llorem heh -lller vJ tnull

~ .~_Q_(;.J _ 1jj ~- - - - il

':~ffir .. _ _ .A~ ; 0 ", '. ~. tI! l

.•~~ffi~~~

for ph ry 111

']'-=;-; 1[:

Menk hep erurc

W JS{

'-- -_ . ---

If ES tJ;-I\1..~'

'rh m rno- e llV)

:-lcler khe pnlre-waetlre Akhena ten

(~-ffiir)

':~lLij

Aakheperm e Amenhoi ep hckaiun n (II)

Nebmaatre Amen hlllcp hc ka wa sc t I III)

Cl C\

<J±':'!J.I, ~1

/-0 -~::':::;

'11[1

p/11I

~'\:". ;r;[0

Aakh e perk a re Th ur rn osc (Ii

Maalkare Halshepsu t-khen meWInUll

Cf~~J

Dje serkare Am eu h oicp (I)

Aakheperenrc Thut mose (II )

Sf-

':~-rTlr~;

Nebpehtyre

<nc ':;::?r : '..~ _~ . _ ._ . L ~I

ml1

ffir

»I S

<z:>

or ~

'Ji7

hks

tJr'r

\')

h nmt

ak h

spirit i unu

Q ~ or ~

Hc liop o lis dUn

A ren

(solar disc)

al1kh life /livi ng warel

Thebe s (place-na me) peh tv

12J'¥'()-?51:' -,1.,.,...:.2".1 v~.J

wa the (sole) one

tvsr

weser/user powerfu l

ptl:

em in

~ r::: or

~Q ~ or 'C..

mose hear, form neb

tn ry

beloved

....E::: o r ~

h ip

m t''!)'

ell

nefer pe r fect hal

front. ti m hor

W J

khep er

bl'illg/form loined (with)

m aat M a a t (t r u th )

hJl

<:>

heb fe stival

khcnmet

mr t

J,.

re/ra

(the godl Pta h

nt r

(the god ) Re

ru ler

ptah

lord

heka

Am un

...-=

men

moon -god amuniamen(the god )

strength

es tabhsh ed

lmn

tijah

aa grea t

( ~2.-~- -ia ~;

'j .8 __Jt',,-)

I'b

u hc god) Horus helep! h(l/ep

satisfied klieperu

~ .Ii

bprl\'

nr ___

5 \1',

SU, H

~( W)

him

bdllgs/[orms

How to read (qyprian hi ao.'1lyphs

VOCABULAR Y ( CO:-lTlNU FD I

- --- ---

--- _. -sty

c-«

sip

setep chos en

}PSWf

sheps ut d iSlinguish ed wo m en

smr

shema so Ulhern

"~.

rwr

U ."",-'f -

u. WIY

\M~

l _._

- - ~

Sery Sety, l.e . ma n of (t he god ) Se lh

_ ·_ - ...• - .-

the ka -spirh

"'It - .-

Th ut(th e god ) ruoin ---.-

- - .- .- - -- - . -

dsr

V - . - - - - ". - .•

-- - _ .

rut

image

djeser sacred/ ho ly

~. -"'-.- -.-- ._. -. _ -..- .-

._ -

2.9 Study exercise: 8 M EA 117 (tire Abydos kin g-list of Ramesses II) Th e 'ki n g-list' o f Ramesse s 1\ show n on p . 31 originall y came from his temple at Abydos . Mod elled on a sim ila r list in h is father Seti I's m ortuary templ e n earb y, the list forms part o f an e labo ra te o ffering fonnula (!ltp -dl -nsw ; see Cha pte r 3 ) for the cult of previou s kings. Originally, there were 7 8 carto uch es in th e upper registers (t h e 76 found in th e Seti I list plu s th e tw o carl ou che n am es of Ramesses II ). Th is number probab ly re flects cult ic tr ad ition, the space available on the wa ll, a nd po ssibly th e 76 forms of the sun god enumerated in t he religi ou s te xt kn own as the Litany of Re. The kings ar e identified by pr a en omen beneath which are deterrrunati ves o f seated kin gs alternat ely wearing th e white (I and red cro w ns . Th e names of Ra rnesses II (a lte rn atin g bet ween n omen and praenomen ) ar c repeated in the bottom reg ister and show a range of var iant writings fo r the nomen . Re constructing the top lin e from th e Se ti I king -list, the overall forma t is as

?:j

follows: [An o ffe ring wh ich the k in g gives bef ore Ptah -Sokar-Osi ris .. , a thousand bread and beer. e tc. I to kin g X as a gift 01 Ra me sses II:

nllSW

m dd

for ih e king as a gift of (lite rally, in th e giving 0[ 1

':f

Th e word nsw is wr itt e n using wh ich is also a varia n t for - co m m on in the Ne w Kingdom (com pa re the m or e usual spe llin g of nsw in §2 3). The k ing-list sh ows some int er esting gap s between the Middl e and New King do m (be twee n the fo u rth and fifth ca rtouche s of the sec ond su rv iv ing register) and wi thin th e 18th dyn ast y. Use the roya l name s list ed in ihc pre viou s Exe rcises a nd the cha rt of ro yal dynast ies 0 11 p . 22 to ide nt ify th e

= S' ~

;r."

!)'O

Specia t w r ;,;n:/ J

Grap hi c t ran sp ositi on als o

Ot'CU ~

i /l vr-ru ca l ( OhIllIlIS:

Chapt er J

Special writings

dd~'v'

Djr-d u. illslt'ad

tl t

So m eti m e.. gra phtcrransposttton is .J regular fea tu re of rtn- wrui ng o f a w o rd :

:rr:. ~1:\ I n J/Iii d JJpl cJ

It' .:'

introdu ce )'t) U JLJ a 11Iml ba

,~f spetlttl wriunas: ubbr N i.lJIJJJs,

,jli1n&/t'.~ i n ,h( order ..l ( i ;g ll S ,11Id dr!fecliw wrn in.ols. Si n ce dil 4 J/u Sf a rt' ruthe r Iw nmon: patt i..-ularlv in " ' It rendtTing Ilf titles and f!pll !ltl.{ . cl J.:.n'Hvlt'd.qt' elf them is essential [or successful monument rradinq in IJ ml1st!um . Yt1U art' also imrodl1Crd Itl the offering [ormula, probably the must [t,mmon form of ltit'rt1g1yphit- inscription 1(> he[ound ,1" [nnvrary inannments survivi ng [rom lweii'm E.&/,vPt . This chapla should (tho Sin'r as a con venient f i!at ll ce resource to which you ClUJ return when SlUdyin.o1 varitJlISm .m uments later ..", in th « book .

§20 Abbrev ia t ions Abbreviated wrirtngs a re co m m on ill the writing of titlt"s and epu hc rs: } III

hry -hb t

In10r pr ies,

h uy-s (litera lly, 'forem o st o f p osit ion ' ) is written with the ideogra m -1) h n (fro n t part o f lion ) over ~ '( a ml); b ry -lIbl (lit era lly, 'the carrie r o f the book of rn ual') is writ ten wi th a bbreviated writi ngs of bo th lJr)' a nd hb: (wi thou t so u nd co m ple me llls o r determinatives) . There is a lso gra ph ic tra nspo sitio n, wit" t he tw o ta ll signs place d either sid e o f i& brlY) (sec §21 bel ow} . Clear ly suc h , v ritin gs can ne r be read s i~ 1I by sigll wit h an y eas e. Eve n a fter mo rt" than a ce n t u ry a nd a h alf o f stu dy, the exact readi ng o f som e w ord s rema ins romeruiou s amo ng Egy pt nl ogists ~ He nce \ VC st ro n gly recommend rhat you foll ow o u r gen e ra l advi ce o f co ncent rat ing on whole wo rds rather tha'rt gC I nng bogged dow n iII i lrc stu dy of individua l sign s, As w e have a lready see II, abb reviated writ in gs o f ihe ep ith et usu allv bestowed on th e blessed dea d a rt' CtJlllnJUJI:

m l~'lJ rw

wriucu in lul l as:

~ ~! ~~

rru c of voire. just ific:d

§21 Ch ange of o rde r: sp aci n g The se co nd feature is the swit ch ing of the orde r o f st~n s fit in to the av ailable space in a mo re sa t isfad o ry ma n ner

It l

illSll'a d tl f

'}'@

J dw

Djcdu

See. hh lk at ~~

plJ n: d und e-rJIlt" 2- Cllll -

§22 Chan ge of ord er : p restige For reasons o f prest ige, names for gods and kin ~ s a n d relat ed words some tim es precede clos e ly co n n ected words, a lt h ou gh the y are acr ua llv read afterwar ds (t h is is termed more forma lly honorijit transposiiionv. H o~orific rra usp ostt ion is part icul arl y com mon in epithet s a rnt uth- s:

+1:

rb nsH'

ktn g's ad viso r; royal tm im at c

k m-nt r

serva ur of th egod. priest

Q ~::::: ;l G

m ry.'lm ll

belo ved or Am uu

ntt r "

Iik(' Rr

(Norice ihat abb reviated wr iting s a re: also comrn on .] You hav e a lread y e u o u m tc red t his phe no men on in t he writing o f rova l nam es ill Exerci ses 2.7 a nd 2.8 . A rather d ram at ic illustratio n o f th is poin; is the fo llo w in g writin g o f the n om en o f Raru esses II I R d nr r ss t' ~merva nl ll ll 'Ra rn esses be loved of Ar nu n ' }: . '

Here th e tw o divi n e d em en ts t Ra o f th e nam e Rarnesses an d Ann m of th e epith et 'belo ved n f A rnun) have been w ritt en as seat ed go ds and p lace d ar th e to p of th e cartouch e fat ing each ot h e r, creating a ve-rtical div ision . The low Oat sign of mrty ) ('b cloved') bas been placed in 'he mi ddl e of ' be ear tou ch e, crea t ing a h or izoural d ivis ion . The: vert ica l div ision i ~ mirror ed ill th e hotto rn half o f the cart on ch e (giv illg t he m S -H t.-'o r ' m esse pa n of Raru ess cs ) where rhe rhrec-p rongcd »u -s ign sta nds in t h e cen t r...b etween IWU tall thin signs (th e sw and th e ~i ) hot lr of w hic h bend flwa y a t th e Hlp from Ih e tT ntra l ms ~ si~ lI .

ma lly .'1 r aph i c frarfSpt1S;fiNI) : ~ C; }

ena ble Ihl' 1IIto m Ore for-

ot.' f11lt 'cI

Thi s ie, rt" ~lIlarl y wrin cn with t he dc n-r m ina t lvr cona nt sign ~- ml.

Special wr itings

How 101 read Egypli m l hieroglyphs

§2 3 Defect ive or st range w ritin gs . ' A Ie w com mon word s a re w rit te n wit h o u t th e Inll se t 0 1 so und -SIgn s, pro bably for rca son s of grouping: "511 ' ' king' is written in an unusua l m ann er : . .:.:=:::- .:..t b .• ,."

r (lI1}1

penpk

'; l) p. ~ n~

!lir. )!::/ beer

slm y )z

dc-se n

t':

n sw

king

§24 Tit les . . Office- holding playe d a cen tral ro le in th e ..lite cult ur e of a n cient Egyp t. locating the indivi du al wi tIlin societ y, most notabl y i,n relation to th e king (see also PI' . 10 1· 104 ). Title s come in tw o forms: of ficial or adn ulllstra llve titles and co nve ntional titl es co nnected wi th sta tus a nd author ity. Abb rev i-

l?el(qious titles

!j =~ 9 <=" r C> ~ )] ~

«z>

u"-b

J1I\,' SSll

~!l0 htmty bitv seal·bearer of the king

~ 1-;;' 1 smr ",'t(y) sale companion

(Th e reading of !Jtl1l1y-bfty is unsu re : othe r possibili ties a re lu mw-buy a n d s(/lw ry.bity; fo r bity 'k in g', see p . 10 2.) Th ese two titl es often occ ur toget he r.

b. Titles of office Titl es of office can be divided int o secu la r a nd religiou s title s:

Secular titles .~ 'j;-Ji~1 L:'

ma yor

overseer 0 1 the m-r 'tlIt",t y

A nu m ber of tit les a rc com posed wit h th e cleme nt

Jl;.

cha mber m -r (fully t nty -r i

'oversee r': stew ard. overseer m-r pr

IIl·r

01 ihc evta rc

111.1'

overseer ol ihe army

m -r probabl y mean s lite rall y ' th e one in w ho m is th e word ' (i.e . t he o ne who

has th e a uth o rit y to issue orde rs). On th e basis of a gra ph ic pun a ro u n d r (w hic h mean s bo th 'mo u th ' a nd 'wo rd'), it is occasionally w ritt en w ith ' \ B44 ton gue (the ton gu e bein g 'th e o ne in th e month ' ): ~

m -r

stewa rd

~ ;i

OIll" j

ma ste r of secrets 10

};1I1-

p riest d u era llv,

1"1 1'

servant of the god)

brr'

le ctor prt esi

hb:

be written w ith ou t dererrninar ives.

§2 5 Ep it h ets Egyptian text s abou nd with epi thets of go ds, kings a nd offi cials. Her e a re a co u ple o f rela ted e pithe ts pa rt icu la rly co mm on o n stela e : venerable one. re vered one, 1/1"hy or ill1!(zw h onou rable one nb l/1l1lj

a. Conventional ti tles of stat us and aut hority

gl lVern or,

pr ies: ditl'raily, pu re

It is n ot a t all u ncom mon for titles

a te d writin gs arc co m mo n to both .

The tw o most common convent iona l tit les a re :

possessor of vc ne rationr reve rence

and o the r va ria n ts based on the fu ller wr itin gs suc h as: ~ ~ ~ 're ve re n ce', 'ven e ra tion' . Th ese epi the ts ar e p rim a rily a pplied 10 the ble ssed dead. Afte r a life of official du ty and e thica l be h av io u r, the blessed dead w e re re vered by the living (w ho perpe tuate thei r mem ory on ea rt h, par ticularl y th ro u gh offerings) and ho noured befo re th e gods (w ith whom the y exis t be yond death as tran sfigured spi rits) . Th e lauer is o ften ex pressed in the followin g way : ~ '!\ ~ y ~ ~~

in,,!;y !;r tsir

the revered one before Osirls

§26 The offe r ing for m u la Formulae comprise rel a tivel y fixed com bina tions of wo rd s and so ca n be read w ith o ut a det ailed u nd e rsta nd ing of th eir int ernal gramm a r. The m ost com mon exa m ple, the offeri ng form ula. is a u biqui tous feat u re o f th e hieroglyp hic m onu ments foun d in m u se ums throughout th e w or ld. By w orki ng thro ugh , a nd becoming fa m iliar wi th, the elements o f the formula discussed below, you will gain access to a vast nu m ber of hi e rogly ph ic in scription s. Th e offering formula me rges two rela te d fu nctio ns: official and pe rso nal. In officia l term s, th e status o f th e decea sed as on e of th e ble sse d de ad was lin ked 10 th e suc cessfu l pe rform ance of o fficial funct ion s in roy al servi ce and et h ical be h aviour in life . Thi s succe ss was inst ru m en tal in q ualifying t he decea sed for a ccess 10 th e means o f co m me mo ra tio n in ter ms of mem orial inscriptions a n d fun er ar y monu ment s, One purpose of the offering fo rm ula was to allow th e decca sed to pa rta ke of th e offeri ng s presented to the dei ties in th e ma jor cu lt te mples in the nam e o f th e ki ng , pa rticu la rly o n festival occasio ns . Thi s reversio n of offeri ngs display s the importa nce of official life,

Specia l writinqs

H,1\~' 10 read Ejypriml h ieroalvphs

particula rly in term s of Th e pe rson of ihc k iug . in th e rc la uonship betwee n the livi n g and Ihe de a d . The se co n d, perso nal . Iuuct ion relates more to the pr ivate [amil y -ba sed a spe ct s of the funerarv cul t of th e deceased. TIl<' priv ate o ffe rin gs to ihe dead co u ld be eith er p h ys ical (t he o ffe ring of food . drink a nd goods) o r verba l (t h ro ug h the uue rance o f the off eri n g formu la ): furt h er m or e. these o ffer, in gs could be p e rp elUat e d in pic to rial a nd ve rbal form (th ro u gh a n a nd w ritin g). In Ih i, w a y. the offe rings m ade a l rh c bur ia l co u ld b e pe rpet uated by fami ly members (p a n icu la rly th e son a nd he ir), o r b y peo ple visitin g the to m b or pa ssing by the stela . Fir st o f a ll. h ere is a n e xa m ple o f the o ffer ing fo rmula , w hic h yo u m a y wi sh 10 refer ba ck 10 as yo u read o ve r the di scussion be lo w :

Tile offerillg formula from 8 M EA 558 :

<::>

A ,1 A:l>- nc::O> "'I~ cl'J rdI '=' @

l' ~~ /Al1J= lJ @ IJ'

h tp-dt-nsw ssir n b ,Jd w tW

lib lbd l\'

<-D cp n G

dl~fl'rr · ljrw

!.<::>&dlJ~~

ljl nbtt} IIfr (r) w rbtt ) 'tliJi ntr 1m

,,-_ 005'"8

ulq ~ =-~ ~

r hn k: k llpd 55mnlt t

Iml!lly! ky

An offering wh ich th e king gives (to) Osiris, lord of Djcd u. grea t god, lor d of Abydos . so that he ma y give a volcc offer ing tin) bread, beer, ox. fowl. alabaster. linen , everyth ing good aud pur e on which a god lives for the ka of the revered one Key Th e m o st com m o n form o f the offering formula is co m po sed o f three p arts, which ca n be divided accordin g 10 the ch aracteristi c Egypt ian expression

a. The offerillg to the god (s) 1

The co nven t ion a l grouping o f this ex pressio n u ses th e foll o w ing elements:

hi p-d t-nsw

a ll offering wh ich ih « king gives

o!t:

r rr·!;rw

a voice of fcrtng

<l,

t ~~. &

ta 11

from

c . cCJ:C)

/;;,

fro ut

/},

nsw kin g htp

offni llg

give

(Fo r the writing of the verb 'giv e'. see Ex e rcise 3 .5 .) The expre ssion h tp -di -nsw is ofte n u sed to refe r gene rally to th e offering fo rmula and its associated o ffer ing rile s (a n d might less lit erall y he iran slat ed a s 't he o ffe ring rite') . T he actu al re nde ring o f thi s stereo typ ica l phrase is notoriou sly obscure an d st ill e xe rcises the minds of sc ho la rs. What ever its o riginal form. it is clear th at by th e Middle Kingdom the p hra se h ad co me to be tr eat ed as a fix ed , com pou nd e xp ressio n . Here we ha ve ad o p te d a stan da rd ren d eri ng wh ich we encou rage yo u to follo w, rat h er than trying to w o rk o ut its me an ing from the individ ual signs . The n am e. title and epi thets of the god(s) The name of the god t h e n follows . Th e god m o st co m m o n ly na med in the offer ing for m ula (a s in th e exa m ple above) is Osiris and we shall co nce n tra te o n him in thi s chap ter. For t h e o t he r co m m o n divi n e rec ip ien t of t h e offerin g form ul a, Anubi s, see BM EA 178 3 in Ch apt er 5. an d for an exam ple with a n u mbe r o f god s, se e BM EA 584 in Ch ap ter 8. Th e stand ard name s and tit les o f Os iris are int ro d u ced sepa ra te ly in the notes o n fun er ar y de ities al the e nd of thi s ch ap te r. 011

to the deceased

The voice offering This sen ion of t he o fferi ng fo rm u la ce nt res aro un d ih e follo wing e xpr ession : prt -ljrw

a voice offering

Th e sta nda rd w ril in g o f prt -ljrw con ta ins th e followin g clem ents:

We sh a ll lake you th ro ug h each o f th e se pa rt s in tu r n. a ssemb ling h er e th e m ateri a l yo u n ee d 10 be ab le to rea d the sta nda rd Os iris o ffer ing formula. It you return 10 th is sec tion whe n re a d ing stelae su ch a s BM FA 58 7 o n p. 4 6 a : rh e en d of thi s ch apter, y(lU sho ul d find a ll the he lp you n ee d . As yOIl st u d y th e va rio us slel ae in t h is boo k. yo u wi ll no dou bt gai n m o re a nd mo re . rr ._. : __

"'~~.:::.

lli

for th e ka of

t ::

from

b. TI,e offerings are passed

fo u n d in each :

an ollc rin g which th e kmg ~ I WS

lup -d i -nsw

1'db ~

.., •• 1 ..,

[ - :1 from

~ .J)

prt

a going fort h

lrom

i }~

hrw

voice

Iroru

r. <:r>

1-\

from

! ~ ti

bread

hnkt

beer

Special writings

How to read I:'gyptiall hieroqlyplts

The term prt -hrw is re gu larl y writte n w ith th e b read and be er sig ns . eve n wh en th e voi ce offe ring itself is int e nd ed w ithout any referen ce 10 the br ead an d be er. Th e y arc depi cted w hether br ead and beer ar e mention ed se pa ra te ly in th e suosequem invc n to rv of offerings or not lin w hich case th ey Ola v ha ve been th ought of as be in g in cluded within th e w ritin g of pn-hrwi . , B v th e Middle Ki ngdo m prt -hrw had b ecome a fix ed ex pression u sed as a cover te rm for th e offerings themselves (a nd migh t he loo sely tra n slat ed as ' th e ritua lllfferi n gs') . As a fixe d exp ressio n , prt -h rw ca n eve n be w ritte n w ith a det ermi n ative for th e w hole ph ras e, such as = 'loa f for offe ring ':

p rt-hrw

ill

d l=f p rt-hrw

14, ";Bl

0 or

brea d kl

6 or c= r,b r<

ox a labast er

O ften th e offeri ngs a re nu m ber ed wi th of /i n '.

12.6

11 or ~ ~ ~

or ~~ll

't hou san d' or

hn kt

bee r

tpd

fowl

mnh ;

linen

I ~ 'a thousand

hlp or hII'I o ÂŁkr ings

CL)

:,,:1...-. [

sn tr

ince nse

</f (lwj

prov ision s

The inventory is wrapped 111': A, well a s listin g a sta n da rd set of offe rings, the offering formu la also usu ally include s a more ge ne ric and all-embra cin g phrase :

Oll/ h(li IIfr( rj w/b it)

everv th in g good an d purl'

You have al rea dy stu die d th is ex pression in Exe rcise 2.4. It is ofte n qual ified by the foll owing fixed ex p ression:

fJ ~ ~

Tire inventory <!f offerings: Th e o ffe ri ngs a re u su all y e n u me ra te d via a sta n da rd list of ite m s, u su all y w ritten w ith ab bre via ted writi ng s (given h ere al ongsid e fulle r writ ings) :

b or

G-~~

<:,&.. or

1''''='' ~ ~~

oil. u nguent

m rh t

" "

so thai he m ay give a voice offering

fo u nd.

"'Z. c

<=> j. IT:

di=fis aga in a form of t he ve rb rdi '10 give ' (see Exercise 3.5 ). Once ag ain, at t hi s stage w e ad vise yo u to follow our sugges ted transla tion (se e Cha pte r 8 fo r a n explan ation) . prt -hrw a lo n e is typical o f 11th -dynast y ste lae. di=f prt -hr w is m ore t yp ica l fro m th e m id - 12th dyn a sty o nw a rds (p r t-h rw alon e bei ng rare by th en ). Durin g the ea rly part o f th e 12 th d yn ast y a m ixture o f both u sa ges is

o or

Ot h e r offerings someti m es occ u r (p a rt icu lorlv in lat er 12th - and 13 th dyn asty ste lae) and ar c usu ally m ore fullv w ritt e n ou t:

a voice offering

Th e second p a rt of th e offeri ng fo rmu la eit her starts o ff w ith prt- hrw im me d iatel y o r marks th e pa ssing over of th e o ffe rings from th e god by th e use 01:

'n tlt ntr 1m on which a god lives

Since thi s is a fixed e xpression, yo u shou ld read and translate it as a w hole for now, w ithout worryi n g about its int e rna l gramma r (which will be expl ained in Ch a pter 7 ).

c. The recipient of th e offeri ng Th e d ece ase d re cipient of the offeri ng is in trodu ced by one o r both of th e fol lowin g p h rases :

n kI n for rhc ka of

tlnl [I (Wj

the revered one

In th e l l th dy nasty an d in to the ea rly 12 th dyn a sty (aft e r which it dies o u t), we u su all y fin d imih tw} on its own . Th e co m b in e d u sage n kl n tmiljtw) begins in t he early 12th dyna sty and rea ches its pe ak in the mi d -12t h dyn a sty. Th e us e of 11 k1 n o n its own is rare in the ea rly 12th dy na sty, but be co m es the most com m on for m Irom th c lat er 12t h dy n a sty on w ar ds. On ce yo u h a ve reached this po in t. then yo u w ill fin d th e name o f th e deceased , usually w it h a title, a n d en ding with the com m o n epith et: m r- h rw

th e j usn fi ed

The voice offering from the stela of Tjeti:

m1 82 ~ H B M EA 6 14,

pr t-hrw 1;1 1 h nkt 1]1 ks lpd !J. Is m nht

Colu mn I :

A voice offering (of) a th ousand bread and beer, a thousand ox and fowl. a thousand alabaster and linen

i prt-hr w is h er e writte n w ith bread an d bee r signs but sim ply read pr t-hrw:

Â§27 The gen itive Th e genitive 'o f' (as in 'th e k ing of Egyp t ') occu rs in two forms:

a. Direct gen itive Th e tw o n o u ns are pu t toget her w ith o ut a ny linking wo rd . Th is co ns t ru ction is on ly com mon bet wee n clos ely connected wo rds or in fix ed expressio ns:

H oJW

to read Egyp tian hieroq ly phs

m -r pr

.h ~~~ n

m -r •Lrnwty

ov e rseer

S pecial wr itings

the estate

=, @

o versee r

=',,lj'~':" @}

th e chamber

lord of Abvd os nb 'bJ'" (Cpithet of Osiris) ti t

dd w

lord of Dj edu (e pit h e t of Osiris)

p u re as to th e exa ct re adin g - ill thi s boo k we adopt the more recent sugges tio n 10 read ssir ra th er th an wsir, not least since th is bri ngs o ut the para llel w ith the wriring of the name of Isis (for wh ich sec p. 4 2 ): /SIr

It also occu rs in cen ain compo un d expre ssions. suc h as thos e compo unded

w ith tb 'h eart ' :

,1 co \l JJn l

H-Ib

Osiris written with o u t determinative (w ritten with det erm inan ve in the I Ith dynasty)

st-lb occur s in a ra the r comm on epithe t: The stela of Ameny iden tifies his subordina te, Sahatho r, with the epithet:

3r"'-- y

BM EA 162,

Osiris Written with E60-seat above A36-e,"" for reasons which are still obscure. .

The w riting of Osiris' nam e (an d the n um ber an d nat ure of h is epi thets) alte red at differen t per iods of Egyp tian h isto ry. as follows:

affe ction. intimacy (literally. situa uo n o f the heart )

='"

Alternative writing from the late 12th dynasty

As a 'great god' i n tr ' I), th e cu ll of Osiris was cele bra te d a t man y sh rin es, the m ost importa nt of wh ich are reflected in his titles 'l ord of Djed u ' and ' lor d of Abydo s', the writing s of wh ich yo u stu died in Exe rcise 2,2 . In EM EA 587 (see Exercise 3.8 below ) th ey are w ritt en as follows:

= -

!r.. ~

----".DC'

Central column : b,k=[ ml' tI st· /b=[ His true servant of his affect ion

nb ddw lord of Djedu (w ri tt e n with graphic tran sposition, see §21)

b, Indirect gellitive Th e two n ou ns are lin ked by form s of th e 'genitival adjective' n . This behav es like an adje ctive and agr ee s wi th the precedin g noun, taking the follow in g fo rm s: PLUR.'..l

St:'i GlJ LAR

MA SCVI.INE

FEJ\UNl NE

ti t

.\ l A SCULL'1E

nu'

F EM I N INE

ntr

great god

"=' J~

nb sbdw

These three togeth e r represent the classic Mid dle Kingdom combination of epithets, part icula rly co m mon in th e early 12th dynasty. Th e w ri ting of Dj edu itself cha nges ov er tim e (a s we ll as sometim es displa yin g graphic tran sp osition) : Il th ft ~} mid-12th

late 12th fi~ } @ dynasty

dyna sty

An example occur s in blk=f m « n st-tb«] above . Anoth er example occ ur s in th e ph rase : UI

n k: It

for the ka of

_ ' of' is writte n in exa ctly the same way as the preposition - It 'to ', ' for'. However, in tran slating into English , o ne or othe r of thes e usu all y sug gests itself (d . 'for the ka of' ). Also the re is a tende ncy for n to be used for all n um be rs a nd genders, as in bmt=fll st-Ib=f' h is w ife of his affection ' in Exer cise 4.6.

Excursus: Egyptian funerary deities Osiris

Osiris (l sfr ) w as a cen tr al figure in the fune rary cu lts of the an cient Egyp tian s. As n oted in Cha p ter 2, h is n ame is w ritt en in an idiosyn cratic manner and can no t eas ily be broken down sign by sign . In deed there is still som e dis-

lord of Abydos

onward

The pre -emine nce of Osiris is re flected in hi s oth er n am e, Khen tyim entu ([mty -im nr w ), 'the one who is for emost of the w es terne rs' (i.e. th e dead gath ered in the realm of th e setti ng su n) ; the name evokes his subjects (the dea d spir its) arrayed befor e hi s throne :

v-.-

~w.) 1 §l I m l f ~ f'J

hnty-tmmw

Khent yimcntu

As will beco me clea r from a nu mber of th e stelae w hich you will st udy in th is book, th e na m e Khc nt ylmc ruu is often in clu ded in the offeri ng form ula amon gst th e epit het s of Osiris (agai n typic al of th e ea rly 12th dyn asty ). In mytho log y, Osiris had been a livin g kin g at the beginning of hi story, bu t wa s murdered an d dism em bered by hi s am bit iou s bro ther. Se th. Osiris ' rema ins we re ma gically re stor ed by Isis (1st) - his sister - wh o w as th en ab le to conceive his ch ild, Hor u s; Horus grew up 10 defeat Set h an d in h erit his father's thron e in legit imat e fash ion . Osiris is represent ed as a decease d king,

Special writinqs

mu m m iform but wit h royal rega lia, and a gr ee n or bla ck com plexio n all u d in g to th e fert ility of t he Nile floodplai n , ~

lir

Ex ercises

3,1 Siqn s and wonts a. 2-( /,.1 11S0na lll and 3-(ollsl.-' llant s(qllS

Horus

sb or mr

The passion of Osiris is also reflected in th e n am e wenen n elc r twn u -njr i. w hi ch me an s 'th e one who contin ue s to be perfect' a n d hints a t h is myst e-

hit or h w ~

rio u s pOST mortem poten cv :

Wepwawet 1I11d Anubis Fu nerary ste la e fro m Abyd os an d el sewhere of ten in voke We pw awet and An u bis a lo ngsi d e Os iris . Rep res e nted as a dog o r ja cka l. we pw awer (wpwn w) was an a ncie nt go d o f Abyd os a n d an ac tive particip ant in the cult o [ Osir is: th e annual passion -pla y at Ab ydos began w ith the procession o f Wep wawcr '10 protect h is fa th e r' , Osiri s. More ge nerally, Wep wawet wa s associa te d with ce meteries an d fun eral s, as re flected in h is tit le 'lord of th e sa cr ed land ' inb ts fisr). whe re 'sa cre d land ' mean s the ce m etery. Even the name We pwawet (litera lly, ' th e one who open s t h e w a ys' , see p . 96) re call s th e u n trodden pa th s ov e r th e de sert along whi ch he gu ided th e so u ls o f th e newl y de ceased to th e ki ngdom of Osir is, The other m ajo r fun e rar y deity was An u bis, whose ico nograp hy is clo se to th a t o f Wep wawet; he a lso ap pears in ca n ine form a n d bears the tit le 'l ord of the sa cre d land ': hi s o th e r tit les are m ore obsc ure . ' k ve rt hele ss, th e fu n erar y gods have d ist in ct roles, apparent in th e m yth ol ogy of the fune ral : Anub is em balmed th e bod y o f the decease d a nd co nd uc te d th e buria l cere monies: w cpwa wei led the deceased from t his w orld to the nex t; an d Osiris, ki ng of t h e d ea d , represented arrival and re ju ve n at ion in the n ex t life ,

As yo u w ill see be low, the nam e o f the god Khe nt yirnent u di sp lays th e TIl'bird (B 5 lo ng-legg ed bu zzard ), a sign which re ad s TW or Tvw (in thi s bo ok we sh a ll go fur t he sim ple r rea di ng Tw ) , bu t looks simila r to ;he r-bi rd (B3 Egy ptia n vu lt ur e ). The rw -bird ha s a m o re ro u nde d hea d , but oft en th e tw o b ird s are ve ry sim ila r in writin g (somet imes we ad d a tick to the rw-bird to distingu ish it). Fortu n atel y th e rw-bir d h as a ver y restricted usage :

~ or~

Ill'

EXAMPLE

SIGN

E7 feather on standar d

..J:;

B49 forepart of lion

E60 sea t

A24 soldier with bo w and qu tvcr

No tice tha t t he sign be confu se d :

;:;"1

lie=; 'i :

lmnt

th e west

lu t

from

place, position

mi:

ar my, expedition

1has ap p eared in two d iffer e nt w o rd s w hich should n o t

Jc=;

place, po sitton

Anubis The nam e a nd stan dard epithe ts of An u bis:

Dl }~ 0 u .

tnpw

Au uh is

&d l"..._.~

3.2 Words ip(y j

dw=! upo n his mountain

II h

dsr

+}S

im (y )-\l'1

th e one

in the

Transli terate the fo llo wi ng words (o n e uses a sign introduced in an earlier ch ap te r):

lord of th e sacred land grea t

Ameny (nam e)

WepwalVet

3.3 Gods' names

wepw a wc t sha res a m ajor ep it he t wi th An ubis :

You ha ve alread y be e n introd uced to tWOforms of Osiri s: Khcn tvi men tu a nd . Wencn n cf e r. Th es e are wr itten as follows . Tra n slite ra te :

v~?-<;... c lll "-r"

WP -WIIII

wepwaw et

li t

dsr

lord

rile 'a cted lan d

Khen tvi rncnt u

wc ncnnefc r

Specia) w r itings

H ow to read I:~qypri<lll h ieroglyphs

3.4 Titles In th e te x t, th e following tw o rules we re in trod uced . Her e rhe y are wr itte n in a sligh tly differe nt Wd Y. Tra nslite ra te th em , us ing th e sign -tables abov e: ove rseer of

~o k

the cham be r

. . ompanion

Tr.msluc ra tr a nd tra ns la te . using the tem plat e prov ide d in th e tex t (§ 2 6 above i . and stu d y t he indi vidu al w riting s o f th e va rio us co m po ne nt parts of the formula. Yo u sho uld also ma ke use of the vo ca bu lary int ro du ced in t he o th e r e xe rcises ab o ve . VO CA IJU LARY

ir-n

3.5 Common verbs Som e co m mon verbs are w r iuen w ith ot herw ise uncom mo n sign s a nd will: some id ios ync racies o f their o w n. It will be usef ul for you to be familiar wi th t he se wh e n rea din g Cha pter 4 (wh ere th e pr esence of (i) in brackets will also be e xp lained ):

I I/(i )

i rii)

'bring', written with a combination of 0 DB pot and A5 7 ./) walking legs, often with sound complerueu t 1/ L,«

'make', 'do'. 'art ' - written with the 2,con5onan t sign =- /r

m il

'see'. ' look at' - written with z», determinative placed under .:v mi . Some forms of t his verb arc written with only on e ~ I - ~ ~ - transliterated m t

rd!

'give', 'place' - --..; A4 1 arm giving loaf. or IJ:, E61 conical loaf. with out r as "--" or fA, translite rated dl. From the hieratic. also written with arm as ~ rdi cn ---n di

m il

L _L J } ~ _ .

horn of

m. ,.- ms: wr

gene ra l-in -

kbw

Qebu (name )

11"..--",,-

chid

=! in

he. his .pron o urn bcto r«. in lroru of

NOles:

ir-n me ans ' w h om such -a nd-suc h a per son m ade ' hu t thi s is not a sa tisfactory idiom in En glish . ii lIl - r IIlSr IVr m ea ns liter all y 'grea t ov e rseer of th e arm y'. iii In lin e I, the dam aged h ier oglyphs ar e pa n of t he sta nda rd epi th e ts of Osiris: hn ty -lmtttw (w it h an extr a rw-hird) . nt r r J. n b sbdw (see p . 41 ).

3,7 Offering tabl e scen e

3.6 Tile offt'ring formula from 8M EA 162

8M EA 162

(carv ed lim esto n e: w. 7 5clll) The offerin g formul a is usually w ritt en in a tele gram-li ke style wi th ver y ab br e via ted writings a nd certain prep ositio ns om itted. Th e tOP po rtio n of th e stela of Arn en y re M FA 1( 2 ). h ow ever, ra th er u nusua lly pro vide s us with a mo re fully wriu cn OU t ver sio n of ce rtain sec tio ns of t h e offe ring for m ula.

Meir L pl. 9 In sce nes, the offer ings a re often sh o w n pla ced o n a ta ble bef ore t he ~ .......".., c ,. .4

T r .' , H: l ; ,p 'r- ~ h·

::1 " .4

Tr :lnd ;l l f'> r h t»

hi .. rn oh/nh " h f, lnvJ

t h e-

,.,Hpr in o

Speci a I wri tings

How to read Egyptian hieroglyphs

tra nslat e th e h ieroglyphs wri tten within th e re gisters (a n d not those accompa nyi ng th e vases a t th e top left. w ritt en w itho u t regis ters ). Yo u shoul d co n sult the sect io n s on the offe rin g formul a in the te xt (ยง2 6 ) whe re n eces sa ry. Yo u m a y a lso find it usefu l to read th rough th e no tes on Osiris given on pp . 40-42 .

table scene from the to m b o f Scnbi (co nsult the sectio n o n the offe rin g fo rm ula if n e cessary ). VOCABULARY

h ity-:

governo r, mayor

._- _.... __. _

't ~ '1

[1l( IV)

. .

_....,

thou sands

~~l'I.

_ " , Ho _

VOCABl: LARY

Th e laden offe ring ta ble co nsrit u ring th e 'fu n e ra ry meal' for th e de ceased is referred to as :

~. .c:> 0 ~ ~ X7ln

l_ . dbh t-htp

' ..... __,,

m -r

o verseer o f

rhn wtty )

the chamber

lmn -

m -h tt

. _., .__ .

_...

Arnen ernhet ~ ._

.. _ _

rhe required offerings (Sec p. 102 fo r so m e remarks on th e titl e m -t ' bl/wty . )

3 ,8 Study exercise: BM EA 58 7

No tice that t h e in scrip tion h as bee n ca ref ully laid out: th e htp-di-nsw form ula tak es up th e first line; th e prt-ljrw fo rmula th e se cond line and the ep ithets , nam e a n d title s of th e stela o wner the third line. 3 .9 Study exercise: BM EA 585 E M EA 585, sh ow n on the nex t pa ge, has another sta nda rd offe ring fo r m ula , this tim e w ritten fro m right to left.

a. Translation Tran sliterate a nd translat e, usin g th e not es a n d voc ab ula ry be low. No tice h ow the n ames of Sar enenut et and his m ot her Bam eket a re written to fit the space ava ilable . Th e scenes and figures ar c in ra ised re lief a n d th e inscription s in sunk relie f. The clement -m kt in the mo the r's nam e is w ritte n in the sce n e a rea and in ra ised re lief. ._ _ ____ _ _. _

:Bl l\~ , ~ .~

111 ~I c.... ='= )11'

&...-.D

EM EA 58 7 (ca rved and pa inted limestone;

II .

56cm)

It is no w time fo r yo u to stu dy your first stela - EM EA 58 7, th e fune rary ~ " n " m ,.n t of thp o vercr-r r of Ih p r ham br-r Am e ncmh er. Tran slite ra te and

.___ v_.

VOCABULARY

, -------- - - ._.

bi-mkt

Barnekc t

n ttw

gods

dd htp -ntr

offeringgiver

.ill.

1115-11

hsb

C', @@

."",., n

tnwtv 51-

~ =} ~ rnnwu

born of count er of the double grana ries

Sa rcne n u tet

b. Epig raphy Compare th is stela wi th BM EA 58 7: i Iden tify the differen ces in the sha pe a n d a rr a nge m e n t o f pa rticula r hie ro glyph s (yo u may also w ish to con sider the fig ures a nd th e o ffe ring tab les). ii Ide nt ify th e d iffer e n ces in t he p hrase ology of t he o fferin g formu la.

Chapter .:J

Scenes and captions

Tile first part of th is hook was dedicated p rim arily 10 building up your k now iedqe of the hierog lyphic siqns needed to equip you for the twin goa ls of reading the nant es of the king s and the ofJering formula. In this pa rt of the hook we will move on to broaden your kno wledge of the ancient Egy ptian language an d how it works, equipping you 10 read a wider ranq e ofMiddle Kingdom stelae ill the British Mu seum an d elsewh ere, an d also supp ly ing yo u wit h a fi n n foundat ion for m oving on 10 study the wealth of surviving ancien t Eqyptian writings.

ยง28 Captions: th e infinit ive verbs typically la bel action s or events suc h as 'do' , or ' kick', thoug h so me verbs label states o r cond ition s such as ' rem ain' , A maj or topi c to be dealt with in readin g hieroglyph s is h ow to get the righ t trans latio n of verbs according to whet her th ey refer to a ctio ns in the past. present or future . Over th e n ext few chapte rs we will e qu ip you to bring this degree of accu racy to your tran slations. A good place to start is with scen es and capti ons . Scen es are oft en accom pa nie d by ca ptions whi ch very conve n ient ly label the a ction :

8 M EA 585 (carv ed lim estone; H . 52cm)

n~KJ spt sm lt

Bind ing a sk iff (Meir 1[, pl. 4 )

(In ca ptions , word s a rc often writt en wit hout det cr m inauvcs. since' the irnace itself oicrurcs the mc aninc. \

Scenes and captions

How to read Egyptian hierogly phs

In English the -ing form of the verb tran slates rat her well here, wherea s using th e si m ple En glish pa st 'b o u nd a skiff' seem s a little inc omplete and unsati sfact or y, Exactly th e sa me is true in Egyptian. In su ch ca ption s, Egypti a n u ses a pa rt icu lar form of the verb whi ch, as yo u w ill see in the next chapt er, differs markedly from th e form for expressing the pa st. In Egyptian the equivalent of the -in9 form in thi s usage is termed the infinitive (see ยง 31 below fo r its forms ), Before we progress furthe r, the re is on e general com ment we would like to make. The terms for the va rio us Egyptian verb -forms a re now rather traditional; they are not always ver y clear in th eir meaning, nor do they always agree with the use of the sa m e term in describing the gramma r of Eng lish . So the te rm 'in fin itive ' a nd its mea ning is no t really im po rta nt - it will. however, serv e as a conveni ent label by wh ich we ca n readily refer to the verb-form . When the actor is m e ntio ne d in an Egyp tia n ca ptio n , t his is usually introdu ced b y ~ -

tr an slat e 'kissing' in the examp le above as opposed to ' kissed' or ' will kiss'? ). tWO points sh ould be borne in m ind : i w hat help do es the writing of the ver b give us? (the q ue stio n of form ) ii h ow doe s the verb fit in the co nte xt of t he inscri pt ion ? (t he qu es tio n o f [unctions

As you will see, since hierogl yphs on ly wr it e consonants and not vowels, th e hieroglyphic writ in g alon e will not always dir ect u s 10 the exact form. However, once we take int o account how the verb see ms to be being used in th e in scrip tio n, th en we ca n usually get goo d se nse ou t of it. The first ' 100 1 of the trade' that we need to int rod uce yo u to is th e top ic of verb classe s, All the ve rbs in ancient Egyptian can be gath ered int o a small numb er of groups, which , when co n sidere d as a w hole (or paradigm ), u sually allow us to see ea ch form som ew h at m ore clearly. The following are the sta n da rd verb classes with a con venient exa m ple for each class: VER B CLASS

EXAMPLE AND DESCR IPTIO N

In ' by' :

Before the figur e of the owner is a lengthy adoration caption , the bare bones of w hich

STRON G VERBS

e.g.

.11.1\

slim

hear

stem does not usually show any alteration

DOr; BLl NG VER BS

e.g.

zl~}'

see

stem ends in a double consonant

W EAK VERB S

e.g.

mr ti)

to love

stem ends with a 'w eak' consona nt. usually -I

EXTRA W I;AK VERBS

e .g.

rd(l)

to give

chiefly verbs with two or three weak consonants

are:

BM EA 567 :

sn 11 n ljllIy -lmnt w m prt 'II ...

In m- r 5n'(w) im n -m -hst Kissing the ground 10 Khentyimen tu in the great procession ... by the overseer of the provisionin g areas Arnen emhet

!L....Jj

For the vocabulary, see the ne xt sectio n and the excu rs us on titles, p . 10 3. ยง29 Adoration The owne r of a ste la often expressed a wish to part icipate in certain im po rtant festivals beyond death, parti cularly the Osiris Mysteries (for whi ch see pp. 54-56). He either wished to participate in them directly - through seeing (mlJ :J':} '}'), ad o ring (dwt kissing the grou n d (sn u &6 : -1)' or giving pr aise td tt [JW ~q }. '1 ) to the go d - or thro ugh having offerings made to h im at su ch times. Fo r example:

*'1 ),

The vertical columns of stela BM EA 580 com prise a hymn to Osiris which beg ins: ยฃ~ -il ~ n n ---:-~v '

BM EA 58 0,

Lines 1-2:

dii uw

n.=.

~ I ~, 6 _ ;;;)m

isir sn lJ n W p- W lWI

Givin g praise to Osiris, kissing the ground to wepwawet

ยง30 Verb classes and the infinitive So how do es this all work ? The first and m ost basic point is that whe n

Notes i With weak verbs, the final -I is usu all y omitted in writing and therefore in tran slit e rati on. For pra ctical re asons, however, we will transliterat e th e extra weak verb ' to give' as rdl or dt . ii Extra weak verb s behave like ordinary w ea k verbs, but so m etim es sh ow add itional features.

Th e stem of a stro n g ve rb is not usuall y th at h elpfu l since it rarely sho ws an y differen ces. As yo u will see below, the infinitive of stro n g verb s gives us littl e wr itten du e . Doubling verbs have a ro ot which ends with the sa me conso na nt re peated twi ce. In wr itin g, so me forms of these verbs sho w onlv one o f these co nso nan ts (e .g. mJ) a nd in oth e r forms sh ow two (e.g. mJJ) and thi s can hel p in dist ingu ishing certai n forms. Weak and extra weak verbs, whose root s e nd in a ' wea k con sonant ' (-lor - IV) , are the mo st inte res tin g be cause they sh ow a wider ra nge of variati on in different verb-forms, whi ch can be mo st usefu l in spo tt ing a partic ular form (w e sh all see that weak ve rb in fin itiv r-c ;Hf' rar hr- r m o rr.. f'r1 l\V tn

~nOI t h a n

crrrrnc verh in fi n ir ivr-c i

} f<11I' h '

read ( qYPlial/ hieroqlyphs

O n e uu po rt a nt poilu

nol l.' a bo ut weak ve rb s is thzu th e

-I

and

- IV

w ith which their ro o t or d ict iona ry forms en d do 110 t u suall y appear in

( ~ ni l co il of rope is a co mm o n dcre n uinau ve for ropes, co rd s a nd ac uo us p e rfo rmed wi th the rn .)

wri ung a ud so n ee d n OT be rran-lu crat ed . Ho wever. so rh ar yo u ca n see rea d ily wh ethe r a verb is a weak ve r b or n o t. the 路i o r -IV of w eak verbs wi ll be a d ded in brack e ts (a s in t he tab le ab ove I in th e vocabu lari es in thi s book . 搂31

The forms of the infinitive

SO It' I 'S uu n 10 th e in fi nit ive and see how a ll th is w orks o u t. Th e inf i niti ve

in Egyp tian ha s th e fo llowi n g form : l ~ FJ ~ Il "l\' E

SlR O:>;C VERll S ~

no change

DOtJ BLlNG VERBS

- do ubling W EAK VER BS

- end in-I

dJ~

sdm

hea ring

~1,~

m il

seeing

2~ r -,

nt rJ

giVing/p lacing rdit or dt: (r op rlori al in bo ih

EXTRA W EAK VERBS

- end in -I Here a re so me exa mples

loving

w ritings . See p. 44) 10

illu strat e th is:

~ h~ ~ 'I~ STRON( , VI'RBS

DO Ull U !'(G \ 'ERBS

M c i r I.

Melr

pI. 2 :

I. pI. 9 :

r ipdtw) Th rowing al the bird s

EXTRA Wh\K VERBS

l\k ir

II .

1'1. 4 :

Bindi ng a sk iff

Just like Englis h d ict io na rie s. dictiona ries and word - Iisrs of ancien t Egyp tia n ju st g ive you a sta n da rd cita tio n fOIDl (th e r oot), h e re sp(i) 'b ind (tog ether)' , a nd do no t tell w h et her you n ee d 'b in d ing ', 'b o u n d' or wha tever in yo u r ac tua l tr anslati on . All the ci ta tion fo rm tell s us is th at spti) is a w eak v e r b . But if we look at the actu al example w e find the foll owing form. sho wi n g an exira - I :

'I ~

SPI

bin ding

'Ill"

~ l, ~Q f\ ~}l\~ 1Ill! I W lW

Seei ng th e ( a Ilk

W ~ AK VERBS

r~r ::J spt smh

~u r ~\ In <--""

spt smh Binding a skiff

~B= ,M~

BM Ell 5 8 0 , I : dlt liw 11

and al so , of course, it is being used in a ca p tio n . Toge th e r th is in for mation all ows u s to de cide th a t spt is an examp le of the Egyptia n infin iti ve and ca n be translated w ell into Eng lis h as 'bmd-In g. We a d vise yo u at this st a ge to follow our exa m ple h e re in a dh ering to a sm a ll number o f sugge ste d translation schemes for th e various form s we wi ll int ro duce yo u to, sin ce this will help yo u to get go od sens e o ut of the h ier og lyphic in scri p tio ns yon will read in thi s book. At fir s!' it is be uc r 10 ref ra in from tr yin g to be m arc imaginative or 10 'guesumat e th e mean ing. So our first t ran sla tion sch em e is for th e infi n itive (simp ly su b stitute th e necessary verb for 'do):

lSlr

Giving praise to Osiris The m ost n o ticeable feat ure of th e table is that th e form of th e infi n itive of weak ve rbs e n ds in a -I. Co ns id e r aga in th e sce ne an d ca ption w ith which we in trodu ced th is ch a p te r (repea ted o n p . 53 ). If yo u look a t the vocabula ry a l the end o f the book. r O il will find th e fnIl Il W;ll l1 worn l i~trd:

infinit ive translation scheme

d o ing or to do

In the exa mple s in thi s ch a p te r 'd o in g' will be the right ch o ice, hu t o n othe r occas ion s ' to do ' will fit better. If th e ra nge of m ea n in g seems a bi t lo o se, com pa re the Englis h 'To s tu d y hi erogl yphs is int eresting ' wit h ' St u dy in g hieroglyph s is int eresting ' w h ere the Engli sh 'to do ' an d 'd o in g' fonns h ave a sim ila r u sage .

Scenes and captions

How to read ( qypria n hierog lyphs

Now , of co ur se, infi nitives of stro ng and doubling verb s do n ot offer us m uch help ill their writin g. But the con te xt a nd so met im es ot her parall el exa m ples can help o ut. As an ex a mple, we can cons ide r again th e fish in g a n d fowli ng sce ne fro m th e tomb o f Se nbi w hich you stu d ied in edi ted fo rm in Ch a pte r 1 and w hich yo u can stu dy in its o riginal. complete form as Exe rcise 4.6 , The two edited la bels we re : a. Scene "f spear ing fish :

Meir I. pl. 2:

Here we shall con ce nt ra te o n t he route of th e festival. In Exercise 6. 5, yo u will stud y o ne o f t he princ ipal sur v iving ancien t sou rces for th e festival pr ocess ion itself. Th e exact lo cation an d sco pe of th e various Egyptian place na m es use d a re still a rnauer fo r de bat e . How ever , th e rua p below gives a plausible version .

stt rm(w) ill snbl m r-hrw Spearing fish by Sen bi. rh c justified

b. Scene of Throwing the thr ow- stick at the birds:

Meir J. pl. 2:

' m'l r lpd(w) I" snbi mr -hrw

Throwing at the birds by Senbi. the justified st(i ) ' spea r' is a weak ve rb , hen ce the in finit ive str 'spearing' . rmrs, howe ve r,

is a st ro ng verb an d does not provide a pa rt icul a rly helpful w riting. Yet t he cont ext of th e captio n and th e parallel w ith t he other cap tion showing ussu 's pea ring' ur ge us to con side r th e infi ni tive an d the tra n sla tio n 'th ro win g' . Notice also ho w u sin g th e sugges ted tr a n slat ion schem e helps US to d ra w togethe r a decent Eng lish tra nslation of th e whole: 't hro wing at th e birds hy Senbi the ju st ified', w hereas reasona ble alte rn a tives such as 't hrows at the bi rd s' do not: ' thro ws at the birds by Senbi the ju stified ' is not particu la rly goo d Eng lish.

Ex cursus: The cult of Osiris at Abydos

T~e

The hea rt o f the cult o f Osiris a t Abydos wa s the a nn ual fest ival a t which his cu lt -sta t ue was bro ught. in a rit ua l boa t carri ed al oft bv pri ests , in pro cession fro m his tem ple to his supposed to rnh a t Um m el-Oarab (' mot he r o f pot s' ). The festival pr oces sion had two fundamental compo nents - a public sectio n during w hich t he div ine image passed thro ugh t he cemetery ab u tt ing the te mpl e 's we stern side , a n d a pri vate sectio n ou t in the desert wh ere the secre t rit es co nce rn ing th e m yste ries a nd passion of Osiris were per forme d. Dur ing the Middle Kingdom at Abydos , m embers of the elite dedica ted stela e, or erected o ffering chapels as ce no tap hs, ho pin g to en sure th eir co ntin u ed pa rt icipa tion in th e festival afte r th ei r ow n death. The cem etery a t Aby dos was t he refore a ve ritabl e cit y of the dead with a wea lth o f rnon u rne n ts. and, as you will see , Abydcne stelae form an imp ortant body of the Midd le Kingdom monu ment s st udied ill th is book.

self in Exe rcise 6.5, th e re w ere actually two outward pro cessio ns - the ,pro cession ' 0 f W ep w aw et '(n <""> /l V -P---"........ "'"" ) a nd th en the 'g reat procession' n ~ '" c, IIi 'Y' o f Osi sins ( 7:.fl r> ) . Stelae were concentrated near th e west e rn en tra nce to t h~em pl e , in a n a rea of h igh grou nd known as the 'te rrace o f th e great god ' ( ~,i)-I!). so t ha t th e decease d co uld look up on th e em erg ence an d re turn of the gods (h ence the ref erences to 'kissing th e gro und' and 'giving praise' as the images o f th~ go ds pas s by - t he cu lt images of t he gods ar e ofte n re ferred to as thei r ~e~ nfrw ' sple nd o u r' ). The pr ocessio n cros sed t he terr ace be fore de s ce ~d in g into a wadi (the sacred lan d, ;:::;~) . Th e god 0 'JD ) th en pro ceeded out mt o the dese:r on the God 's boa t-j o u rney to Poker ( ~ @ ) wh ere t he divine mysteries and rites were pe~med . Abydos had a lon g hi story as o n e of t he most sacred sites in th e coun try since

.-::arting po int o f t he festiva l procession wa s th e Osiris Temple

(lQ 1 ~1 ~1Ib~ ), h ou sin g th e sta tue of th e god . As yo u will see for yo ur0

(Ii

" "'I(.

1 t'

I l T"nl <'" pLn~ ("" h

th ".-

th~ p~,..l iA "-J

L路inooe

H lp ",.o

h llrl t .rt

P " thp 1 1 th

See/res and captions

How 10 read Egy pl ia ll hieroglyphs

Dynast y. th e tomb o f the Isrd vnas tv king Dje r wa s beli e ved 10 be that of Osiri s hi m sel f. VOCAB ULARY

~ J)

pre

procession

::LJ

rw d

terr ace

pre 'JC

the great procession

1[;]

h wt nt r

temple

pre

the procession of w epwawet

dsr

sacred lan d

=C> JI c

LJ i? ~ ! ~Jl V6/ 1

W p -WJWl

Poker

O Li @ L~

l':::r _ .. _. _ ._ 路_

= _ __

0 l~

- _._ -

god's boat - i 1..!~ ~ <ill ntr journe y _ _ ..__ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ __ .. -1

Mei r II, pl. 4 The bu ll is al so lab elled sep a rately be tween the tw o figures at th e top.

Exercises 4.1 Signs a. Soun d Sig /IS: r.

111

m (t<-j/

b. Determinatives:

w it m

dws

EXAM PLE

SIGN

F6 basin combin ed with canopy A2 0 man with

o ut stret ched arm s

UlIJ or CIJ ~~

1 or 1

festival

h(w)

praise. adora tion

Meir I. pI. 11

Both of these dctcrm inativc s a re u sed widel y. for variou s festivals and fo r words to do w ith pra ise and su p pli ca tion . Note. however. that when u sed o n thei r own. the y a re abbreviated writings o f t he two speci fic wo rds giv e n .

sister

wife

adore. praise

kiss

brothe r

Jl\~

repeat

4.3 Translation

l OX ~

roI..~ _. spit

lassoo

1_. _

'i ~ }lJi:iI

or iii

lon g-horned n9m' bull

bull

4.4 Translation

4.2 Words Tra nslit erat e the foll owing word s:

.;' e-. "~

VOC ABULA RY (N ORMALt SED WR m NG S )

r - --- - """- - -- - -I V wp (l ) separate, open

Translitera te and translate th e following sections (rom the 101' o f 8M EA 10 1, the st ela of Nc bip us c nwosrer, da ting from th e reign of Am cnernhet III ( sh o w n o n the ne x t page - ign o re the se ctio ns in g rey ). You ma y wi sh to rea d th e no te s on th e cu lt of Osi ris at Abyd os on pp , 54- 56 for usef u l backgrou n d information . Th e following n ot es will hel p you in translati n g th e ce nt ra l se ctio n:

Notes The eye emblem in the cen tre can be rea d as a verb

' 10

see' . It is though t

Scenes and captions

How to read ;':"ypticlH h iercaly p hs

See §§ 17- 18 on th e ki n gs name an d e p it hets (th e epith ets a re di vided in to two columns m irr o ri ng th e geue ral di visio n into a sec t io n o n Osiris on the left and o ne on w epwawct on the right), mry is u sed in lh e epith et 'b elo ved of t he god X ' . Th e n a me o f the god (a n d h is titl e s) a rc w ritten first fo r rea so ns o f p re stige (as not e d in §2 2 ab ove ).

:;: ~ ~-r~~ lJO

I'r:=fnfrt

h is wo ndc rtu l proce ssio n

prt ru

th e gr eat procession

hb (Wj=f nf r w

his wond e rful festival>

<::>JJo

4.5 Translatian Tran slit erat e and tra n sla te t he foll owing se ct io ns o n the n e xt pa ge fro m BM EA 58 1, on e of t he th re e stelae of th e ov erseer of th e chambe r Int ef so n of Se n et in th e British Mu seum , Th ese ste la e ar e extreme ly elab orat e in their wording, so we 'Nil! on ly co ns ider two sectio ns . Ign o re the parts in grey,

BM EA 101 (ca rved an d p a in te d lim eston e; w. 66cl11)

Th e d e c....a scd king Sen w o sr et III form s th e ce n tra l focu s of th e sce n e , As record ed in 't he mid dle sect io n of th e stel a , Nebipusen wosret had th is st ela sen t to Aby dos in th e care of th e eld er lect o r-priest Ib i w ho had co m e, as pa rt of the priesth ood o f the temple of Ab ydos, to th e reside n ce o f th e th en reignin g k in g Am enemhet II I. VO C A BULA RY - - -- ~ -

[C o

=./l "'"-

"c" ""r=

ll ~ 1 '~

1~1

*1 -

0_ '

Grammar

--- -_. _---- - _ .

prt

procession

his

Neb ip u nb t'=i) pw-s n ws rt se n wos ret

~;iR;

----- -- --- ----_. . ptr nf rw

viewi ng ih e splendour

'II

in , during

nfr

pcrteci. wond erful

nfrw

perfection , bcau iv. wo nd er. splendou r

Q) I I

dWI

adore, praise

~ r;0 "iIiI

13M EA 58 1 (ca rve d lim eston e ; w. 36c ll1) VOCA BUlA R Y

/:IMw) festivals

41r

enduringly and repe ate dly

d~~

int]

In tc f

m fJ

see , look a l

sn /l

land , }:round

b,\

ir-n

born of

nf rw

splend our, wonder

SIll

Se net

How

Scenes and captions

read Egy ptian hieroglyphs

writinqs The extrac ts fro m BM EA 581 show two variant wr itings wo rt h n oting: [ltt'y -

Kh ~lqytmenlU

im n tw

The first sign has two variant s. with three or fou r pots (E38. E39)

IJ and" arc similar

m -r

ov erseer of

' Unw ty

th e chamber

soun d; and can occur in varian t writings

4.6 Study exercise: Fishing and fowling scene f rom rite tomb ofSenbi at Meir You a re no w in a p osition 10 translit er at e and tran slat e the o rigina l versio n o f the fish ing and fowl ing scene from the to mb of Se n bi shown o n p age 6 1. VOCABULARY

, - - -- - ---- --- ---- - - - - - --- - - - - ---- - - -- -

nb. n bt

lord (masc.) lady (Iern.)

at, tow ards

hea rt

QIII.,

tmil]

reve ren ce

<0< II'

rmtw) fisb

~~ ~

Inl1l;y

the revered

.J')

hsty- :

gover nor

lm rut

western

hmt

wife

1:f1

IS/T

Osir is

<mrs

th row

his

11JJ r-bnv

:>::!

'=' C/ ,

"'-

-n ~--D ~ !

f I bl d ow . If S

d( )

=:1

.tr l~

_ ~= r

....

~(jU

::?:

before

[Ir

[rtmty- seal-bearer of the king blty smyt

desert

r~ ;.

sm r -

sole

ju stified

rJ ~

snbl

Senbi

m -r

ove rsee r of

hm- ntr

priests

~\l

st-ib

affection. intimac y

mrs

Meres

.. .._- " - -- -- -'. - ---

_.---_._-

_._-

~['v -- - --

... . -

,vl(Y) compa nion

st(i) - --

spear

- -- -

Not es ,-J; ~ o o i Fish in g scene: ancient corre cti on at en d of line . read : -50 ~ , ii Fowling scene : end o f first lin e , read ~(jU . Above wife. read _ above

-- - - n 'o f'

Scenes and captions

How to read c~qyp tia n hieroglyphs

4 .7 S tu dy exercise: The coffi n of Nakh tankh (B M EA 35 28 5) Alth ough in th is book we co ncentrate on stelae in the British Mu seu m , th e mat erial th at you <I re worki ng through also puts you in a position to study inscr iptions on othe r kin ds of m u seu m objects, part icularl y where th ey incl ude the offering form ula. In th is exercise you will study th e in scripti on s on the outside o f a Middle Kingdom coffin (BM EA 35285, th e coffin of

Nak h tank h) . We sh a ll con cent rate o n the two exte rior sides of the co ffin. om ittin g the in scripti ons on th e h ead an d foot en ds. The inscrip tions are align ed on th e co ffin as follows:

w ><:: N S E

BM EA 352 85 (eastern side ) (painted w ood; L. 2 12ml)

Notes Imlb(y) tlr displays ha plography (i.e., wh ere the la st sign in one w o rd an d th e first in th e ne xt a re the sam e and th e sign is wr itten onl y on ce) . ii mr -hrw is (a) w ritten occasionally with the papyru s-roll an d (b) om itted in th e north ernmost column . iii the g b -goos e (B8 ) is diffe rent from th e sr-duck (B7).

The body was laid on its left side, facin g towa rds th e east. in o rde r to be able to look out th roug h th e eyes on th e eastern side to wards th e n ewly rejuvc nat ed sun a t su nri se. Hen ce th e in scri ptio n s run from th e head at th e north ern e nd tow ar ds th e feet a t the sou thern end. Th is represents th e typical arra ngement of a Middle King dom rectan gular co ffin. On th e eastern side (th e s ide with th e eyes looking ou t toward s th e su nri se ). th e main inscr iption is an offering form ula to Osiris. On th e w estern side is an offering formul a to Anubi s. At th e corne rs, the in scr iptions invoke th e four son s of Horn s. protective deities for th e body of th e deceased (with th e classic Midd le Kingdom a rra ngeme nt of Irnseti and Duam u tef on th e east side an d Ha py a nd Qebeh sen uef on th e wes t). The cent ral colu m ns in vok e deities closely linked to Osiris: Sh u and Geb on the east side an d th eir fem ale con sort s Tefnet a nd Nut on th e west.

VOCABCLARY

.------- . .- -.- ---- -1 i ~-?- -;; nbr--nb

.,- :1~ tlllr(y)路im nlll路 ---------- -- -

Nakhtankh

Kh e n tyi rn entu

OTIlE R DEITIES

THE EOUR SO"'S OF HORUS

~~ r~

imst !

Irnsett

dwi -mwte ]

Du arnu te f

hpy

Hapy

kbh -snwr]

Oeb eh scnuef

'--'''--..

L~~q l2 (:;, ~ g,,"

_____ _____--.J

~~ } SW

Sh u

Geb

tjn t

Tefn et

nwt

Nu t

...... 0

00 ="

The eastern side The eas tern side of the co ffin is sho wn on th e next page . Tran slite rat e an d tra nsl ate w ith the h elp of th e vocabu lary and n otes below :

The western side The principal inscript ion on the western side of t he coffin is an offerin g form ula to An ubis. Wh er eas th e Osiris offering form ula con cerns the offerin gs to susta in the ka of th e de ceased, th e Anu bis offeri n g form ula con cerns the burial itse lf. Translite rate a nd translate with th e help of th e following notes:

How to read Egyptian hieroglyphs

Chapter 5

Description

In the next two chapters. we will introduceyou to the past tense, concentratinq on inscriptions in which the deceased reflects back upon, and describes, his official life. We will also introduceyou to the ancient Egyptian p ronouns.

BM EA 35285 (weste rn side)

Notes The standard organization of th e Anubis offerin g formula is: htp -dl -nsw follow ed by An ubis wi th his epi the ts a nd th en krst nfrt wi thou t being in troduced by dt»]. You may wish 10 introduce yo ur tr anslation of krst nfrt with a dash o r colon aft er th e htp-di-nsw section. ii Rea d ts=f nfr n I1rt-ntr wi th th e indirect genitive (see §27 above) . ls»] mea ns 'hi s tom b'; for =f see §33. iii An ubis is invoked with hi s standard epi thets (see p. 4 2 ) an d a fu rt her epithe t:

9 IT

mlJlli

tm t)' sh -n i r

BM EA 562,

VOCABULARY

_ - - -tomb

cemet ery,

1 . b:-:r_n~~oP_ol_is L__

The offici£ll lntef son of Senet proclaims his ethical behaviour:

the one befor e the divine booth Lin e 10:

~ ._ -_....

! ~l;;

§32 Introduction: description In a typi cal type of fun erary inscription - w hich we can term self-presentation - th e own er presents him self (rarely, h er self) a ccord ing to the ethi cal v alu es of Mid dle Kingdom elit e society and in te rms of su ccess an d achieveme nt . part icu larly in roya l service. In orde r 10 describe th e activities which the offidal pa rticipa te d in , th e tasks he accomplish ed, a nd his ethical beha viour, the past tense is genera lly use d.

~ ::: .Ll

= I'i:==l

iw krs.n »!

ittw)

I buried the old nfr krst

bu rial

This constructio n comp rises th e past form of th e ve rb (.;;, ~ k rs + _ .n; d . English 'bury ' + '-ed' - see § 33 below) followed by th e su bject ('1' ) and other e lemen ts; the sen ten ce begins wi th an a u x ilia ry ~ } iw w hich is no t translated in to English (see §34 below ).

§33 The past: sgm.n(=f) The pa st form is term ed the .tJ sdm.nt-f) (pronounced 'sedjcmene f) ' he hea rd', u sing the verb sdm '10 h ear' in the 'h e ' form ('h e h eard ' ) as th e stan da rd example. In th is form, an affix _ .n <ed'. is added 10 th e verbstem (wri tten after the det erm in ative). As a sta n dard convention, in tran sliterat io n th e .n is usu ally separa te d fro m the stem of the verb by a dot - this just makes it easier 10 spo t. The form s of th e s4m.n(=j) for t he verb classes (§30 above) a rc;

1\,:::

How

read Fgy ptian hier oqlyphs lll hu remakltr extols h is proper conduct as a responsible official:

:;4m. n(=.fj

sdm.l!= f

STRO J\G VER B S

h e hea rd

l1H .n=I no dt)t:htillg

Wf AK VFR BS

mr.Il=!

he loved

EXTRA W 1:A K V[ RBS

(rJdf.ll =f r opt iona l

he gav e

When th ere is a pr ono un su bje ct (e .g. 'I hear d' , 'he hea rd ' ). th e suffix pronouns a re used (see §3 6 below ); the pronoun s for 'I' and ' he ' a re give n her e (co m pa re with the exa m p le abo ve ):

He )[l

:1"'j .:r_ "" 5 I·" ,, ~ ~;_.D~>JK ....e.lA _Jr ,'/;;:: 1 ~, fin ... X __ A....ID\ i 1~ 2;.

i ll' rdt.n t-cl] { tl hk r hbs w tl h iv

1 gav e bread

DOU HU N<..; VERR S

s l!m . tl l,~j)

SUFFIX P RON O U N S

BM FA 17 83. Lin e 4 :

L' l\ ~

sdm.n=/

t hea rd

"'=--

L' ~=

sdm.n«]

he he ard

Th e suffix p ron oun s (see th e refe re nce tables o n p. 148 for a full list ) a u ach to th e ve rb; th is is indi cat ed in tr anslit er ati on by the symbo l '= ' . On ce again thi s ha s th e practical valu e of makin g the su ffix pro no u n s e asy to spo t in transliteration: slim .Il =I is much easier to re ad isdm ' h ea r' + .n ' -d ' + =f ' he' ) th an sdmni. W it h an o rdin a ry noun su bje ct (e .g.trhe ma n heard ' ), th e no un follo ws t he ver b, bu t d ocs n ot fix o n to it (h en ce the re is no '=' in tr an sliter ation ):

Ih e h u ng rvand cloth es IO th e na ked

(Th ere is no w or d for ' an d ' in Egvp tia n ; for vo cabula ry. see Exer cise 5.4 .) There is no sim ple English equi valent for I w and so it is left unt ran slat e d. Ir invo kes a se n se of in vo lvem e nt in the assessment o r prese n ta tio n of what is sa id / w riu e n. In se lf-p resen ta tio n inscription s, Iw f dm.n(=fJ give s a sen se o f lo okin g back o ver on e's life. In ot her con tex ts th e perf e ct (' som eo n e has done som e th in g' ) a lso su its, particu larly in recorded speech . §35 Omission o f the firs t p e rson s uffix pronoun Th e fir st pe rson suffix p ro nou n ('I-m e- m y') is sometimes om itte d in w riting, particu larly in te xt s where a figure o f th e person is pr esent (e.g. s tela e a nd tomb in scri ptions) or st ro n gly implied (e.g. w he r e th e te xt is all a bo u t th at per son ): An other of Inh uretnakht 's sta ted eth ical acts: BM EA 178 3,

Li nes 4- 0:

d,.nl =I) [ww <m > m /;nI(=t) dsl=i) I fe rried th e boatles s in m y o wn fer ry

Note:

Iwll' ' the boat lcss: is writt en with a d o ubling 01 the 2-co nso na n t sign ~B 32 .

Re pea ted co nsonan ts are so m e tim es omitt ed : he re on ly one m is wri tten in In mhntiv i) ' in my ferry '. iii lis is u sed for th e empha tic reflexive ' (m y / h im )sd f' or 'ow n' . ii

Hekaib record>all inspection o] his p roperty by th e ru ler:

BM EA 167. Line 10 :

q }4~ K it~ ipn hk : 1w ,( w )( = !) The rule r ins pe cted my ca u le I t<'

(For the o m ission of

= 1 in IWI(w)= 1

'm y cau le' . see § 35 below ; see p . 7 3 for

vo cab nla ry.)

§34 Au x iliarie s Th e slim.nl=/) is usuall y preceded by a n a n xilia ry such as ~ } iw. In stela inscrip tio ns iii' s!im .Il(=f) o fte n tr ans lat es w e ll as a sim ple past ('so m e o ne did

§36 Su ffix pronouns Altho ug h, as we sh all see , ihere are d ifferent set s of pro no u ns in Egyp tia n w ith d ifferent usa ges, the y do no t corre spond to the difference between '1m e-my ' or ' h e -h imh is' in Eng lish . The Egy p tia n pro nouns translat e by whate ver ha ppens to be th e most ap propri ate En glish form o f pron oun . The suffix pro nou n s a rc use d: a. As the subiects of verbs 1'1', 'he ') The official Inte] son of Sen et p roclaims h is eth ical beha viou r:

som erh i n g) : IJr..' EA 56 2. l.i n e 10 :

Description

How to read Eqyptian hieroglyph s

b. As the possessor of a noun tmy, 'his' ) The top pan of BM EA 101 beh ind th e iiqure of Nebipu sen wosret (see p. 58):

t s, * jj .ii.. r:'I..MI ~ "'---(i.1l' ..sd ~

§l~

, _.

~ ~~

41 r nhh Adoring Osiris in his wonderful festivals endur ingly and repeatedly

8 M EA 101 : d wi tsir m (Ib(W)=! nfrw

As the ob ject after a preposition t' me', 'him ')

From the Abydos formula on 8M EA 162:

BM EAI62 , Line 5:

~~ ./l} ~ ~~i:'_~JJ ~ 4d.I(I< J=fn=!l w

h i p 111 wrw

Ibilw

May 'Welcome in peace' be said for Will by the great of Abydos

(For the meaning of cjd.l(w)=f , see p. 115.) For th e fu ll list of su ffix pronou ns, see Referen ce table, p. 148.

§37 The past relative form: stjmt.n (=f) The following paragraph discusses a m ore advanced poin t wh ich som e of you may wish to work th ro ugh at this stage in order to gai n th e maximum u ndersta ndi ng of the inscripti o ns read as study ex erci ses to th is chapter, Others ma y con sider these points a little abs trus e at this stage and ma y prefer to return to th is paragraph later on . As well as being described (som eon e did some thin g' ). events ca n also be characterised (trea ted as a 'thing w h ich som eone did ' : 'w ha t/wh ich some one did ') . Egyptian has a special wa y of characterising an eve nt - by using th e relative forms - w hi ch is qui te different from English an d is often seen as one o f the more difficult aspe cts of ancient Egyptian . However, the use of the relative form s is ext re me ly com mon and wi ll crop up in a n um ber of example s, and so we will attempt to ope n up thi s ar ea of Egyptian for yo u by th e use of our no tion of a transla tion schem e. Th e difference bet ween de scription and cha racterisation can be see n in the following example: The self-p resentation of lnhuretnakht ends:

BM EA 1783. Line 5:

n'" =-;;:' :I ~ .JiI\':,_ ~ ~ """ ~Jt_H ; I i w Ir.n(=I) klw /00 In In .n(= ij 4.«=1)

I assembled 100 bulls throu gh what I did myself

N<Jt"s ~

is the n um be r 100. ii m here has th e mea ning ' th ro ugh ' or 'by the mean s of' .

In Egyp tian , th e desc ribed eve nt ' I asse mbled 100 bull s' is expressed by using th e scjm .n (=j) for m ir.n t-ei) . However, th e cha rac terised eve nt 'w ha t I did myself' is expressed by usin g a not h er verb -form - the past relative form: lrt.n te i). In rhis usage , the re is no separa te wo rd for 'w ha t' or 'w hich' , rat he r the verb, form shows a -t ill its wr iting , so irt .nt c i} in itself means 'w ha t I d id' with out needin g ex tra wo rds. Notic e that missing ou t a word suc h as 'wh at' in translation leave s the sent en ce w ith poor sense: 'I assembled a hund red bulls th ro ugh I did m yself' . Yo u will often find this to be the case: th e relative forms (an d the ir cou sins , the part icip les introd uced in Ch apter 7 ) scream ou t for th e inclusion of an En glish w ord such as 'w ha t' or 'w h ich ' in translation. Th e sa m e stela pro vides an oth er sim ila r exam ple: Between th e figures of lnhuretnakht and Hui. tit" following dedication label about the stela appears: 8M EA 17 8 3:

lrt.n -n=f sl=f sms wef mry=f d bl

What his eldest and beloved son Debi made for him

Notes ii

-n=/ precedes sl=f smswe] mry e] in word o rder. In si»] smsll'=f mry=f bo th SI1lSW and mry share the followi ng =f and th e ph ra se means literally ' his son, his elde st. his beloved' .

In this book we shall focus on th e relative fonn onl y when it shows the ext ra -I. In thi s wa y we can isolate the following conven ient tran sla tion sch em es for the pa st sdm. I1(=j) form an d th e past rela tive fonn sgm /,I1(=f) discussed in this cha pt er:

-=-"--

PAST TE:"SE PAST RELATIVE

F O R ~t

Ir.n=f

he did

frt.n=/

what he did

Excursus: Names and kinship terms Names and family re lat ionshi ps play an importa n t role on Iune rarv stela e. We pr esen t here a number of the nam es to be fo und on the mon um ents studied in this book, and the kin ship terms used , for you to refer to . As the section on names indi cates, m a n y Egyp tian names (like our own ) have a mea ning. Nev ertheless. in tra nsla ting Egyptian monuments, it is better to stick to th e name itself. rath er than trying to translate the name into En glish. Names Nantes referrtnq to personal condition In a society wit h high in fant mortality, it is not su rp rising that m any n am es

H £lIV

Description

to read J-:'gyprian hieroqlvphs

Scubi (Meir tomb cha pel B. I'll . I )

-OQ Nakhti

(OM EA I·B )

'>.-'-- 0

,,€I ,}

Khu IBM f A 571)

snb i

h ea h hy

nb"

strong. vigo rou s

tIll'

protected

va rious re la tives a n d d ependant s o n the mo n ume nt of th e dec eased , these 100 e njoyed th e be nefits of bei ng com m e mora te d by figur e a nd bv name . Acce ss to su ch mou u rnent s as fu nera ry stelae was rath e r limit ed. mos tly to th ose holding so m e for m of elite po sition . The crucial rela tionship wa s t hat betwee n the fa th e r an d the eld est so n: in socia l te rm s, thi s wa s the rou te of inheri ta n ce. p ro viding family cont inu ity; in cu lt term s, th e e ldest so n w as th e ch ief cele bra nt fo r his fat her (as Horus was for Osiri s). Priru'i pa l kinship term s:

Na mes referring to deities One t vpe ass ocia tes the ind ivid ual dir e ct ly with a deity :

J7L1

=.. ~ 1r~

Sarene nu tet (BM EA 585)

ss-rnn wtt

son of Rencn utct

Sat sobek (BM EA 586)

su -sbk

daughter of Sobek

s-n -wsrt

ma n of the powerful one

c ~ .4"

Senwosre t (BM EA 571)

~ ~~-i'

r-c:> c~ ~

cz.>

fiJ q~ ~

h usband

broth er

~:&'

so n

sbt

family, househ old

Ptahh otep (BM EA 584)

pth -ht p

Ptah is content

Inh u retn akht (BM EA 1783)

1,,1;"-II!1I

Iuh ur et it. stfUng

Intel

ntH"

mothe r

h mt

wife

1- ~

snt

sister

Sit

da ug h ter

.ft~.

L ...J

Label befor e one ofthe sons of Khuenbik offering fowl:

BM EA 584:

Sl=! mrv-fpih -htp His son, his beloved, Ptahho tep

Som et imes, th o ugh , w e find a m o re ab breviat ed w riting.

I",!

11th dynasty nomen

A mcn ern he t (BM EA 587)

im n-m- hst

12th dyuasiy nomen

Ncbipusenwosret (0 ,\ \ EA 101)

IIb(= lj-pw,slI wr rl

Sen wos re t is my lord

(EM EA 58 1)

or c. ""-

Fami ly me m be rs a re oft en referred to as be in g 'be loved' .

Loyalist names Na m es whi ch associate the ind ividua l with th e king:

] .c

~3 u

A th ird ty pe involves a piou s state me nt in response to the ch ild 's birth : c:..\ cO

father

~ "--

sst

A secon d type in vok es a dose - often fa m ilial - relati ons hi p w ith a god:

~::}~

.:'\ 0

Isis (BM EA 143)

Label before th efirst sons ill the third row ofBM EA 571:

BM EA 57 1:

Sl=! m ry=/ ,mny

His son, his beloved. A m eny

The birth names of the kin gs them sel ves accord wit h the standard nam ing co n ve n tio ns. Hen ce Am cn ernh et mea ns 'Arnu n is in fro nt'. i.e . Amun is guidi n g the ch ild's fort u nes (compa re wi th Scnw osret above ).

(In id ioma tic Eng lish we m ight p refer ' h is be loved so n '. ) The pa renta ge o f th e ow n e r is us ually in trod uced by one o f the tw o following ph rases: tr-n

Kinship terms Ste lae emphasise family re lationsh ips by naming members of the de cea sed 's family and hou seho ld (often in cluding se rva n ts a nd de pe n da nts) . The living m ember s a re us ua lly show n p rese n ting offeri n gs to th e o ffering -tab le, th us _ _ J

•••

,. _

: ._

.. •

n._

~ _

....1• .

A : .~

.... • \.. .....

born of

nts-n

born of

literally, i r-n m eans ' w h o m X m ade ' and inS- II mean s ' w h om X bore '. Usuall y tr-n is u sed of both th e fat he r and mo the r, wh c rcas ms-n is us e d of the mot he r alo ne . when the person thi s ph rase is a pp lied to is fem in in e, hor h. il< nsu.rl . show a '" · 1 rhefo re _ Il l.

Descript ion

How to read Egy pti an hierogly phs

Th e n am e an d filiatio n of the wife ofA m eny

0 11 BM

EA 162 (see Ex ercise 8 .5):

b. The official In tejson of Sen et proclaim s h is ethical beh aviour: BM EA 562 , Line 10:

8M EA 162 md hw mst-n imn y m srt-hrw Medhu born of Arneny. the justified

c. ln huretnakht exto ls his proper con duct as a responsible official: BM EA 178 3. Lin e 4:

Prop erly speakin g ir-n an d ms-n a re probab ly ma scu line relative form s - see § 52 below. Howe ver, in this book we will stick to th e distin ctive tran slit eration using '-': i r -n an d ms-n .

d . A nother of In hu retn ak h t's sta ted eth ical acts (m added for clarity) : BM EA 178 3. Lines 4 - 5:

e. Ity n otes h is success an d achievement:

Exercises

BM EA 586 , Line 2:

5. I Sig"s

lJb,

Ill'

For e. ke ep to a liter al rende ring of the Egyptia n.

lib

-,. .

5 ,2 Words

~1r

friend

boat -journe y

3ti./.l

proceed,

ruler

~ :- ~

favour, praise

11, -iAo' 0./.l, ,

formal journe y

~3t Q~

go. set out

amethyst w rong

ferry

i l,-'

is the wo rd used for th e form al an d festal jou rne ys of th e god and the kin g. It is a collect ive term and n ot a p lur al (an d hence does not req u ire ( w ) in tran slitera tion despite th e pre sence of plu ral strokes).

1111/11

5.3 Tran sla tion Trans literate an d translate the followin g sentences . Some we re us ed in th e text ab ove a nd so give you th e cha n ce to w ork th ro ugh these exa mples th o rou ghl y. You m ay wish to consult §35 on th e omi ssion of th e pronoun = i . a . Ikhernofret relates h is role ill the My steries of Osiris:

Berlin

120 4 ,

....

"'-'

Iww

the boatless

j~.

wbm

repeat

Tran slite ra te the follow ing wo rds wri tt en wi th the se signs :

Line 18:

(The verb i r(l) ' to do ' is used with a wide ra nge of idiomatic meanings: h er e

_ - -_._ - -_. .•-Q }' ~ li (w) the old

...

I ~ mJ-:;, i r~~Q~ I e

Iw/(I<')

cattle

inspect

prt

procession

IlSW

king

hkr

the hung ry

;

g 0

t::

IIIUnt

ferry

!IIY

the naked

' Ll lit {=o-

[lr

be fore

.~J:u:> !:rs

bury

ferry

~ 1ft lis=!

myself. my own

=0-

r~-'

VOCABULARY _.,..._ ------

di(1j

, - - -- - --- - - - - ~ - - _.

__..

._ - - --_.-'

5.4 Study exercise: BM EA 1783 In this exercise. yo u can m ake a start on st udyi ng a more com plex stela in

the British Mu seu m : BM EA 178 3, the stela of th e governo r Inhu re tnakht an d his wife Hui fro m Nag' ed- Deir. The stela is sho w n on p. 74. a. Tran slite rate an d transl at e th e offerin g formula at th e top of the stela (Lines I- 2 en ding wit h th e word ad ju st befor e the end of Line 2), usin g t he n otes given. b. Tran sliterat e an d tran sla te the section sta rting at the beginning of Line 4 (we sha ll return to the section from th e end of Lin e 2 to t he en d of Line 3 in Ch apter 7). The ceme tery of Nag' ed -Deir, opposite modem Girga , wa s th e ceme tery for Thinis (::: Q @tnts, th e capital of th e 8th Uppe r Egyptian no me (wh ich also includes Abydos): ln -hr t (lnh u ret or On uris) was its pri ncipa l de ity. Nag' ed -Dcir wa s an im portan t cemetery cen tre from Prcd yna stic , 1n H·"c f n 'h I'> 1 1 f h

,~ " n ::H" f\ t ~ n rt

.h ,. c f ::)r, .-, f , h ,..

~ Al ..l ( np V; n T1 ~Arn

u , h ;: rh

Descr iptio n

BM f A 178 3 dates fro m the First In ter m ed iate Pe rio d and is a classic exa m ple of the regio nal Nag' ed-Deir style of t ha t p er iod , bot h in te rm s of its a rtw o rk and the con ventional phraseology of the ins cription , wh ich is o rienta ted a rou nd t he famil y a nd eth ical be ha vio ur. Notes i = is a dete rm ina tive of prt-h rw. See ยง26, p. 38 ii See Cha pter 3 for the variou s tit les of In huretriak ht a nd t h e u se of imshw ' th e rev ered o ne '. Be careful with t he title a t t he sta rt of line 2 _ iii Se lf-presenta tion inscr ipt io ns a re usua lly ca st as a speech, a nd a re int ro du ced by rid ' who say s' or rid=f'he says', iv See ยง35 for the om ission of th e first per son pro n oun , v (/5( = 1) is u sed as t he em phatic reflex ive (a s in '1 sha ll do th at myse lf' or ' m y O \VI1 hou se ' ), vi Before mhn t th e preposi tion m 'in ' has bee n o mitted , vii lrtt) ' do, ma ke' is u se d he re in t h e sense of 'acq u ire' or poss ibly 'ra ise' . VO CABULAR Y

lu~,1fr. I

I Q>I~

i iJ~} Y

lamily, household

Iw w

the boat less

Im (J)

gracious. gentle

in- hrt nh t

Inhure m akh t

lather

mwt

mother

m r(i)

love

~ li7! ~

m ltn t

ferry

nb pt

lord 01 the sky

J~~~c;

h bsw

clothes

sb:

I L;;'~ !Z~r

I. .

~='I

'J=-l ; ~

b(w) 100

the hu ng rv 100 bulls

the naked hsfl)

praise

snw snu' (

siblings,brothers and sister s

IN I)

ferry

Tire Family c. Translite ra te a nd t ranslate th e la bels a round the ot her family m e mbe rs, Hui ha s t he foll owi ng titles: Uh f mw

E M EA 1783

W' II

sole lady in wanmg

hm tti- n tr

priestess

h w t-h r

01 Hathor

The for m of the kin sh ip expression s are alike , alth ough som e writings ..... ...

h~h : ~

.. ....._ ...: ...... .. .. f ..... 1

......... ,........~

'"".

Description

H ow 10 read J::qyp tiil n hi eroglyp hs

hmt -tm t t»]

SI=f mr v=1

h is beloved wil l'

his beloved son

s;=f sms w=! mry»]

~ IA~ 44 "-

h is beloved eldest son :-;.\ ,\\ I S

i ni' ~ L

... ..

h w! _

'=J ~

Ra i

Debi

dbi

co o .ff'll~ ~

nnuy

Ncnwv

5.5 Study exercise: 8M EA 571 (t op) The top secti on of th e stela o f Khu and h er IW O h us band s. sh ow n on p. 7 7 . a. Tra ns late the o ffering formulae a bove the two scenes . VO CA BULA RY

---- - . --- -- --- _._- - -

I,. :2'

m-t pr

overseer

rh nslV

kings advisor

ss-imn

Sa ha rho r

';;ry nb=f beloved of his lord

l_~~_~W. --'::'~:II~~

Saamun (name) ma rne)

»: ~o{;I~i~~~~~J

._ . _!!__

Th e sec o nd o ffering fo rm ula co nt a in s a d iffere nt set of offerings : water

I1/W

beer

j~ ~

mrh t

oil. u ngue nt

sntr

incense

Festivals

The genera l word for a Iesu val is hb: The procession of Osiris

Poker :

1JCD or CD

festival

ds: ntr

the god 's boat journey 10 Poker

r pkr

A num ber o f particular or periodic festi va ls arc oft en m ention ed on ste lae . Th e loll owi n g is a lisI 0 1 t he ones which a ppea r on BM EA 57 1, arrang ed in the typica l o rder in which th ey occ ur : ibd

the moruhlv festi va l

th e Wag-festival

the half-month ly festival. i.e. full moon dhwl1 the Thoth -fcstival

The readin g of th e h alf -mon th festival is still u n clear. An old suggestion to rea d smdt has problems. Mor e re cently. th e suggestion has been mad e th at th e readin g shou ld be based a rou nd the nu m be r fifte en . as mddint. The pr esence 01 the festi va ls on suc h ste la e rc fh-crs th e desire 01 th e

B M EA 57 1 (lOP)

(ca rve d lim eston e; w.

s tcrm

Description

78 fest ival da ys: on ce th e god h ad sati sfi e d h ims elf w ith th em , the)' w ere pas sed on to th e blessed dead . Se c the concl usio n of th e festival list on BM EA 162 in Exe rcise 8. S for a fu rther illust ration of th is poi nt .

Offering bearers b. Tra ns lite rate a n d tr an slat e th e in scrip tion s accumpanyi ng the o fferin g hear-

ers in th e two scen es . Th e inscrip tions a ccompan ying th e two m ajor uffe rin g bea re rs in the top scen e tit th e hieroglyphs aro und the figu res . Th is ca n lea d to un us ual arrange m ents. Th ey ar e giv en below in a co nve nt iona l o rde r:

OCClj PATJONS

cm ering -rnard (literally. 'th e en tvrer)

1* : IC>

i ~

rh ty

. -- .. --' - - i ;==0

h rt -p r

do m estic

cup- be arer [Ie rn.)

sftw

butch er

washerman

[ m sw

att endant

c-,

[ ' .1

accompanymg th e overseer o f th e sto re ho us e

accompa nving lite son

VO CABULA RY

= e

storehou se

but ler

m -sr芦] ~

overseer of the

cup -bear er,

wbi

sI-mnbl

~__=-.

bIlIllS=! his beloved

Emsaf (name) Samenkhet

~~ame)__

ro:b'(j

mry(=JJ

friend

sh tp -ib

Scherepib (name, more fully Seh~lepibre) .... _

(Na m es en din g w ith m-sI=f usually start with a god 's n ame, as in hr-m -ssv] Hore rnsaf. ) 5.6 Study exercis e: BM EA 571 (bo t tom) Th e bottom se ct io n o f ste la BM EA 57 1. sh ow n o n th e foll o wing page, sh ows furth er fa mily mem bers and mem bers o f th e hous ehold a n d est ate staff. a. Transliterate a n d tr anslate th e in scri pti on s. You ma y wish to make use o f the Exc ursus on na m es an d kin sh ip , b. Here are th e n am es and titles in th e sce ne . SOllie of th e n ames ar e n ot trans litera ted. Tran sln era tc them yo urself:

-_ _-_ ...

i'iAMI:S Ai'iD TITLES

~ ~q~

k> ~;}

(l W

n = ~ ...z 1_

~} --.;; L...,.;,,;

~r ~

. .._- . .

Amen)' Tjau Am en ern hvi

Khu

ddc

Dedct

s-n路 wsrt SCIlw o srCl

_ .-._ -

=}~ ;::; '.Jj

sn -mll(U-'

Satrne n tju

~ 11

sst-wsrtt)

Sat w osret

Bet

si- hwthr

Sahathor

JQ ~~ ~

Hct cp

~ ;~

h m-ntr

p ril'st

\======= '~======= .====

BM EA 57! (bo tt om ) (ca rve d limestone; w. S lcm)

Further aspects of description

J gave bread to the hu ngry

Chapter 6

and clothe s to the naked

Further aspects of description

5 (.:&-}

rdl.n(=I) 'I gave ' is sha red: "] gav e b read to the hu ngr y a nd (I gave) clot hes to the na ked '. Irynotes his success and achievement:

In this chapter, we \ViII lookat how complex descriptions are presented, in particular continuing to the next point and noting other things going on at that time, Now is a good time for you to starr using the Egyptian-English vocabulary (starting on p. /5/) , when reading the examples in the text.

8 M EA 586, Line 2:

r: ~~~ .:.r l~~~ 1ft~J!~ ~'i!

whm.n(=I) hst hr nsw s,j Ib(= i ) r liw(~I) b prw r-Ill/ = I

I repealed favour before the king and advanced my h eart furth er than my

forefathe rs who existed before me

Notes

ยง 38 Continuation Descriptio ns are often p resented as a series of connec ted ep isodes. In past de scription s, as we saw in Chapter 5, th e first ep isode is in trodu ced by a n a uxiliary such as Iw, th en de scrib ed by a ve rb in the pa st tense made up of th e sgm.n(=f) fo rm , A past de scription is con tin ue d on simpl y by carrying on wi th the sgm.n(=j) with out an y furth er introdu ctory au xiliary. In translatin g suc h a series, it is useful to trans late the followi ng sgm.n(=j)s wi th 'an d .. .' (the re is no sep a rate wo rd for 'and' in Egyptian ). or to usc com mas or semicolons , de pending o n Engl ish style:

1ft .n(=I) ' I .. -(e )d' is sha re d; ' I repeated fav our ... and ( f ) ad vancet d ) m y hea rt'. ii r 'to, in relation to ' sometimes has th e se nse of 'm o re than '. iii hprw 'w ho existed' is a particip le (see Chapte r 7 ). ยง39 Negati on Th e n egat ive of th e past ('I did no t do tha t') is m ade u p of th e n egati ve w or d -'- n follow ed by sgm(=f) (it is not. as we might expect, fo nn e d by n

s<!m.n(=f)!): The official InterSOl1 of Senet proclaims his ethical behaviour in general terms: Following on immediately from his statement of positive ethical virtues (see above), Intef adds: BM EA 562, Lines 10- I I :

k rs.n>! Il(W) hb s.n>i htv

~ ~ 1) c g ...t,. ~ l

J buried the 01:1 and J clothed the naked

lJr::: .:&-

Her e the second past tense Iorm hbs.n=I'1 clothed ' carrie s o n th e desc rip tio n of In tel's ethic al be havio ur, rathe r than starting a n ew point. Notice h ow thi s gives a sense of shape and connecti on to episodes ; fo r a clea r e xam ple of the use of a uxiliaries and s<!m.n(=j) s [0 give shape [0 descripti on , see Ex ercise 6. 5 bel o w. Somet imes elements are shared, ju st as in the En glish tran slation :

lnhuretnakht is extolling his proper conduct as a responsible official: llM EA 1783,

BM EA

=-1''l~= ..!!ft:1 1 562, Line I I: n lr(= I) twi t r rm t I did not do wrong against people (or: I did no wrong ...)

This neg ation also occu rred in the openi ng sce ne to this book (no tice the sligh tly stro ng er tr ansl at io n with 'n ever') :

Above the man roastinq a goose: .

\.i3. 0 "' -

--A- ~fl e ,, ~}_

Me ir In , 1'1. 23 : n nIl=! mt ty

srw pn

I have never seen the like of this goose So metimes the n egation is w ritten (rathe r co nfusi ngly!) with _

Further aspects,'f description Tietii records that, afte r In teft ! died . he served the new kin.~ In te] JlJ:

The official Key r"'t~s h is ethical virtues:

;;::; } ri- ~

11 M EA 6 14 , Line [ 3:

£lM EA 55S, lin e 5: n dH's{~ ,), n h ry-ip»] I did not den ou nce it mall to his superior

Nega tions with -'- do not go wi th au xiliaries and so the, patte rn c an eithe r he use d to sta rt up o r to carr y o n a se ries of conn ected episodes WItho ut a ny obvio us written mark, §40 M aking someone d o somet hing (fo r use w ith Exe rcise 6 ,5) , Ca usa tio n , the n otio n o f ' ma king som eo ne d o so me thing ', is exp ressed III the following w ay in Egyp tian : the verb rdl ' give, p lace ' is used wit h the sen se o f 'causing' a nd is follow ed by anot h er verb , rdl ap pears in w ha tev er form is su itab le (in ih e exa m ple be low it appea rs in th e pas t ten se ,q j m ,n(=fJ form ) whilst th e othe r ver b appear s in a fixed form (as it happens, th e ot,h e r ve rb appears in th e future sdm(=fJ , for which se e Chap ter 8; how ever, this IS not importan t at thi s point): After the festivities are ova , Ikhernofr et has the image of the god placed back in the bark (see Exercise 6.5 for the general context of this example):

:::::::lfi' }l ~ = 1i7i o :5£ ~ Bc rlln 1204 ,

dl .n» ! w.!,; f r-/JllH' wr t

li lies 21-22: 1had him proceed inside the great hark (literally, 'I caused that he proceed imide the great bark' ) It m ay help 10 think of this as ' placing som eo ne in the position to do somet hi ng' o r 'giving so meone the o ppo rt u n ity to do somet hing': hen ce th e exa m ple would mea n: ' I put him (in the position ) to proce ed inside th e grea t ba rk' or 'I facilitated his proceeding into the great bark ', The precise me anm g can ran ge from nuance s of com pulsion ('make someo ne do someth in g' ) to permission ('allow /let someon e to do something') and guidance (' ha ve so m eone do so me t hing) .

§41 D ep end en t pronouns Th e secon d set of pro no un s a re the depend ent pronouns (st"e Referen ce tab le,

yo u

_1_

, ~ T ' ~:..: t <E,~ ~ i e t.lJ. .c. ' H ,0 ," I M 'JI

til' )m,. n ( ~I)

- SlI ' r

}

~,=~ ()r o}

-wi

or -wti)

helil

-(W

or -ru:

she I i.

P\\ or r

_ ,, _~ __~ _ " .... .-L; ..... , ~ t, ,, \ o,h i r h

t h ". "",.,.h ::d ~ .t i (>l1 i c :ln n h p r1\ -

sLrml,·'b

s{w)I={ " bI nf n '"

I followed h im to all his places oft he hearts dd .ghl (i.c. wher ever t h ~ king wanted 10 go)

No tice that th e su ffix prono un s serve as subjects o f the ver b (sec §§ 33 an d 36 ) and dep en dent pronouns as o bjects of th e verb , The depe ude rn pron ouns displa y all im po rtan t fea ture o f w or d o rdering: th e dependent pron ouns att ach to a nd dir ectly follow the ve rb an d so precede a ny nouns: Tile official Semti refers to his early fa vour at court : RM EA 574,

Lines 2-3:

iw Ji. n -w l h m;f r rd wyrf m n!Jm{=I)

His person [i.e. the king) placed me at his feet ill my youth If you look care fu lly at thi s exam ple , the n -wi is a d epen dent pr o noun and the refore sh ould be th e object o f th e verb (som eon e must ha ve plac ed me ) and so the sen te nc e must mean tha t the kin g place d me at hi s feel. des pite th e o rde r o f th e w ords. Th is sent e nce can no t me an : ' I p laced the king a t his feet in m y you th' (for T to be t he subject. thi s w oul d req u ire th e suffix pro no un =1) a nd in a ny case such a sen te nce sca rce ly ma ke s m u ch sense , §42 The prese n t t ense The m onu ment s discussed in th is book do no t in clud e m an y inscrip tio ns cast in the pre sent te nse, Howe ver, for you r inf ormat ion , and to allow us to cov e r on e in script ion w e would o the rw ise ha ve show n you h ut n ot equip ped yo u to rea d, we will briefly note the pre sent ten se form s, Middl e Ki n gdom Egyptian distinguishes, ju st as English doc s, be tw een a qcncral present (u sua lly ex pressing habi t - Sh e goes to visit her friend every week' - or th ings which ju st gene rally ar c - 'two an d two make four ') an d tl specific or on,qoinH present (S he is leavin g right now ' ), In Midd le Egil lTia n the se ha ve th e follow ing [orrn (using sdm to label th e fonn and the w eak ver b i r ii) to ex emp lify it): .<elm ; f

SPECl Fl( PRl Sc :"T

- hr slim

-su: ir,,!

he does

hr irt

the ) is doing

-siv)

The m ajor usage of the depend ent pronouns ar e as the obje cts of verbs (typ•

';;, ~ I; .J) Q.1r' .. _

c.r s r RA I, PR1:SENT

p , 149 ):

~ Jf or

In the specific pre sen t. the verb ap pea rs after h r in the infinitive form discussed in Chapter 4 , For a full list of form s. see the Refer en ce ta b les on p, ] 4 5, Roth t,'n '<" ha ve " fOlldn,." fo r Ih,' a\lxili a rv ,] ~ I w introd" n ' o in 5, 4

How to read Eqyptian h ieroq lyph s

Further aspects ofdescription

usag e as their English equiva lent s (fo r exam ple, in Egyp tian, as in En glish , ve rbs o f sta te and co nd itio n prefer ih e ge ne ra l present 10 th e specific present eve n when refe rring 10 rhings go ing o n now: ' I know t he answer now' , nOI 'I a m kn o wing the answer now' ): a , sr;jm (=f) To tile left of lhe main offering form ula inscription on BM EA 587:

G }cn ~rjHITg BM EA 587 : l w w rb hs m t hnk t sn tr mrht The rh o usandts j of bread: beer, incense and oil are pure

No tice tha t the re is no Egyp tia n word fo r ' wh en ', 'w h ile' , 'as' in th ese usages, although th e appropriate En glish w ord ma y be nee ded in transla tion . ln En glish , the noti on o f 'go ing o n at the same tim e ' is ex p res sed by con nectin g word s such as 'as', ' w h ilsi '. ' w he n '. In Egypt ia n it is th e ver b itself which expresse s thi s by a pp ea rin g in a present ten se form (pr esent or goin g on a t that time ). Ind eed, yo u m a y have noticed that whereas in En glish con n ections are sh own by w ords suc h as 'a n d ' and 'as', in Egyp tian the sam e meaning is a chieved b y st rin ging together different ten ses suc h as sd m .fI(=}) and sdm(=f) and Jelling th e ve rbs do th e work . Exercise s

b. hr sdm An ' ex a m ple of th is cons truct ion occ u rre d ill the firs t inscription shown

6. 1 Siqns to

you in th is book:

2-consonant and 3·co ns o na nr signs: ml

Above rile man roasting a goose: ~

~} iftr ~"t~ OPl,{, ~,

Meir III. pI. 23 : IW=l hr mrk er pst I have been roasting since the beginning of time Egyptian, like many lan guages, concentrat es on the faet that th e subje ct is co nt in u ing to roast despite the long tim e he ha s been doing it: 'I am stil l ro ast in g and have been since the beginn ing o f tim e' . §43 Other things going o n (ad vanced notes for use with Exercise 6.5 ) However, there is one use of the present tense w h ich will be usefu l when yo u stu dy Exe rcise 6.5 . In past de scrip tion , as we have seen, the past events a re descri bed by u sing th e pa st ten se sgm .n (=f) form. By stringin.g Joge th er a present sgm (=f) form or hr sdm form afte r a pa st sgm.n (=f), Egyptian expresses th e n oti on of som eth in g else going on at th e sa m e time as that event expressed by th e sdm .n(=f) for m (something else curren t o r present at th a t time ): lkhernojret relates h is activities during the performan ce of the Mysteries of Osiris: n ",, -=- -..ll LJ ~~ i>.~J1 T O' ~ 11'_~ "'3' V D IIIJ?lr' 1.,,-- =- I "-Berlin 1204 , Iw Ir n=1 prt .. p -W/W I "'til=! r IlIi I/=! Line 17: I conducted rhe procession of Wepwawct w h e n he set ou t to prote ct his (ath er

Notes -=-

l ri i) literally, co nd u ctin g.

do /mak e ", here with the se nse of leading o r

nli

hs]

sms

6.2 Words Transliterate th e foll owing words written wi th th ese signs : El

since

t'-'

prot ect. save

+Ijj

th e like, peer, equal

ri ~

r*P9 ~ r J1

sail

lik e, as

drive away, repel night of vigil follow

6.3 Translation Transliterate and tr an slate th e following (see §35 o n o m ission of =f '1' ). The first o ne repea ts ex am ples from the chapter ab ove a nd is written here w ithout a ny bre aks (as in the ori gin a l inscrip tion ): a. The official ln tef 50 11 of Senet proclaims his ethi cal behaviou r in qen eral terms:

b. Hekaib asserts h is ethical behavi our : BMEAI67 L Lines 4 -5 :

' to

Q} ~O - J. ~ 11J) Ur, ~ . - l~ ~~ -A.. r ~ ~R = ~ 11J) : 1LJ J ll1r -,l~1fri

Th is First Intermedi at e Peri od stela sh ow s a numbe r of idio syn cracies in the ~np l1 i n o- <;;llrh :l ~ rh~ fnrm o f d l

(!o..-.-il

in<;;1p ;u i

or ~

n\ ;1nrl t h p fOi Tn o f l h ,.", dp f p r -

Further aspects

How 10 read ( qy pli<1l1 hieroglyph s

The fin al ex am ple is sligh tly mo re compl e x and is written in th e righ t- to- Icft ord er of the or igin al:

c. Tjetji describes his advancement by king Int41I:

VO C,\IJ U LARY

.-- -

E ,\-' EA 6 14.

Lines -\· 5:

Notes I -w is writte n for -wi. ii Rea d di.n»] · w (i j in cla u se 3. iii Also read cI::=! n wr w.

-:: -

ofdescription

(CO"1TI "1CE D)

ad va nce .

!rrv -rp

superior. chief

sr H'

g o o ~e

sLIIll

augrn eru , pr omote

sk bh

plan '. posuion.

.'\l

stat u,

Lm-il>

promote sr[t

complain abo ut . ac cuse

pU I (SOlllCOn C) ~

case

confidence

6.5 Study exercise: The Osiris Mysteries at Abydos 6.4 Translat ion It has been a lon g tim e co m ing, but you are n ow in a positi on to read for yourse lf the speech of the ma n roasting t he goose. w hi ch we used to begin th is book. This is show n agai n belo w.

Notes i On su ffix pro n ou ns, see §33 a nd § 36. ii On the fir + infinitive te n se, see §42. iii On n ega tion , see §39.

_ - _. --I:b, }~~ iwit -- ......

a--' LJ o };J:. f;;i

~ Lt

rb pf/

mr k

VOCABUl.AR Y

- - - -- -wrong

~~i i

palace

the beginning

of li me

roast

~ r}t..1ft !

:' il~

' I( W)

the great

",,,r ~ H!

privacy

pit

this

ndstw)

ordinary folk. the lowly ....1..... 1 l-" .

J . ~ ...... 1 ~ 1

The celeb ra tion of th e Mysteri es o f Osiri s at Abydo s wa s clearl y o ne of the ma jor festiv als of ,\<Iidd le Kingdom Egyp t. Th e festiv al centred arou nd th e burial and rejuve natio n of Osiris, wit h its pro mise of burial a nd rej uv en a tion for th e blessed dead . Indeed, as discussed in Cha pter 4. a n um ber o f th e elite erected ste lae or ce notap hs in t he a rea borderin g th e ro ute to e nsure their etern al pa rt icipa tio n in the rite s. Th e fes tival itself see ms to ha ve com prised five pa rt s: Th e first pro cession Jed by w epwawe t and culmin ating in co m bat agai nst the en emies of Osiris. Thi s see ms to have been a cele bra tion of kin gship w ith the re pelling o f th e forces of c haos a nd disord er (po ssibly re flectin g the threat of disorde r at the death of th e old kin g Osiri s - see p. 4 1 for the my thologica l acco unt) . 2 Th e g rea t pr ocession of Osiri s h im self. Th is see ms to ha ve been the sta rt of th e b ur ial pr oce ssion of Osiris as th e dead king, when h e was eq uipped and prep ar ed for burial. Osiris he re a ppeared in h is form of Kh cntvirnenru 'the on e who is forem ost of the westerners a nd was taken o u t from th e temple th rough th e su rro un d in g ceme tery site . 3 Th e go d's boa t -jo urne y to Poker. Th e god w as co nveyed in th e grea t ha rk out in to t he des ert to his su pposed to mb at Poke r (pro ba bly the to m b of King Dje r of the First Dyn asty a t Um m cl-Oa rab). 4 A nigh t of vigil in w hich the go d was rej uve na ted as Wenenncfer (see p . 42). includin g th e Hak er -fesu vities and a slaught er of the en e mies of Osiris at Ned yet (the myth ological place of his dea t h ). Unf o rt un ately, t h is remains th e most secretive and elus iv e part o f the m ysteries. thou gh later accounts menti on th at Osir is was crowne d with th e cro wn o f ju st ification ( ~.~J J<!Th IIW-J;rw ) a nd transfigured o r ens piri tcd ( r ~:. Sl I; ) . 5 The re tu rn jou rne y to Abydos among genera l rejoici ng a nd th e re -ent ry of the god int o his te mple . The ste la of th e Treas urer lkherno fret, n ow in Berli n , is on e of th e prin-

Further aspects ,>f description

How to read Egyptiall hieroqlyphs

VO CAB ULA RY

Sc nwos re t III to rc pa ir th e im age of th e god a nd to perform th e ne cessa ry rima I ac ts. He subscq u eu rly erected a stela in which he re co u nt s how h e orga n ise d the festival (an acco un t wh ic h d ra w s on p rev io u s ve rsio n s given by ea rlier gen era tio ns of o fficial s se nt by th e Midd le King do m kin gs 10

(for ot h er w ord s, se e Egyp tian -En glish Voca bu la ry, beg in n in g on p . 15 1) -- --"". _ ._ CO> ~~

1'<.;;::>

'j='~@C> l:YiI,

'J.: '

if:'J

a. Tra ns literate and trans late the fo llo w ing sectio ns fro m the st e la of Ikh cr n ofrc i:

fathe r

Aby dn s ).

n®

fig h t.

Wt'nenllefer

ntr

I na me

JiLl) iJ,

wds

proc eed. go, set out

o Ll@ =

pkr

Poker

11111 11

journey

ntr

god

pro tect. save

<;>

(Up )OH, at

r1lI\

l/tllt

(wh ich is) at the Ioretro n t of

!JIlW

inside

r!, 'j='

slJ r

fell, overt urn

~ or

~J\

'1m,

1~~

dpt-

~ '£it

of Osiris}

pa lace .

u-rnpkways. roads

"" ( l\')1

0 11/

It.'l1 n ·

--- --. "

'it

f=¢

Iigh'ing

~ ~ rfi

r' -lil

the

U'fI

~Jir ,] -..o1k 1~"~~

i I

;1111 o r !

th a i

)J~

m r~l r t

tOnlb, oftell cenota ph

=~J)1

ni mt

xeshmetbark

- rq@ =0

ndy t

Ncdyet

hr w

day

bNl\')

enemies

lIS!

drive awa y, rep el

sbitw)

rebels. en emies

si:d(1)

sail, ' rave!

1511'

(sa nd rba n k

ifsr

sepa ra te, clea r

"=-

The stela is unjortunately silent 0 /1 the most mysterious features of the festivities such as the niqht of "1~lil and the Haker-festivities (compare with BM EA 567 in Study Exercise 8.3). Therefollows a description of the rejoicinq along the route back, ending with tile boat arriving <11 Abydos. then:

,~o

)i7j 0

Notes r lid p repos it io n + infin it ive, tra ns lat e 'to pra ted ' . O n th e w ri tin g offt, ' la t he r', see Exercise 2 .5: rea d he re it=f ' his fathe r' . J ii You ma y find §43 h elp fu l in tr a ns lating wd /=! and [ms» ], iii You m ay find §27 on t he direct an d Indirect genit ive he lpfu l. iv dsr a s a n adje ct ive mean s 'sa cre d ' (in u dsr 'sacre d la nd ' ) a n d as a ve rb mea n s ' to clear (so m e th in g) o u t'; in th is te xt t h e ve rb is d e libera te ly chose n 10 m ark th e tra n sitio n of th e fest iva l from the pub lic view to th e hi dde n mysteri e s 10 take plac e at t h e tom b. an d th is happen s o n ce th e p rocession h as passed th ro ugh ts dsr. v Sec §40 on di.n>! 101l0wn J by a ve rb to e xp ress ca usa tio n . vi hrw pf' t ha t day', transla te ' (01 ' ) t hat d ay .. .' vii Th e bark 01 Osiris is calle d the Ne shrn e t-b ark (ll.(mt) or e lse is sim ply re fer red to as the great bark (wrl): both a re fe min ine words a nd a rc re lere d to by the fem in ine pron oun =5 ' it' in 111 .11=5 'it bro u gh t ' (fo r It/ ( I )

~._

nt r - _. _ ._

:c:rt'JI

bar k

b ~ , : , ...e~ £:1

There follows a brief description of the manner in which lkhern ofret equipped the bark and put the proper regalia all the god, then :

o @ o~

"=- "

4un~

r ~ -...}.

e-.} -

the god's boat

... _-----_.__...

'iii',.,

:"J ___" __ ·_ .• 0 " _ _ _ _ ____,

..._------

--_.,, _.- --

EXTRA VOCABUl.AR Y

: - .. c;o_ ..... L

It:: ~ => ~ _

__ . . __

- .-..... . - .- - ...- - hi kr the Haker-fesn vities . __

- -..-.. ..-

- - -- .- - . - - - s,Jn night of vigil

r%s: n

_ • ._ .__

__.

__..

b. Lo ok at t he epi so de s in t his sect io n from the ste la o f Ikhc rno fre t and exa m in e h ow iw and the p ast te n se sam.Il(=)) form a re u sed to give sh ap e 10 the pa ssage. As a guide, n ot e t ha t in m ost ins ta nc es , th e a uxiliary nv is followed no t by o ne hut by tw o or three past -te nse ve rb s; o nly in th e se nte n ce be gi nn.in g Iw qsr.n= 1 i.s ill' followed by a sing le ve rb. How d ocs yo ur gra m -

Further aspect,' ofdescription

How to read ( qyp ri,m h iercq lvp hs

6.6 srud)' exercise: 8M lOA 586

The ste la on p. 90 is by no me ans an easy te xt, bu t with the h elp of the follow ing note s, ha ve a go at tra nslite ratin g and tran slatin g the to p section of thi s stela or lis e the key on p. 170 to work th rough it.

II.

So tes

On dating an d th e titles of th e k ing, sec §§ 17-I ~ _ Th e k ings ca rtou ch e is surmo unted by th e skv hieroglvph . which is n ot read . ii wirm !tSI ' (0 repea t fa vou r' with wh m in th e sdm .n (=.n form . 0 11 th e om ission of = i T , see §35 . iii S( I 'to advan ce' (on e's position , here 'heart ' ) lite rall y, 'to ma ke great' . Th e full form w ould ha ve bee n s(J.n=i, see §3 8 on co ordinat ion an d sharing. r has th e se nse here of ' mo re than '. iv hp rw ' wh o existed ' is a pa rticiple (see Cha pte r 7 for discu ssion ). v Th e section beginn ing iw ts.n is ano ther example of coor dination, he re dealin g with the kin g's gift of a grea t seal ([Hm ( J) and a staff (JTy r) to It y, fs(i ) lit. ' to tie on ', is u sed fo r th e seal which the kin g tied aro und ltv's ne ck, but thi s precise mea nin g does n ot rea lly go w ith th e deco rated sta ff which Ity was also given , so translate 'assign (to )' . vi mi ,(PS- II SW nb 'just like any digni tary of the kin g' (which you m igh t wish to put in b rackets) go es with the first gift (the sea l), and contrasts with th e spe cial gift of th e sta ff (with w h ich IIY is depi cted in th e low er scene) . ,(P S' /I SW is a conventi o na l design ation. vii sw rbt is a participle w ith femin ine agreement with sry t 'sta ff', tra nslate ' (w h ich was) decora ted ' . See Chap ter 7. viii it-ntr 'god's fathe r' . In th e Middle Kingd om, th is see m s to ha ve bee n a title besto w in g high rank an d favour on an official, typically for pe rform in g special co m m issions for th e kin g to do w ith th e cult o f th e gods , a nd also legitimating h im for th is task. Perhap s here th e title is directl y co n nec te d to th e episode o f th e king 's assign m e nt of th e grea t sea l a n d a sta ff to lt y. ix Th e text en ds abruptly with the nam es of lty a nd Iur i. The wife 's nam e is sepa ra ted off by a vertica l bar. VOCABULARY

--- - _ .. _ -------

_." - . _ H ,"

irvt

staff

~ } -== ~

'(;

heart

c ~" .~

lt-ntr

god's father

Q m

H.'~111l

re pe a t

"F_

r-hn

before

t BM EA 586

(carv ed and painted lime ston e; II . 63.5cm )

~" ~~ y

a or

,"'-

)

"- .

1ft .

iwrl 11(U' j

_- -

-- -

luri (name) (Iorc - )

fa th e rs

lIy

ltv (name)

n. H \ '

king

Mill'

eh o n v

VOc. \B UrAHY

!(()!':Tl :-il.'[[))

hm r ~f

his beloved

mrr=f

wife

hsmtt

amethyst

llpr-k.l - r r

Kh cpc rka rc t Seu wosrei l j

before

Q~ Q

{11 m

seal

ad vance

rrJ

sw' b

decorate

{ p H IS v.'

rslf)

tie. kno t

!i'1II

0"\<6: ..-.

"=--

{ 2~

:,,?$ U }

fa vo u r

Characterisation

come int o

being, cxrsi

dignitary of th e king elcctrum

This clutpter concentrates on the elaborate epithets which abound on stelae. purticula rly epit he ts characterising the uwner as having lived an ethical life Col' having perfumr ~d well in roya l service. This w ill also allow us ru introdu ce you to an othe r extremely commo n F.gypriatz verb-fo rm - th e participle. T,' sta rt wi th, howe ver. we

need to rerU TII to adjectives. The j amily b. Tran sliterat e and tran sla te the labe ls above the sons a n d daught er s of lt y. V OCA B ULAR Y: :-iA .\\ ES

j Q~ ~ ~

1r~~

im n-m -h it

Amc nern h ct

sl1-w srr

Sa tw os re t

1..::..

·- -

111I=f

Intel

su -sbk

Satsobck

i I

§44 Ad jectives You ha ve alr ead y bee n introduced 10 a dj ective s in § IO, In Egypti an , these foll ow a nd agree wit h the n oun th ey de scribe. If th e noun is fem inin e and e nd s in - L, th e adje ctive will al so end in -t . To wrap up this to pic properl y, the full list o f end ing s ar e: no specia l end ing

S:C. _\1S c.

s«. You will be ask ed to s tud y the insc rip tio n fro m th e bou o m sce ne a t the end o f Cha p ter 7.

-t

PL ,\15C.

}

-w or o

PL rL\1.

-I

f"EM .

/lf r

n t rt

rJ -c-...:> iii ""

b:::(}l p~ n

nfrtw) n fr ;

(Th e plural ca n be wri tte n w it h o r w ith out the pl ural stro kes ' I: m oreov er, the ~W o f the ma sculine plural a gree ment is ofte n omitte d in writing, le aving no e nd ing at all - thi s is in dicated b y the symbol " in th e ta ble abo vc. ) Co m pa re th e following exam ples show ing feminin e sin gula r agreemen t a nd masc uline plur a l agr eem ent : lk hcrnofret relates his role ill the Mysleries ofOsiris:

Berlin 120 ,1. Line I H:

IU " I n l =l 1"1 '"It

I co nd uct ed the grea t pw cession

The lop pari <l/ fliH EA !OI has Nebipuscnwcsrct ad,' rin,qthegods. Beh ind the !i!/ure

L'! Nebipuscnwosrct:

dWI 'sir m Irh (w)4nfrw <11 r nhh

Adoring Osiris in his wonderful festivals endu ringly and repeatedly §45 A d ject iv es used as n o uns Adjective s a re typically use d to de scrib e o ther w ord s, but th e y can be us e d

o n thei r ow n to m ea n 'a person /p eople with that particula r q ualit y' , for example, in En glish ' I am an Egyp ti a n ' , means 'I am an Egyptian person ' (n 01 a sold ie r, or a donkey, or anything cls e l): compa re also En glish expres sions suc h as th e 'the rich ' an d 't he poor', In Egyp tian th is is ra ther co m mon :

There a re two grnups of parti cipl es: th e present participle ha s the me an in g 'lon e ) w ho does sume th in g': th e pas t parti cip le has th e mea ning ' (o ne ) who did sOlllcthing' , Th e form s of the part iciples in different verb class es are as follow s:

(one) hear s

,o ~

(o ne)

w ho sees

:d? ~

mrr

(one) who loves

;;1D

(one )

~TRO~(j

who

oou uuxc

WEAK

BM EA 56 2, Lines 10- 11: lw krs.ne t istw) hbu l=1 1uy I huried the o ld and I cloth ed the naked

Ho w e ver , i n Egypt ian , the adjective ca n be singular with the mea ning 'a rich o n e l(som e )on e rich ', whe rea s Engli sh prefers to add a ra the r ge neral w ord su ch as ' som eon e' (so hsy p ro bably mean s m o re accu rat e ly 'som eone naked ' or 'the na ked one') . If the ide a is indefini te , ab stra ct or general: 'an yth in g good ' o r 'what is good ', th e fem inine form of th e a dje ctive is used :

J \~

bill/

good (n . ) from ' what is good '

nfr

good, perfect

evil

J~~

bin

had

( n. )

' w h a r is bad'

fr om

'-~

~-:> <..~

EXTRA

'-"

WEAK

&-fl

- I\'

(one) who heard

rt U

(one) who saw

(one) who loved

rd l

(w it h r)

(no r ) who gives

(Part iciples als o som e tim es have a

sdm

(one) wh o gave

e nd ing .)

Basic ally, any verb other th an a strong ve rb h a s a doubl e d con so nant in t he pres en t pa rticipl e bu t not in t he pas t participle , In the ca se of str o ng verbs, h owever, it is n ot possible to tell the two apa rt o n the basis o f their forms alo n e , As yo u w ill see in the examples below, there is no need in Egy ptia n for a sepa ra te w ord meaning 'who' (or 'w h ich' or 'w h a t' ) since this is a n integral pa rt of the m eanin g of the Egypt ian participle verb-form ,

<t>

Key proclaims his OU 71 ethical behaviour : BM EA 5 58, Line 4:

,' AST OR COM PLET E

PRES F,' H O R ' XCO MPIETI,

The official llllef son of Senet, proclaims his eth ical behaviou r ill qcncra l terms:

nfr t

Cha racterisatioll

H<1\VW read t ::JYPlian h ieroqlyphs

~::)! ~

§47 Participles and epithets Since a particip le be haves a lot lik e a n a djective , it is often us ed to qu alify a no un , For example, pa rtici ple s are comm only us e d in t he epi thet s ch ara cte ris ing a n official : The stela of All/my iden tifies his subordinate, Saha tho r. with th e ep ithet:

In k rid nfr t

I was nne who said what Is good

Notes i Fo r tnk . see §49 belo w, ii dd is a particip le m ean in g 'on e wh o said ' , see §§4 8 and 49 ,

BM EJ\ 16 2,

Cent ral colum n:

mr II st-ibv] lrr hsst»] r: nb llis true servant of his aflection, who does what he Iavour s every day

blbI

(ilSst=f 'w hat he favo ur s' is a present re lative for m , see §52 below)

The meaning o f the feminine form o f th e adje ctive as 'w hat is goo d ' is similar to th e mean ing o f th e rela tiv e fo rm mentio ned in §37 ,

In the first pa rt o f thi s exam ple bo th> : :

11/1'

' tr ue' and ~ .~

st-lb e ]

'of h is affect ion' h elp to characte rise }r.,~ bik"Cf'h is servant ' . Sim ilar ly in §46 Participles The parti ciples arc spec ia l form s of t he ve rb which ha ve many o f the quali-

th e seco nd half o f t he example, ami is a lso used 10 elabor a te the

-=- irr is th e present partici ple ('w ho does' ) ~ha ra cter of ~:C=-' brk= f 'his serva n t',

Ow racterisation

How to read Egy ptian hieroglyp hs

Just like an adjective, a pa rt icipl e mu st agree wi th the noun it de scribes and so wi ll e n d wi th a - t if the n o u n is feminine : Bef ore the figu rr of Mrdehu . the w ife of Ameny: d o ~~ g

-:;- 0 ,,<.-=

person with ce rta in qualitie s or a ttributes: in ef fect . it an swers the qu e stion 'w h at w as 1 lik e? ' . 'w h o wa s I? ', focusing on et hical be haviour a n d success a nd a chlevernent : The self-presentation section of the stria of Hekaib beqins in the f ollowing way :

Il,"\ EA 16 2, "-."-'- a Lef t column: !mll=Imrc=! lrrt !m t=fr' nb

His wife, belove d of him, w ho does what he favou rs every day

BM EA 167 1,

Line I : fn this e xam ple, ~ irrt ('w h o d oe s' ) agree s with ~ hm t 'wife '; for ~ m rt 'be lo ved ', see §50. below. Alternativel y, a part iciple ma y show a n e xtra } -w w ith masculine plura ls:

Ink I1li s Ik r

1 was an 'astu te individual

in k is th e T -fonn (firs t pe rson ) o f a t hird a nd last type of pronoun, ca lled th e independen t pron oun be ca u se it can come a t the be ginning o f a state m en t: Ink

n a \!\.. : ~ 't> = \!\..

~ "",-.!!f ,= _ 7P .!!f It(\\')=1 llPrw r-!W=I my (fore -itathers wh o existed before me

§48 Participles as nouns Aga in, like adjectives, pa rt icip les ca n be u sed on thei r own to mean 'a pe rson w h o does som ethi n g ' or more su ccinc t ly 'on e who does som eth in g'. For example, BM EA 6 14 (the stela ofTjetji ) introduces Tjetji himse lf with a lon g list o f his rules an d ep ithets, inclu ding :

:! ~~~ r~+} nb BM EA 6 14, Line I :

Ink nli s Ikr Ijd III r=! 1 was all astute individual ,

who spok e with h is (own ) mouth

one who knows the desire of his lord, one who follows him at all hts journ eys (For vocabulary, see p. 106 .)

In thi s example, rb a n d ~ r~ sms a re participle s u sed on thei r o w n to mean ' (a person ) who kn ows' and ' (a person ) w ho follow s' , In cidenta lly, the pa rt iciple is th e form u sed in the n ame o f We p w awet, ' th e one who opens t he ways' (compa re th is with his role in th e Osi ris My steries studied in Exercise 6 .5): "'p-WIWI

Wepwawe [

(Pa rt iciples used on th e ir ow n sometimes trans late w ell as an English agen rive noun ending in < er' . he re 't h e o p en e r of the ways' .) §49 Charac teri sa ti on w ith 0

In k

Independen t pron oun. written with the D 33 pa l. read here as in ,

The self-presentation of Hekaib continues:

BM EA 167 1.

s-m;

No tice th at in this ex ample th er e is no w ord for ' w a s' in this constru ction (th e sta tem ent could al so be translated in the present tense, i.e. 'I a m an astu te in di vid u a l' . but h e re the pa st tense see m s appropriate to the id ea o f an offi d allook in g ba ck over a life p res e nted a s n ow end ed ). It is no t u nusual to find th e u se of qu alifying express ion s such as par ticipl es:

Line I :

rh hr t-lb nb= f -sw r nmtt »] nb

V ~I ~

\!\.. n LJ

- 0

'I (~, .!!f ~ -ec>

lty asserts that he advanced hi mself mo re than: B;\1 EA 586, Line 2:

The owner is referred 10 th e se co n d time in the third pe rson : ""-- »[. moving from th e spe cific in di vidual 10 a ge neralized so cia l chara cte risa t ion by chara cterisin g the first person T (specific ind ividu a l ) in gene ra lized th ird pe rson term s (' one wh o spoke wi th his own mouth') . In th is examp le. the ad je ctive (~~ ikr 'a stu te' ) an d th e pa rt iciple (~ lid ' w h o sp oke ' ) both qua lify ~ ~~ nds. Often, however, ink is followed by a participle us ed on its own, to create a st a tem ent w hich m eans 'I w as so m eo ne who did ' (wh en u sing the past participle ):

The officia! Key makes a com m on statem en t about appropriate beh aviour:

BM EA 558 . Line 4:

':1 tit ~ 0.

~~_-

in): !!d nin 1 was one who sa id what is good

Ch araaer isati cn

This characterisation cons truc tio n tells us about what he wa s like. It dot's not mean '1 sa id wha t is good' - thi s would be a des crip tion , usin g th e pas t ten se srjm. n(=fJ for m. an d would tell us ab ou t wh at he did , rat her than wh a t he was like : A ma de-up example ro illu strate the point in the text:

~ ~ ':1 ii6 ~ il<" dd. n » i nfrt I said what is good

The tw o const ructions differ clea rly in form and also in meaning, ju st as th ei r English tra nslat ions do .

§50 Passive participles Pa rticiple s can either be active ('one wh o loved' ) or passive ('on e w ho wa s (bej loved). Un fortu n ately, th e passive participles do not usua lly hav e a dis tinctive writin g in Egypti a n. However. the most com mo n examp les in our insc riptions co ncern th e ver bs ~ ~ m r i i} 'love' an d r ~ hst i) 'favour ' w hic h, as we ak ve rbs, in the past passive pa rticip le do som etimes show a distin ctive qy -y ending in th e past passive part iciple. Sin ce this is a rath er com mo n usage , w e w ill discu ss th e point in some detail: ln hu retna kh t decla res h is statu s within his fami ly: BM EA 1783 ,

Li nes 2 · ~:

tnk mry n ir=f 1 was one beloved of his Iarher

In su ch a usage , th e pa ssive part iciple is often followed by the geni tive I'o f', either the in direct ge n itive (as in the last examp le) or the direct genit ive:

Ink mry nh=! !.tsy=!m !Jrt-h r", nt r: -n b I was one beloved of his lord and favoured of h im (or, 'his favoured one ", ill the course of every day

In expr essions of fam ilial affection , ~ ~ m r(i) som eti m es occurs in the pr eseItt Jinc om plete pa rticiple form ~ :::~ mrrw. The rea son for this is still mu eh discussed an d may have to do with th e pr e sence of th e lollowing plur al gen itive e xpression . However, a m uch easi er way to understand this in th e next ex amp le is to note that th at th e pre vio us gen er at ion (the owner's mo th er an d fath er) take th e past passive parti ciple, w he reas his siblings (i.e. the present gen erat ion fro m h is point of view ) ta ke the present passive participle :

Inh uretnakht 's fu ll declaration of his status within his fam ily (this com pletes Stu dy Exercise 5.4) :

~ ~q 4"'::' Arn .~ i]~ ::: } ~~}~q..>(,~t}1.it BM EA 178 3, ink mry n ir=! hsy n m wtc] mrrw snwe ] snwtx] im(l) n IM=!

Lines 2-3 :

BM FA 614 ,

Line

I>::

f, c:/

As an a lternat ive, nrrrw might be trans lat ed as a ma scu lin e relativ e form see § 52 below - a nd th e tra nslati o n re shaped : 'on e who m his sib lin gs love a nd o ne gra cious to h is hou seh old '. Fina lly, you ha ve alrea dy en co unt ered the past passive usage o n a number of oc casions itt vari ou s labels of filiation . A part icul arly go od example occ urs o n B M EA 584 , to be stu died in Chapter 8 : Lube! before one of the

The passive partic ip le ma y even be followe d by a suffix pron ou n :

SOil S

of Khue nbik offerillg f owl:

~'6..~ ~~~ ~t~ BM EA 584 : sl=lmry=! pllt-!l1P

His son, his beloved . Ptahhoi ep

' I ~ "=-

Ink m ry nb=! 1 was one beloved of his lord

I was one beloved of his father, praised of his mothe r, beloved of

his siblings, and one graci ous of .to his household

Tjetji decla res his status in relation to the kmg: c~ · ~

Often, though , we find a m ore abb reviat ed w riting: Label before the fi rst SOliS in the third row of BM EA 5 71:

~ ~ ~~ ~~

The stela oi Tjetji COli rill lies: BM EA 57 1:

SI~! ",ry~! l mny

His ,O il, his beloved. Amenv tt n lfl i fu -n;t t i r J= n (l l i ch

\ V,'

rn io h: urr- fr-r

' h is

beloved son'. )

100

How to read Egyprian hieroqlyphs

Churactcrisation

§51 ill + noun + participle The participles ar e also used in a construction introdu ced bv ~- /11: in + noun + pa rticiple 'it is so-an d -so who did', Lik e its Eng lish equi va lent. thi s const ru ction high ligh ts the per so n w ho performs an actio n. It occ urs qu ite comm on ly in a dedication for m u la which ide ntifies th e dono r o f a ste la :

Tire c'ff eril1g formula in 8M EA 558:

Tire label above Niptahkau on the stela dedicated ro h is[ather Khu cnbik

Also , j u st like adjectives, the relative for ms sho w thi s helpful e xtr a when used on their ow n with th e meani n g 'what so meone docs/d id ':

(Sfe

Chapter

8, 1'1'. 122·3):

;\.: rQ ~ "i0 ~ rM : :; U

I ' -__ ~ U~ I C\ ~ 1

It is his son who made his name live (on ),

t he overseer of builders Nipta hkau

§52 Re lative form s again In §37 a bov e we introduced yo u to the past relat ive form . The rela tive form is in fact simila r in u sage to th e pa rticip le. First o f all, her e is a tab le of th e form s o f th e re la tive for ms in the pre sent a nd the past. As wi th t he pre vio us secti on on the rela tive for m §3 7, we shall e xhib it the for m wi th a - L (alt houg h, as you will se e, this is actu ally rhe -r of femi n ine agree m en t): PRESE:-IT O R

I)OCBLIN G WEAK EXTRA wr AK

I~ C OMP L ET E

n dJ ~ 'b...

",am !=!

what he hears

~ ~ ~\ .c,

111111=/

what he sees

~ ~ "=-

nrrrr=f

what he loves

ddt»]

what he gives

~ --.f;Y"",,---

PA ST O R CO M PLETE

£ ~ ,~:'

sdml.l/=f

what hr heard

DOt.:BLI:-IG

"" ~ ;;::: ~

1I11 1.II ~f

what he saw

W EA K

~~ ::

111 rt ,11=/

what he loved

rdl t.n e]

what he gave

STRO ~ t~

f XTRA W b\K

<= ot.-':

til -nb t IIf,.l!) wrbtt) ' 11/]1

'IIr

evcrvrhing good and pure on which a god lives c-"

-t

The stela of Amen).' iden tifies his subordinate, Sahathor, with the ep ith et:

BM EA 584: In sJ=f s' nft rn e f m-r ik dw n -pth-ksw

ST R O ~ (-;

13M fA >58. Li ne 2:

101

<:> "--

(Co m pa re with the forms of the participles in §46 above.) In pa rticu la r. like particip les, relative forms d ispla y certain adjectival qualiti es . Thu s they agree with the no n n the y accompa ny. for e xa mp le tak in g a ·1 when go ing w ith feminine wo rds. A goo d e xa m ple occurs in th e offerin c for m ula:

t... ="

fC'''=..

.fr>.

0-;;- 0

.1r l\=---J __~ <:::::>J.. A~ ~' BM EA 162 . b.<k=f nil' n st-lb»] Central column : i r r !,ssr=f r : nb His tru e serva nt of Ius affection, who does w hat he fav ou rs every day

Mascul in e relative form s do not sh o w suc h a "" - L a nd thus ar e h ar der to spot. Fortunately th ey are also fair ly uncom m o n a nd need not con ce rn us in th is book. As noted in Ch apter 5, p. 71, th e filia tion ex pressions for ma les I rn and ms-n may well be ex amples of m asculin e re lat ive fo rm s.

Exc ursus: Midd le Kingdom tit le s In Ch ap te r 3, va riou s titles were introduced to provide you w ith a resource for you r readin g. In th ese notes, the titles a re ga th e red toget her acco rding to th eir funct ion , to provide a n o th er co nvenient ref er e nce resource (th e list incl u des som e tit les fro m o th er stelae in the British M use um ). General

terms

Ge n er ic te rm s for o ffice holdin g a n d sta tus amo ngst th e e lite include th e followi ng:

~ ~c> l or

5r-1;

11/

office

official

servant

II .}S

individual

The term ~ ~<:> In is th e ge n e ra l te rm for a regula r office or functio n. Such an office bro ught sta tus, posi tion a nd po wer, and al so wealt h thro ug h prj . The term blk 'se rva nt ' wa s o ften used as its a ttach ed esta te a m ea ns of stressing the de pendent relationship of one per son on another and could he used of pe o ple wh o oth e rwise h ad high status. i::) f1;.,.~ /lds ' individ ua l' was often used , particu la rly in t he First Inte rmediat e Pe riod. for so m eo n e of h igh sta tus w ho did no t ho ld a n officia l positio n .

5r- it

102

O laraeterisatfoll

How to read Egyptian h ieroqlvphs

Th e palace and til e king The 'pa lace' was a n iti nerant com m un ity ga the red rou nd th e king , w h o, as well as residin g a t a cen tra l res identia l a nd ad min istra tive comple x, also mo ved abo ut the cou nt ry in orde r to cele bra te t he festi val s of Egypt's man y god s. Officia ls would n -gularl v visn th e palace in or der 10 renew th ei r att endance on t he kin g, before returning 10 th e var iou s re gio ns to e xerci se th eir dele gat ed a ut ho rit y.

follower of the palace

Stew ardsltip and production

tl: or 1

m -r

m ya l rruun are.

t '::

/11/)' ''

keeper of ih e royal diadem

(steward]

o ve rseer of b udde rs

rWI1~

imy -hn t

governor, mayor of a town

wh nu w)

reporter, herald

Military K~ ~ ~

Titles proclaiming attendance ,m the k ing fry nfr-hu

Jl::d1l'

CS!a IC

Reg iona l authority

rJ nsw king's adviser

Titles associated wi th th e ritu al ap pearan ces of the king ar e us uall y compounded wit h th e word /lS W for ' king' .

ttlt-&

oversee r elf the

/II-r pr

Titles as socia te d wi th th e go ve rnm en t o f region al districts:

Titles proclaim inq attendance at call rt

smswpr rt

10 3

1- @

chamberlain (the one in fronl)

m -r mir

'n l; II

wr genera l-in- ch icl

flWI

soldier of th e rown regirnem

Religious titles Titles pr oclaiminq ra nk and au thority deleqated fr ont the k ing ~@

I;IIIIIY

bity

kings seal-hearer

OQ.. . -:'"

I' l n I

snit IVfty

sole companion

Ad ministra ti ve ti tles a re com po u nded with t he word~ bity for 'king' . trrntty-blty is prefi xed o nly to h igh -level titles. As w ell as sign ifying h igh rank, th e rul e indi cated tha t th e holder was a u th orised 10 use the ro yal seal.

Titles associa ted with pri estly fu nct ions. In th e Middle Kin gd om, there w e re few fu ll-tim e priests, b ut elite men regu la rly serv ed in th e tem ples: ". _ ~

1], =

9C II ~F-~~r ~~

TIle treas u ry

For th e m onum ent s stu d ied in th is book , th e officials att ach ed to th e treasury ha ve pa rticu lar import an ce: Procurem ent , storaqe , dispensing and u tilisa tion m- r

trea su re r (ove rseer

htm:

of what is sealed )

ht m w hry J

seal-bearer, assistant 110 the treasurer )

"'; ~ o

i ' '')f];~~

rrt- r

overseer of

r[J llwty

the charnb rr

Th e ti tle ( ~ ~ m- r rh nw tÂť was or igina lly mo re general . In orig in it probabl y re ferred 10 the 'o ve rsee r of th e chambe r of th e resid enc e/ pa lac e'. However, by th e Middle Kin gdo m th e titl e had become split between a nu mber of dilt erenr br an ches of th e ad ministration . A part icul ar ly com mon m- r rh n wty 'o ve rseer of the cha m be r ' was th e '-Ili~~ -'-I ~ m -r ' [r nw ty II m -r h tnu 'overseer o f the cham ber for rhe trea su re r', w ho see ms to ha ve bee n responsible for the procurem en t of ra w mat er ials (for exa m ple th rough mini run a nd for monumental buildinc work .

wrb

Il"b-priesl

(1111 n tr

hm'p riesl

hryssu

Kee per-

of-secrets

9 iili:J

it 1I1r

god 's-lather

(1In k:

ka-priest

Vry 11 M lector priest

Altho ugh w e hav e div ided secu la r an d relig ious titles for con ven ie nce h e re, ill pr acti ce th ese were inte rt w ined in eli te Middle Kingdom society, where th e sa me per so n co uld h old both sec u lar a nd reli gio us title s at on ce. BM EA 58 5, wh e re Sa ren e n utet has th e follo wi n g titl es, provides a n ex ample of th is: hsb

slI l<'r)'

counter of the double granartes

dd itlp(w)-Illr 11 ntrw otlering -gtver 10 the gods Tit les of w omen

In gen er al w omen w e re not included in th e formalisati on of elit e society th ro ugh office h oldin g, w hich te nd ed to be a male prese rve (yo u ma y a lrea d y h a ve not ed th ai most women dep icte d o n rhe stela e in th is book a rc usu ally referred to by their fam ily relationsh ip w ith th e mal e o w ner) . Howe ve r. som e wo me n ar e sh ow n bea ring a ce rta in range o f tille s wh ich usuall y a ccord w ith the sta tu s of their menfolk . Of part icu lar note fo r the stelae

104

Characterisation

Hewto read Egyplian hieroglyp hs

7.3 A

Hi:}h status l i~

y. ,~ , :l

ImIOJ-lI l r (III' I-/l r

r rk ,le » of Haihor

hkrt

sole lady in wailing

IlSw ""II

DoC)

(hkn -nslV means literally 'th e kings o r n am cm")

An oth er co m mon title of elite women as soria re« ihcm w ith th e ru nn in g of i h c esta te . II a ppe ar s o n ste la e fro m th e la ic 12 th dynast y on w ard s:

1I0 t e 0 11 the

writinq

(Jf lrt i)

105

'to do '

A ma jor excep tio n 10 th e rule o n so u n d co m plements give n in Cha p te r 2 is p ro vi d ed by th e ve rb .e-- irtl } ' to do, make ' (I hi s ve rb a lso ha s man y idi o mali c nI ea n ings ). W he n read ir. it is ge ne ra lly w rit ten -c>- alo n e (a n excep tio n occu rs o n 8M fA 558 in St ud y Exe rcise 7.7 wh ere , fo r space rea so ns . =- see ms 10 be w ritte n fo r lrri . w h ile .:: is us ually to be tran sliterat e d irr (a th ird fo rm . ~ ,should al wa ys be tr a n slit er a ted irr): irr , mo re rarely tr

l rr

Estate and h ou sehold

'= nbt pr lad y o l ih c ho use, mistress o l ihc estat e c LJ I E x ercises

7.4 Tra nslation Tran sliiera te and tr an slat e ih c fo llo wing. a . Th e self- p resen tation section of the stela of Il eka ib beqin s in th e following way , stressinq the topi c ofself -reliance (y oll may consider adding '01171' in yo ur tran sla tion 10 he lp brinq this 011/) , compare with §49 above

7,1 Signs

~ c; r3;..]j} ~ ~

a, 2 -con sonanl and 3- co n sonant sign s

7 wi

In!

BM FA 167 1. Lines 1-2 :

v/ r:t

AIOiA l 1 - man of rank on cha ir wi th rwit hou t Ilail

~ r~

/m '

br ea th

~ps

dign ified. aug ust. rich ,

EI 0 - emblem e re cted ou tside rill' temple 01 Min

office, function

D18 - village with crossroads

town

A7 - man holding stick and kerch ief

r= t1t

official

<it <=>

5WC l't

unde r, carryi ng

;>~\ il 1}~

The hi erogl yphs a re o rga n ise d a s they are on th e o riginal. e xcept tha t Ihe el erneru s o f ih e pa ssa ge a rc se pa ra te d o u t for yo u r co nve nien ce . You m a y find th ai yo u need to inser t 'a n d ' occas io na lly in yo u r tra ns lation . ii Th e pron oun =f is used 10 refer back 10 ih e owne r of th e siela a s n oted in §49 (as in: 'I w as a n officia l w e ll re sp e cted in his d ist rict ' or th e lik e) . Th e sw itch to th e third person is norm al in such con structions . iii shs] ... r ' to kee p (some thing ) .11 a di stan ce fro m ', idiom of impa rtial uv, iv 1\1' 11 ' I ' grea t pillar' is u sed m e ta p ho rica lly (cf. o u r o wn exp ress ion fo r so meone being 'a to wer of strength ' o r a ' pilla r of th e commu n ity ') v On ihe o m issio n of th e su ffix prono u n = / T in w ritin g in i h e ihird sentence . see §35 a bo ve . Rea d mity lib m II W I IIl .

b. The stela of Tj et]i begins with the kinq's name and then Tj etji is in troduced with a list <Jf epi thets:

7.2 Words Tran slit erat e th e following w ords w riu e n with these sig ns:

:) ~

a~rW/1 ~ ~ q @

Notes EX~\A PrE

sail

-=-~~

~}r -f\l,~ga q qi3 ~. ~A rr ::;;

b. Id e o gr am s an d deterrninariv e s

E58 -

~ Ar~r a

~1~ 7 ~

crea te

BM EA 6 14,

Line 1 comm a n d

(see also §2 1i

mt,

f ~ ~"""]_'

I¥m l :s ~~

~rJlt }f~~

106

How

[(I

Char acterisation

read Egypti JII hitr~'g1..vrhJ \'OCABt.:lARY

"'N t'S

. - is an early Io rtu of t l tc papy ru s roll ~, AIIOIher variant Io nt t is .-.,. ,

0 11 rhc depe nd ent pron ou n -sw, see §4 1.

7.5 St ela of It )' (8. \1 EA 58 6) Trartv ltt crate a n d translate rln - fol lo wing. which is th e lov...-r sec tio n o f th e

ste la give n as Exerci se 6.6:

''-'.-. ~:.1 ~ l '-

J!J ~

su-sbl:

'O,r Jp,

i ..__. . __._ .._. ~ ..

_ ..

Sa tsobe k rname !

keep at a distance dtgru tarv (literally, 'august nn e') ._ - - -" ..... 10

107

( CONTIx VFD)

! f\ ~ 'i .rJ(~J 1p r~

HV I

,t ,?pH

pass by.

SU rp.1SS

pl.JCef q dig n tty.

wealth

~- "

7_6 R elat ive fo rm s The relat ive forms a re used in a con trnou late Midd le Kingdom add ition to rhe offer ing Io rm nla. w h ich occurs »n RM FA 1,13, the stela ot Nakh ti to be st udied ill Exe rcise 7.8 :

TIlt" voice-offering can be extended after 't w rything g o~'d and pure on which il

g~'J

/ivC')" as[ollo ws:

BM EA 14 3, Lin t' 2:

NOles Rem em be r that since th ese are relative fo rm s, they w ill req uire t ra ns lar in g he re wi th 'w hi ch' . Also co ns ult ih e table in § 52 for the w ri ting s. it See ste la RM EA 14 3. Exercise 7_8 . for voca bulary .

secnom

BM lOA 586 (low er

Notes i No t ice th e wri tin g of rlie tit le it-rut 'god' s fa th er: (cf. Exercise 6.6 ), ii Read na y n b ~f "lJ" 'onf: truly belo ved of h is lor d '. where mI)' is a parti ciple (see §50 above} , flb=f! s placed fi rst thro ugh p restige (see §22 ), VOCABU LAR Y

._-

- ~ ~

. _ --

~ ~~

20 ;14 r J =6

ffm!. , ~

.. ....

u-ntr Wist

_ _

gofs tn bc r

tmn -r -

tprtc srly titl e i

4t~Q

lIy

Thebes {pl ace ]

C""J

house, estate

nm tt

jou mc vs

hry-sin

m o uth

~ ~~

bpi

stro ttg arrn

~ -;::~ Q~

b"ty l

tm !( y ) >1

(one) foremost of position

~ 0

[tn -ib

II I

dau ght er

_-_._ _

... .

_. _

_____ _

...->

"1-f'" 1 ~ ": < ">"1

. ;' _

~~~

•• _ _ • •

Amu n -Ra

Ity mat ttc]

i~ ~

Co • _

Sll - \.l.1T I

~ _

•• • _

, .._-_

rthc god}

0 .1\

pe er. equal

muy

-- -_

_ .0'_

Q= f IiJ

pillar

I WIf

· __

-- ,""._- --- ,

master of secrets ll il k J Khe ntvt

(place-n am e!

desire sa twos ret [n am e )

_ _ H _ _ • •

7.7 Stud}' exercise: BM EA 558 The stela of Key on page 108 corues acr oss as some thing of a co rup e ndi lint o f sta n dard e xp re ssio ns, ra th er than J sm oo t h- ru n n ing composi tion . So rne of th e sections of th is inscrtption han: already been used as ex amp le s ill ihe m ain text. Translitcrnte and translate th e stel a wit h tlte h elp of th e: notes .

Notes i Fo r t he e pit het s. sec §§4 7 and 50 ab o ve . ii For Ii m . read lI(.n=i) m . parall el 10 hJ.n = i m_ Transl ate m as 'front'. iii For the om ission o f the suffix pro n o u n ; 1, set.' §3 5 above. iv for in k + pa rt icip le, see §49 above . v mrrt is pr oba bly a pre sent re lative fo rm . see §52 abo ve. vi For th e "v-n rmg o f th e n egauve -"- n as _ , see §3 8 a bo ve (in boih n <lws(=/) an d n w<l(= '» ). vii The exp ress ion n w<l(= 1) hwt In ; ~ I is nOI witho ut its difficu lties. In En glish idio m . yo u m ay wi sh 10 tran slat e m as 'fo r/to '. viii The re is some do u bt as to whe th er whm sh ould be read as a tit le o r as part of a name whm-ky. Th is mscripu on also in trod uces th e imp o rtant ve rb ' to conte:

~Q ./).

.Jj } .

written i n two fo rm s: a. w~l h monogram or Gl and ./).walking leg:..

'ren te' -

iyfi J/ i", fi )

b. with wal ki ng legs ideog ram

IDS

How 10 read Egyptian hieroglyphs

Characterisation

109

'. -";:-. ,'

VOCABUL \ RY

w llm (w)

rep orter, herald (title: aile who repea ls) comma nd

+..':.

nsw

king' s ad viser (litle )

+:[ or i l }~

king

hWI

man

! it =' ~ ~ L':::

wh m

~G~

m rti

0 I

r : nb

IlJ~ .I.\

h u t}

bea ting director of king's ad vise rs

. Key (nam e)

h rt-h rw

EEl

SP Il

M}r

Me rti

(name) every dav descend. go down chief, superior course of the day

hry-tp

~8 c>1

repeat

dis trict

[ws

den ounce ___ _

_ _ _ u " '' _ _

---1

7.8 Study exercise: 8 M EA 143 Translitera te and translat e the ste la of Nakhti (BM EA 143) on p. 110. You may wish to make u se o f your work for Exercise 7 .6 . VOCAB ULARY

â&#x20AC;˘....._ --_ ._-

r - - ''''''''--

~~ ~

lsi

[set, [sis (name )

D C>

sky, heav en s

=.......n ico

Inure

wei -nurse

I = LJ I I c>

nbl p r

lad y of the hou se

<==>

I -r=\ o 0 00

nt-

nbw

Netn ebu

in (i)

bring

~ "-

mWI=!

his mother

ffi~ -

ms-n

ba m of

-@ ~

n ht t

Nakh ti (nam e, both m ale and female )

II dm

swe et

0'Y

II m/=!

his wife

killl

crea te

l ilt'

brea th

' - ' - c>

I 10"0

h' py

1~ ~g

sntr

incen se

~~1 ~

smell, scent

the inu ndatio n (as the god Hapy)

_--- - --

Notes

BM EA 558

Translate 111 near th e e n d of line 3 as 'a s' (a n elaboration into th ree p ans: offeri ng , bre a th and in cense ). i i In the writ ing of Ab ydos and Djedu the town det erm inative @ has been ex pa n d ed as th o u gh it were the word ~, nwt 't o w n ' . However , it is still simply the det er mi nativ e for Abydos and Djedu. n ot a sep arat e word.

110

How

read L'gvl'lial/ h icroalvphs

iv Thi s stela s hows a number of features w h ic h place its d ate rather la le in the seq u en ce of st e lae studied in th is bo o k. The wo rd tor Djed u is writ ten wit h tw o dd- signs, su ggest ing a date o f at lea st the la te 12th d yn a sty. This is con firmed by the u se of n k! II w ith out im .'[I(w) (se c §2 6 ) a nd by the u se of th e dd11', ·fo n n u la . It is thought that the 'b rea th of -lilc ' formula o n ly cam e into u se in the 13th dvnast v: if S(l , thi s w ould su ggest a d ate in the earl y 13th dynast y for thi s stel a .

Cltaptcr S

The future

In th is final chapter, II 'e will introdu ce you 10 th e 'appea l 10 the livinq ' formula in which th e'deceased calls upo n [uture gmerm iollS til m ain min his [unerary cult. We will also look at the futu re tense used pa rticular ly to express w ish es and expectations.

§53 The sg m ty.fy form In ex p ress in g the future , the place o f the p art iciple is ta ken by the sdmty.fy form: ' (so m e o n e) wh o w ill/ may do so m e th ing '. Th is for m has the sa m e u se s as the p articip les, bu t h as its o w n particu lar endings. In its fulle st writings th e sdmty fy for m disp lays the fo llowing for m s: ,\I A S C U U ~ E

FEM ININ E

.£7k~ r\\ sdm ty.fy

PLURAl. ( BOTH GiND ERS )

t},

° ni

&J.1Y1, \\

slim IY·s)'

I I

sdmty.sn

Oft en , h oweve r, the \\ .y o f th e endings is omitt ed : Th e stela ('f Mentju hotep ill the Fitz william Mu seum, Cam bridge. h as an appeal to th e living wh ich begins :

Fitz.E9.1921, f ' /l[z w 11'11' II sws ttyr .sn hr 1> pn Line I: o the living up on the eart h w ho m a y p ass by th is tomb (See § 54 be low for th e form of the appea l 10 the liv in g an d its vo ca bulary.) As with participle s, the sdmty .fy form ca n be u sed w ith a noun (in thi s exa mple, swuty t.sn ' w h o ma y pa ss' go es with ' th e livin g' ) or on irs o w n ('so rn c o n c who w ill do so m e th ing ' ).

§54 The a p p e a l to the living Th e appeal 10 the livinq formula is found on man y ste lae . A sim p le ex ample is: The appe.r! I" the livinq <'[Ihe'chnm berlnin Mi n nc'fa (l ea r 29 of A m enemhet II) :

BM EA 14 3

How to read ( qyptlan hieroqlyphs

11 2

"-.

= ~ Q ~ &; ~= ~ C?-, ~

.~..J r I i! d l1 . ~

The f uture

11 1)0. _

=,.

"l1bw tp H' '-' ~1tn (1Vj ·17 {r fl m (w)t-n tr w '"bw

11 3

b. Tile offerinq reques t Tile o wn er requ ests that offerin!(s o r pra yers be ma de or sa id lor him : nW r-pr p n

Jd=!11 tll 1 h nkt kl Ipd n tm itjt w) m- r 'bll " 'ly m nw- nfr 1n·" -tIT \\' () living ones up on ih e ea rt h. the (" II-priesls a nd IIm-prks lesses, and i he w'b-priesls <)1 this u-mp le.

may you say, ' A ih ou sand (of) bread, beer, ox and Iowl lor ih e revered on e . ih e overseer of the chamber Minnefer, ih c justified'

From BAI FA 829 :

......:::.:;'f Ob -: ~-o> =q, .<o> ,~ ..I ,

EM FA 829, Line 5:

''''

0-:i' ".1WI 7i71 t" - 1 i'i

lid=tl1 II! t hnkt ks tpd 11 Im.IO lw) m - r 'bnll'ty m n w-n f r m r -h rw May you say, 'A thou sand bread, beer, ox and fowl lo r ih e revered on e. the overseer "f the chamber Minne ler, ihe Justified'

(Sec th e Referen ce table on p . 148 lor th e suffi x pron oun =!11 'vo u") The appea l to the livin g is co m pos ed of tw o basic e leme nts p lus a Iurther. optio nal e leme nt:

The request lor sa ying the off ering formu la u se s th e future sJm {~J) fo rm discussed bel ow in §55 ,

a. Hailing tile visitor

c. The appeal to goodwill or piety

Th e owner 01 th e memorial add ress es the passer s-by; th e visito rs arc hailed , typ ically in the Iorrn :

Th e appeal to th e living is oft en augmented by a th ird e lem en t - a n in vo cation of the goodwill o r pie ty o f th e visito rs, o r a de cla ra tio n o f th e ben efit s visitors wi ll gain if they ma ke th e offering. Sometimes this is included in hailing the visitor s in the form 0 1 participles:

As we saw above, the stela of M entjuhotep begins with an appeal to thclivinq : FiIz. E9.1922, i rnij w tpw

Line I:

The appeal 10 the living of the priest Mentu ltotep:

u ..

o ihe living upon the ear th

Q ~ t} ~ , @ } i:- rgr 9~~ ~ ~ } t --;ffi~ } ~J

Thi s is composed 01 the foll o w ing words:

~ ~ or Q 1

Sf- }

0 ' II

the living

TI l

Ip W

(who are) upon

the ea rth

(On the lonn 01 tpw ' u po n', see §6 0 below.) There ma y follow a n enumeration o f the people like ly to pa ss by - such as temple sta ff a n d scribes - who are ofte n hai led in pas sing the mon ument: The stela of Ment juhotep continues:

n.A Q", Fitz .E9 .1922 ,

~ l!iI T .1f

Line I :

I ' 1I0W

and w ho love life and w h o hate death, may you say, 'May Osiris Khcn tytrnem u transfigure Mentjuh otep'

( ~} mrrwand ffi~} m sddw a rc both partici ple s: see §46 ab ov e .)

A \-

I ' ~ I ' 9 ~ U[

IpW u s lVlt (v) ,s n hr IS pn o rhe living upon the earth w ho ma y p a ss hv ih is tomb

As in thi s exam ple, in hailing the visitor , the ve rb swi 'to pass ' U" 'by') is typ ically used in th e sJ mty.fy form : Sl l' lty. S1l ' (they ) wh o sha ll pas s'. SWI can be wri tten in the follo wing wa ys: FULLER w Rln " GS

i rn tn v tp w fI SUNl)'.sn hr I!; pn m nw ' 11 1] msdd w tlPI lid=111 SII] tslr hn ty-i m nt w m ntw-htp o living ones upon the earth who may pass by ihi s tomb

Oft e n , however, th e appeal to the goo dw ill or piety 01 th e visitor takes the form of a sepa ra te clause (he re beg in n ing = ~ m + m rr=lII) leading on to th e requ est to say the offe rin g: = I,

~ I f.i)'" l ~ n '-J n - n ~ 1."

.ff:0 .1f '

~ P,~ ~1 ~ r?W ~ ~ }~~ Fit z.E9 . 192 2, Line 1:

AHBRH'l ArF.n WRITI NGS SWI

pass (by)

The appeal to the livi ng of the oversea oj builders Khu enbi k: EM EA 584 ,

Lines3 -5:

- oil Jil' f\ ~ ~I' ~~ o" ~~ -,,;io\ l% +~iP.I

:1 --1g- ~' n hT}

I},. b... = = :;n kf,....... = '- - "-. = 0 ~\· ~;-;-I '1 · A ; y. .J}lil ~ ,~::J ;71 6 I rnhw sW Il{y j.SI1 I" m rh rt III In Od In ilsf l m m rr =rn f ms U''P *Wl lVl r l WU f = ! nb lid=tl/ t h nkt ..

114

Th e future

How to read EHyprian hieroglyphs

May hand s/ help be given 10 him in the Nesh rnet -ba rk on the ways of th e we st: May he receive offerings on the great altar On the festivals of th e ne cropolis; May 'Welcome ill peace' be said for him bv the gre a t of Abydos: on th e Wag-fe stival and on the Thmh -fc srival ... la list of festivals follo ws)

o livin g on es wh o may pass by ihi s cenotaph in going n o rth or in going so uth, as you wish 10 follow wepwawet at his journ eys, mav yo u say, 'B read a nd beer ...' Grammatically, th e first cla use is so metimes in troduced by ~ m 'a s' a n d th e re q u est clause som e tim e s b y 2 ~ ml ('j u st as .. .. so yo u sh o u ld sa y .. .' )

§55 Wishes, expectations and requests: the future sgm( =f) Th e fo rm use d to exp re ss wis he s, re qu e st s, ex pectatio ns and the like is th e future stim(=f) . In the appeal to th e living, y o u have alr ea d y, in fact , e n co u ntered t h e future stim (=fJ for m o f

:':1 dd rsay) :

The appeal to the liviru; of the chamberlain Minnefer once more:

-t}- :itm}- -;1~il~~ ir1 } !?~.:.

"-. = \ ' Ob

-: ~= ---"

0 -

= l;-;"",,,e'4 .. ~ 1i7l~ 1\)

BM EA 829, Lines 4-5 :

1 ' n [lw tpw ts hm iwi -ntr hm(w )/ -nrr wbw nw r-pr -pn I!d=!n lJl t hnkt ks spd n ImJ[t(w) m -r rhnwty m nw-nf r m r -h rw o living on es upon the earth, the !tm-priests and !tm-priestesses, and the w'b-prieSlS of this templ e. may you say, 'A thou sand (0 0 bread, beer, ox and fowl for the

(.t(w) is the affi x o f the pa ssive w ith in used for 'b y ' I'may so m et h in g be do ne by so meo n e ') . You wi ll be stud yin g t h is formu la in th e Exer cises to thi s ch apter.

§57 Purpose and causation

a. Purposeiresult clauses The fu ture sdm(=f) is al so u se d to ex press pu rp ose or re su lt (' so that ', 'in o rde r tha t') , Th is is the fo rm u sed in th e offerin g form ula : The offering form ula fr om BM EA 558: BM EA 5 58, Lines 1-2 :

reve red one, the ove rsee r of the chamber Minnefe r, i h e jus tified' Th e future stim(=fJ is a form distinct from th e present sdm(=f) n ot ed in §42 a bove (alt ho ugh the tw o ca n be di ffic ult to disting u ish by t he w ritings alon e ). Th e future sdm(=f), for ex am ple , is not used wit h au xiliari e s such as fw. It s fu ll form s ar e give n in §59 below (y ou may wi sh to compa re th e writ ing s of the two form s in th e refe rence ta bl es o n pp . 14 5 an d 14 6 ).

§56 The Abydos formula Th e Abydos form u la is a fairly standa rdised set of afterl ife wi shes. The ma ture version bel o ngs to the first ha lf of the 12th dyna st y wi th earlier (less stand ardi sed ) ve rsions occu rring in th e 11 th d ynasty. Th e fu ll form ula h as tw en ty e lemen ts (a s in BM EA 567), but many te xts co nt ain a se lectio n : A brief version of the A bydos form ula

OCC/.1rS

on 8M EA 162 :

BM EA 162, Line s 4 -6:

115

~m~ A h tp -dl -nsw ssi r nb ddw II/r ' I lib Ib,Jw d/=f prt-hrw t hnkt la JpJ ts mn h: ... An offering whi ch the king gives 10 Osiris lord of Dj edu , great god,

lord of Abydos. so that he might give an invocat ion offering of bread, bee r, ox and fowl. alabaster and linen ...

b. Causation We h a ve al rea d y n ot e d t he use of t he ve rb rdl to exp ress ca u sation w hen follo w ed by an ot her ve rb with the se ns e o f ' to ca use/ h ave/ le t/ a llo w some one to do som et hing' (see §4 0 ). Thi s o t her verb go es in the future sdm(=f) Iorm:

Ikhemofrets description of the qreat procession of Osiris:

Berlin 1204, Lines 18 -1 9: iw ir.n>! prt ' JI sms=1 nt r r nm tt- ] .11.n=1 sk d dpt-ntr I cond ucted the great pro cession, follo wing th e god a t his travels. and I made th e god's boat sail

§58 Negation di .t tw) n=f 'v.y m nlm t hr WI (w)1 imntt f ..._

( !.r,., f 11.". l1r,., r , 1"'" Hf, {1J: 1

1'1 " r l . Hlt'"

Th e future sdm(=f) in its ma in usage is negat ed b y ~ nn + [uture sl}m(=f) : 'yo u will / m ay no r do tha t' : -

J J6

Hewto read l:~qyp ria ll hieroglyphs

The future

The bOIl,JIII section of 8M FA IVI is based on the goodwil l and wish elements of the appeal to the Jiling (i.e. that goad thinq« will happen tc passers-by wh en they say the offering [cr m ula for the deceased):

;u'r={ (With exi r a -r )

SPe CIA L CASES

1>1I=f

(with ext ra -1)

EM EA lUI. Lines 2 ·4 : 5\\ 4 =1" lJ(W)T=1'l " iJrd (w )=1'l ." "" hkr=m "" Ib i=I" Yon will hand over your offices to your children ... VO\l hungrv, you will n ot be th irsty

,,,,II not he

5TRO ~G

.tJ

sqmry f y DOUB LING

- doubling

91fJJ WEA K

EXTRA WEAK

.:tJ ~"'n \, !:I I

sdm ty.sy

:J::£'\:£'\ ~ r:-;-,

mutv. sy

muty .sn

4"=l. 1fJJ [I C>

<!':?;::J

9 1fJJ"'r-

~...,

sd ty.s n

<=>0 ""-

<:>°r

<:> O~ -

rdtty .iy

rdlty.sy

rditys n

~~_

J) Jr\\ \\

- shows nv

~ \\

lwry Iy

J> \\ '"

~ \\

PR EPOSlT10~

Id lY·sy

~\\

He re ~} tpw is an adj ective de rived fro m th e pre p osit io n /5)1 tp ('upon') . tp w ag rees w ith th e n o un Sf- } ~ ~ 'n l/w (both sho w As a n adjective the plur al -w). This form is termed th e adjective ill -.I' (the -.I' o nly oc curs in the ma sculin e singu la r form ). Som e preposition s displa y a d istin cti ve wr iting in the adje ctive in '.1':

!f}

sdm ty .sn

SdlY.[Y

. rdi shows r ly( l)lt wOi

.:> "-\\ \\

I rnhw tp w 11 ".

o the Jiving (w ho ar e ) upon the earth ...

~ "'0 \\ i \ \

~ 1,~\~ -:- ~ :£'\ ~ ~r\\ m my.[y

Fitz. E9 . t 922 ,

Line I :

FE MIl'l SE

___

\\ \\

J) } ~r~,

III

ADJ ECTIVE

in at. towards in relation to

<;:I

hr upon

/5)1

STR O ~G

DO UBLlt'G

- no do ubling \ ...·fA )\

EXTRA WEAK

fm=f

iry

(which/who is) at, towards, relating to

Ill Y

(w hich / w ho is) upon

tp»

(w h ich /w h o is ) upon

0\\

ADJ ECffi'ES IN .y

may he hear may he st"e

mr-f c: mry=!

m ay he love

.il=!

may he give

(no rl

Adjectives in -.I' agree with their no un s in number and gend er :

saml=fJ sam=!

(which/who is) in

~ or /5)

rp upon

-y

Imy

b. The fu ture s(jm(:!) :

q + ~\

= =

iu.'ty.sn

Iwry"ly

n iTlJR E

may he bring

Notes The ve rb mu ' to see ' also displa ys a form ~ h '::= mm«], ii The wea k verb form wi th 44 -.I' is m ost common in the first pe rson. iii The furms from (he verb s 'come: a nd ' bring' show a n ex t ra 1.

The stela ofMentjuhotep:

PLURAl

Sl~G l!LAR

may he come

§60 Adject ives in -y Wh e n used with no uns , a sp ecial adjecti ve fo rm of the pr e posi tio n is used:

§59 Fo rm s of the sgmty.fy and the future sgm (=!) The sJmty f y an d the fut ure s(jm(=!) have th e followi ng forms : a. sdmty.fy

MASCUUN E

117

~G .

PI..

}

-w

·1

-L

MSC.

FE.\!.

e.g. wsc .

r EM .

SG .

PI..

\+~\

H~}

Imy

1mB.'

H1\ tm t

'inot I

lmf

The fu ture

118

1 19

Ex e r ci se s

The stela of Inh u retnakh t beg ins with an offa ing formula in vok ing Anubis:

t 'L it, ~ ~:+ } C)t)

8. 1 SigllS a. 2 -co nsona m a n d 3-cLlnso n all1 signs:

H,\ \ EA 178 3, hip -di -ns w inp w tp(y) o"=/ lm (y) wr rib 11 dsr l.ine I : An o fferi ng wh ich th e king give s ( 10) Anu his w ho is up on his muu n tain, t he o ne in rh e wI-fetish, lord o r rhe sacred lan d

Adjective s in -y ar e co m mo n in titles. for exa mp le: ma ster o f secrets (lit er ally, rh e one upo n sec re ts)

h rv-

ssn

b. Th ree o the r sig ns w hic h a rc u sefu l a t th is po in t:

leri or pri est (Ilt erally,

n bry- the one carrying I h e

j. ~.J

hor

S IG ~

, -

(bry is de rive d fro m th e prepo sition

iJr 'u nd er ', whi ch is also

us ed w ith the

l or1

se nse of 'ca rrying'. ) like o the r adjectives, t he adjecti ves in -y can be used o n their own ('t he one w ho .:', 'th e th ing which ,,: ). A pa rtic ular exa mple is the n ame of Kh entvimentu 't he fore mo st of th e w estern er s' :

The stela of Khuenbik beg ins wi th an offering fo rmula invok ing Osiris:

.<p- =-'IH~d~A'i'tr. ~1),.

l1 ~ " J C-"j

't d" It, !Jt~ = l.lJz' ~ dmrr ~ t'I = 1

BJ\1 f A 584 , Line I :

CO>

ha s bee n omitt ed in the phrase ru r 'I ' great god') onty is an adjective in -y meaning ' (t he one ) at th e front ' . imntw is also a n adjective in -y, de rived fro m th e nou n 1/111/1 ' I he west ' an d m l'ans l' th e ones of th e west' ,' westerners'. So hnty- tmntw means ' the one a t the front o f t he weste rners' (t he ' weste rn e rs' are the dead , the people in th e realm o f sunset) . i ntr

VOCABULARY

u;.; =} ~=

;;;;

c [

. j',

1 3J..~

to m b

mn tw- htp

M er rtj uh ot e p

r-pr

t em ple

hm iwn-ntr -'Ii}

hm -

p riestesse s t ran sfig u re

...

T6 ffi ~ l j ~! €I'"

O .!J

E30lE31 - co mbi nation o f E29 and If'/; D32 (a nd L e l l - sandy h ill -slo pe)

Im -Il l r

nec ro po lis, cem cre rv

E 17 - dagger, Used in the adje ctive in .y tpy

rpy

(who is) up on. See §60 above

E33 - Iw o plan ks crossed a nd j oined . Used in th e ad ject ive in .y Imy.

fmy

(who is ) in . See §6 0 above

8.2 Words

(Itp -d/-IISW istr nb lidw !Jnt y-tmlllw (n/r) ' 1 lib tbliw An offe ring which ih e king give s 10 Osiris lord of Djedu . Khent y lmentu, great (god), lor d of Abydos

' - - '- '- '

e XAM P LE

lector bo ok )

_ -.---" - ".'_._ - ----

IHf1W-1l!r

Minnd er

msdti)

ha te

hmtwi -n ir

hm-p riests

bpI

de ath

Tra nsl it e ra te th e follow in g w o rds: .!f}~

receive, lake

lk,aA'

tomb, ceno ta ph

~fl~

tu rn b

~3J..~

rr an sfigu re

lJ ~·:o JJ i

entourage

akh -sp irit

(The bless ed dead become Ilj -sp irits in t h e a fter life by bei ng t ransfigu re d a fter death . )

(Sib )

8.3 8M EA 567

BM EA 567 (sho w n on p. 120 ) he gins wit h a date, a n offe ring for m u la, and th en moves on to a full set of the twe n t y eleme nts of the Abydo s for mula, of which a select ion a re given her e, incl uding som e m entioning th e Abydos m yste ries. Ign ore th e sections in grey,

120

The fu tu re

How 10 read 1~~Yl' li,1I1 h icroqlvphs

121

ix Trans la te n snn u-rr I IIm l1= s as 'w h e n th e gre a t IIsm l -b ar k is at it s j o ur neys'. x In Line 10 I I -WI . th e 1I0me co m a in m g Aby dos. he re ref ers 10 th e in hab itant of th e nome, h enc e it call have a ' m o u th' . xi In se n 'a t' in your translat ion befure Iuk r ill Line 10 . x ii The vigil uf H or u s -J» or Horus th e figh ter rem ains one of the m ost el u sive asp ects of the Osi ris m yster ies, a ltho u gh it p robab ly refe rs to p a n uf th e rites con cerned w it h the rea n im a tio n o f th e dead Os iris. W h e n yo u have finis hed bot h Exe rcises 8 .3 an d 8 .5, yo u m ay wish pare the Abydus fo rm ul a e o n th e two ste lae .

to corn -

VOCABULARY

..._ - - - - -

--- - _.-

~~}

iiw

welcome

."..-'1

~~!

w r(w)

th e great

1»,7J

pres ent. o ffer

hsk r

Haker-rites

J-

hn :

toge the r wi th

mil ~

tlll lY

(th e on e) a t the front

r:;

sdm

hear (th e (I has changed int o d

ru~~~, .-.J)

B:lil EA 567 (ca rve d lim estone; w. 63 .5cm) Notes See n ote s to Exercise 7.8 for th e writin g o f th e d et erminat ive of ddw a n d /bdw.

ii w epwawct has the epit h et billy tbd w 't h e on e at th e fro nt/ h ea d of Abyd os' (see §60 a bove fo r tlll ly ) . iii The n a mes of He k e t and Khnu m a re w ritt en wit h th ei r fro g an d ra m dcrerrni nauvcs resp ecti vely. iv bf -n bt ri[rtt} prtr )! m -bth II!r - .1 ' e ve ryth in g go od w hic h go es befo re th e gr ea t go d' . p r (r) 1 is a pa rticiple. v In Lin e 5 th e Abydos fo rm ul a begins w it h m s.l(w) -11=/ 'I vy br ... 'Ma y a rm s be p re sen ted to h im ca rry ing ..: Th e two gro ups o f th e venerated dead noted arc Sill SII' nssir 'th e followers uf Osiris' an d Ip J lj prw br-Im 't he a n cesto rs who exi sted before ' . vi In Lin e 5 -rw is the dependent pr on oun ' yo u ' (the ow n e r Amen e rn hct is sometim es referred to a s ' h e' so m cu rues as 'vo u ' ). Se c §41. vii On snyt imiy t} Jbdw, see §60. viii In Line R d in dd is flatt e r than th e normal form . Noti ce th at it does n ot

--- ~

8 'I. n

< slim

~~ C

...~

1»,7

m -bih

before

=0 =

t-pkr

Ro -Poker (Poker)

rgl

h nw

jubil a tion

="=

IIII'

offeri ng s, peace

<Th

carrying, unde r

r 10 n ~,\ .J)

S(l l

tr avel

ov er ti m e)

Llv-

a C

vigil

~G ~

smsw

follow ers

f ny l

en to urage

~rr

grl1

nigh t

tptwj -:

a n cestors

Tawer

6---1

mo m e) . . - ...

n D ~ H~

I <=

arms

s./ rt

fJ· w r

'wy

~ \\

9,.

7.......

'j~o k :'_CD

_... -

.. .

sdryl n t ~1r-Sl1

the vigil of Horus-.<II

8.4 St udy exercise: BM EA 584 Transliter ate a nd translat e the ste la o f Khu cn bik (B M EA 58 4 sh u wn un p. 122 ) with its ap pe a l tu th e livin g. N ote

In Lines 4-5 til mrre tn sms "'P-W/w l r nmtt »] lib 'in th at yu u w ish tu follo w Wep w aw et at a ll hi s journe ys' ; [m s is in th e in fini tive for m a n d supp lies the

12 2

123

The tutu re

How fa read F:!lypli'l/1 hieroqlvph»

VOC A llli LARY

(CONTIN UED )

- - - --m

-- - - -

CO} .

name

Ll ~

( I he

hkr

j.d

god dess)

="=

H ck ct

iJlp

offe ring s (th e godl Khn urn

bw·n -

K huenbi k

bl ]:

(na me)

~ ~ ['j

lj nmw

jl q.

sf n b

mak e live. p erpe tua te

~ ~~

sm yt

sms

to foll ow

~ ~l~b

'::l

- -

Rc r u t m ame)

-ez> >

rrw t

lmn tt

th e we ster n desert

dfp w)

pr o visio ns

8.5 Stu dy ex er cise: 8M EA 162

The fin al ste la for yo u ro study is 13M EA 162, the stela of the genera l-in ch ief Ame n y. Th e stela is shown on!' . 125 . As usu al, tran sliterat e and tra n slate w ith the hel p of the acco m pany ing vo cabula ry. NOles

See Exercise 3.3 for vocab u lary for th e offerin g form u la sectio n. ---'l for ......,-; . iii See Chapter 7 for the stru cture of th e va rious ep ith ets. ii Read di.ti w) at the beginning of Line 4 wit h VO CABU LAR Y

./)}. o r ~ ~}

~~ :

13&.111 o r

cob.

",0

1(1111'

w elcom e

U'r (w j

th e grea t

Blv1 EA 584

(ca rved lime sto ne;

II .

53cm )

I VOC ABU L \ R Y

,---. .--

~{:~ ~ '> ~1 ~~~

1ft

or 1%.~ !Ii i

nu.;;:rf- 'j .h 57

rr u

. ..

m £Isf l

in going south

111 -'

ov erseer of b uilde rs

IkJ",

_ - ._.. _.

~c":':~ ~if

nt hd

lIl>in

_. . -

in goin g non h ceno ta ph . rorub

~1r

n -p tltL.

,\ 1aicn ho r (n am e )

O ? de" o ~ ",Q

:'lip la hka u J\

.c.

plh h lp

n nttt

Pia liho tcp (n am e ; jou rn eys

--: or

d!11

grea t alta r

JnTI S

h btw]

festiva ls

htp:

offerings

.ssp

rece ive

Wil 2h., c:. I o O c:n:::)i

-1

( \.~Y

}\z

FESTI VA I.S ,

- -- - - ~ - - _

f \wQ;J ~rn

o~ Ii U [J;; =>

Wa g ~

festival

[ 'J .... <~ .f) 1

prt mnw

Jll wlI

TI>O lh festiva l

Si! ./)6°

p rt spdt

hb sk r

SokerIestiva l

!ViW

tp -rnp t

wig

pro cessio n of Min pr ocession of

So this begi n n ing of th e luna r year

T rn .ES AN D OCC UPA TIO NS

, nui -n-

. .- - - - - -- - - - ,- _. _- - --- .. - .. - .- - . -

peace, san sfa ction

hlp hlp

. ---- -

1 ~~ <p

hm -n tr it....t -h r

Harbo r

h nt -ki

ka -pn csr

pri este ss of

j},,@ -c-i -

~= 3;., 1 Ih :0:::"';::"

- - -- - ----- m -r overseer of Ltl11l1 the trea su ry m-r 1115""wr

general -in -chief '

The Iuture

How iii read Egyptiall hieroglyphs

124

TITLES AND OCC UPATION S

(coxnx uru]

cup- bea rer ~

ns:

hairdresser

dorn csuc serva n t

h ry- p r

:-lAMI: S

- - - -- ------_ .- -- - - - -

~ ~~ Q

fmny

Ame ny

b\<yt

Kh nvet

hnt-hty-ht p

Kheneikh etvhe tep ;

ss-hwt-h r

Saha tho r

~~J~

sst-sb k

Satsobe k

~~~a,

m dh w

Med hu

ss-h n t -h ty

Sakhen e rkh e ty

snvtyt

Saut yr

sit-h nt -ljt!

Sa tkhene tkh e ry

C3 Io--J'~

I .

rrM- -=eb

0 ,, 1100

~tW~-::,= ~ ~ ~} "' \~ O

~rWl -~ft

n'"

~ ~ l" = L~

.L .....

rJft -It' p(\,j .

â&#x20AC;˘

Dj efahap y

.J:

Onc e yo u ha ve read th is stela. il will no dou bt strike you ihat rh e ow n er himself is ac tu ally mi ssing from ih e figur es sh own . Thi s is because. lik e a nu mber of stelae from Abyd os. BM f A 162 be lon gs to a gro up dedica red in a n offering -ch apel at th e site. Un fortun a tely, Abydos was clea red of man y o f us Mid dle Kingdo m mo n um e nts by collecto rs a nd earl y archaeo logists in i hc n inctccruh ceru ury with out a prope r record bein g made of th e fin d-sues . II is only through th e w or k of scho lars scouring th e museum collccu o ns of rhe wo rld and sih ing th rou gh ihe spa rse arc haeo logica l record thai ori ginal gro ups of ste lae are gradu all y being reassembl ed . Fortu n a re ly. EM EA 162 h as be en allocated 10 a g rou p now known conven tionall y as Abydos NOrIh Offerin g Ch apel (ANOC) 2 . II has a com pani on . now in th e Egyp tia n Mu seum. Cairo (CCG 20 546 ). w hich sh ows th e same SI }' 1e and phraseology: ih c IW O wer e clea rly mad e in ih c sam e wor ksho p as a pair. JI 10 0 lack s a figur e o f Amen}' himse lf: instea d il depio s furth er relatives and dep en da nts lookin g fro m lef t to righ t (w hereas in EM EA 162 Ihe y look from right 10 left ). Th is pair o f stelae no doubt framed a centra l su la depi cting Arncn v himself: one pie ce which has been propos ed is in ihc Mnsee du Lou vre , Paris (C35).

13M EA J62

J2 5

Hierogl yphic sign-lists for the exercises About the Front Cover Th e co ve r sh o w s a derail of an in scrib ed ritual 100 1 u sed in the rile of 'ope n in g the mouth ' - a n obscure cer emony designed to brea th e life in to an embalm ed corpse , a statue or a n inscribed image. The text re cords a dedicatio n from Senwosre t [ to his celebrated p re decessor (here termed It "(fo rc jfather) . Mcn tjuhot ep ll o f t h e l l rh Dvn ast y, w ho is h er e identified by hi s pra enornen Ne bhe pe rre .

MMA 24 .21:

rur nf r lib lmy s-n-wsrt ir.n=f m mnw»] II It= f nb -hpt -rr mr- h rw

The perfect god, th e lord of th e twin lands, Sen wos rc i: he has made a dedi cati on for his Iarhcr, Nebh ep etre, the ju stified.

The followin g lists are intend ed to help you to identity particul ar hieroglyp h s qu ickly an d easily. a n d then work out how th ey have been us ed to w rite words. You ca n also, if you wis h, treat ih ern as a co nv e nien t resource for mem ori sin g so m e of the m ost co m m on ly u sed hieroglyphs.

List I: l-consonant signs Called aleph. Originally a th roat y trill, it later became a stop . as in cockne y pronunciation of bottle as bo'l, and a hal as a 'a' Called yodh . Origin ally a sto p, it tended weak sound, ofte n nor wriuen

sou nd more like y. A

Like y in yes Called ayin. A th roaty gurgle, like sayin g a whilst swallowing

mnw 'dedicati on ' refers here to the opening o f the mouth implem ent its e lf and th e rit e s asso cia te d w ith it. mllw is o ften translated as ' m o n u ment ' in di cti on aries, but act ua lly refers m or e ge n e ra lly to ro yal dedications, he re for a celebrat ed ro yal pred ecessor. The ap pea rance of an ex tra m b ef ore th e obje ct mn w is a sta n da rd part o f th is ded icat ion form ula , a lt h o ug h the re ason for it is st ill d isp ut ed by schola rs (a s in dee d ar e the intricacies o f th e gra m ma r o f th e fo rmula ) r so yo u ce rta in ly sh o u ld n ot w orry too m u ch a bou t it. Accord ing to o ne su gge stio n, iI indi cates th ai it is t he dedi cation o f t he objec t itself w h ich is se e n a s th e fo cal -p oint o f th e fo rm u la , fo cu sin g on Senwosr ct 's perfonnance of th e commem orat iv e funct ion s o f kingshi p th ro u gh supplying th e ope n ing of the m outh implement for th e animation o f st at ues of his cel ebrat ed predeces sor.

-_._- _

1= coo

mrnv

l _._.. ....

VOCA BULA RY

.. _ -- -

dedicatio n

· - -- - -....- -·- ·- ·- --1 ~~ [1 nb -hp t-r r Ncb hepctrc I

Called waw. Like w in weI. A weak sou nd, often not writt en Like b in bel Like p in pel Like fi n jit Like m in met Like n in net Like r in rain , bu t distinctly rri llcd as in Scots pron un rta tlon Like h in home Empha tic h pronou nced in ih e throat Like Scots ch in loch Sllghtly softer than

iJ, like Gennan ch in ich

Like s in soap Like sh in ship k pronou nced a t back 01 m ou th , like Arabicq in Qun in (Koran )

Like k in kit Like gin gfl

Like I in tub Like t in tune Like d in did

Like j in joke, or French di in dieu

How to read Egyptian hieroglyphs

128

Li st II : Some common 2-consonant signs IW

sb or mr

In or nw

i <-=>

or ~

IIlV

lin

IIh

n .~

lid

t t

or b/.!

SII

skor

WI/.!

mr or sb

ffi

iJi

m twjt

List III: Some common 3-consonant signs 11mo rim l

WI/.! or sk

m l'

Iwn

n bw

whm

IIf r

htp

11}

hnm

wsr

n tr

[Ipr

spd

dWI

List IV: Some common ideograms I. my (ยง36 )

IIw

praise

f ~ tm nt

n ot (ยง 39)

!tW(

tow n

nmu

step. journey

.1\0

ntr

f7 11

rnpt

year

i,Jl ~

.vr

official

rd(l)

give

illill;

siJt

co unr rvside

rdwy

legs

.fJ ~ sdm

lilt

front

hear

spsy

dtgnified

ox, bu ll

house, estat e

expedition

11IV

11m

lib

129

Hieroglyphic sign -lists for the exercises

pa lace

ndm

god

htp

(I ) face 12 )

offering seat, place

0= G"

Sp it

:IT

district

elder, smsw eldest

sun

bread

sweet mouth

'i'

land

upon

dsr

( I ) clear (2) sacred

List V: Full Sign Li st What foll o ws is a co m ple te list of signs appearing in this book , with an explanation of th e d iffer ent wa ys in w h ich each one has be en u sed to wri te words. Sinc e thi s is a pra ctical list design ed to h elp yo u find an un familia r sign q u ickly, m or e re cogn isable sign s ha ve been gro u ped int o three broad ca tego ries (h u mans, animal s, nature ), whilst others ha ve been gro u ped by sha pe (small. ta ll. broad) . Th e signs ar e give n h er e in a stand ardised font . but it sh o uld be remembered that th er e will be some variation in their forms as they ap pear on m onuments; in particular. the det ails of a sign will be affected by whether it is pain ted (a s 0 11 a coffin ) or in scri bed (as o n a ste la) . Read er s who cont in ue th eir st udy of an cient Egyptian will eve nt ually need to become familiar with th e systema tic sign-list of Gardin er's Egyptian Grammar (sec p. 176) . Sin ce Gard ine r used many mo re categories th an we have, th ere is no co rrespo nde nce between his list and ours in the wa y a particular sign is classifi ed . Here. we have us ed t h e following abbreviations: I c.. on e -co n so na n t sign ; 2e.. two- con sonant sign ; 3e.. three -consonant sign; ideo .. ideo gram; co m .. sign combi ned with o the r elements. Index

hear!

'Ill

fight

wes t

wit

road, way

ยงA, Signs depicting people or parts of the human body AI

1\2

1\7

1\10

All

Al l

! 30

AI3

How to read Egy pria n h ieroqlyphs AI4

A J5

AI6

AI7

AI 8

Hieroglyphicsiqn-lists for the exercises AI9

A20

A21

A22

A23

A24

§D. Other small signs DI

A25

A37

A26

A38

A27

A 39

A28

A40

A29

A4 I

A30

A42

A3 I

A43

A32

A44

A33

A45

A34

A46

A35

A47

A49

A50

A5I

A52

A53

A54

A55

J A6I

A56

A57

A58

A59

I . I

Dl3

0 14

0 15

025

D26

0 27

037

845

A36

DI8

0 19

0 20

03 0

0 31

032

DI6

D t7

02B

D29

0 10

0 11

O!2

0 2l

D22

0 23

02 4

D33

D34

D35

036

0 00

EIO

El l

A60

A48

131

A62 §E. Other tall signs

§B. Signs depicting creatures or parts of their bodies BI B2 B3 B4 B5 B6 B7 B8 B9

B l3

B25

B37

BI4

B I5

B26

B27

'\-... ~

B38

BI6

BI 7

Bl8

BI O

BI I

1:3

B54

1 EI2

El3

EI4

EI5

BI2

BI9

B20

B2l

B22

B23

B24

J0.

""5r

E24

B3I

B32

83 3

B34

B35

B36

Il28

B29

B30

B39

B40

B4I

B42

B43

B44

845

B46

B47

B48

B56

8 57

B58

B59

B60

j B49

B50

B5!

B52

B53

B54

B55

B6I

B62

B63

864

B65

B66

B67

E I6

E l7

EI8

EI9

£20

E2l

E22

E23

E32

E33

E34

E35

E25

E26

E27

£28

[

E39

£:40

E30 "I

E3 I

L.n

E4 I

E42

E43

E44

E45

E46

£47

£29

E36

E37

'" E38

E48

E49

E50

E5I

£: 52

E53

E54

E55

E56

£57

E58

[ 59

E60

E61

E62

E63

[64

£ 65

E66

E67

E68

E69

E70

E71

1 J

FlO

FI I

§F. Other broad signs

§G. Signs involving sky. earth. wat er, or plants CI C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8

= T

.=..

CI4

CI5

CI7

C I8

IY'-"l

C25

C26

C27

CI 6

C28

C29

C30

*' *'

CI9

MI!l

C3l

C32

FI C9

CIO

( II

Ll 0 1

en q

1. C33

CIl M

C2 4

= FI3

F J4

ill

F25

F26

FI5

FI 6

FI7

F17

F28

F29

FI 8

= F30

Fl 9

F20

F2l

F32

F33

FI2

F23

F24

F34

F35

F3 6

= F3 1

13 2

1'37

1'4 9

Hieroqly phic siqn -tists fo r the ex ercises

Ho w 10 read Egyp tian hien1glyp hs

1'38

1'50

1'5 1

1'40

1'52

1'41

1'53

1'42

1'54

F43

1'44

1'55

1'56

[j0

1'45

F4 6

F4 7

1'4 8

1'57

f""'1

Full list §A. Signs dep icting people or parts of tile Ill/ma ll body Al

man sealed

woma n scared

god sea ted

A4 AS A6 A7 A8

goddess with fea th er o n h ead m an sea led with ha n d 10

mou th m a n kneelin g in ad ora t ion officia l w ith staff and leat he r grip man lea n in g on fo rked Slick old ma n lea n ing on Slick

AI D

o flicial hold ing fla il

Al l

o flicia l seared

( 1) de l. m an , occu pa tio n s o f m e n; (2 )

infant

A2 4

so ld ie r

id eo , or d el. mi' 'e xp editio n , army'

A25

man sea ted w ith dag ge r

id eo. or de t. f ry ' keep er'

A26

ro ya l figur e w ith Oail

(I) va ria nt o f A27; 12) del. lmiy -imruw (a na m e o f th e go d Osiris I

A27

roy al figure

a bb. ns\\' ' kin g' ; (2 1 de l. nam es o f th e god Osiris

(I)

fig ure o f Am un

ide o . lm/1 '(th e god ) Am un

del. w?m an, ooup ation s of w ome n

A29

( I ) alt ern at i v e for A 55 ; (2) he n ce ideo, web 'priest

de l. go d, n ames/ti tle s o f gods

A30

mumm y o n bier

d el. lying

id eo , or de l. 1111'1 'h arm on y' . espe cia lly if person ified as a go dd ess (co m pa re with

A3 1

face

( 1) id eo , !,Ir' face' , 'o n'; (2) h e nce 2e. !,Ir

A32

h ead in profil e

( 1) ideo . tp ' head', ' u po n '; ( 2) h ence 2e. tp

del. ea t, speak , em ot io n (§6)

A3 3

ha ir

de l. h air

de l. hnw 'j u bilatio n '

A34

front of face

del. face, n ose, c.g. sn 'kis s

B 27 )

(I) ideo . sr 'o fficial' : (2) hence del.

offic ial id eo . smsw 'elde r, e ldes t: d el. or abb. IIII' 'old' ideo . spsy 'dign ified' an d related words; (2 / del. de ceas ed offic ia l

(I)

a hcrn auv e form o f AID

AI 3

m a n str ik in g

ideo. or de l. lad 'st rike '

AI 4

m an bu ildin g w all

( I ) det. bu ild; (2) a bb. ikd 'build e r'

A I5

m a n fallin g

de t. fall, fell , o vert h row

A1 6

m .1I1 fallin g w ith blood str ea m in g

del. en e my

A I7

ma n gesturing

de l. I th e in te rjection ' O !'

A21

A2 3

priest com . wa ter pou rin g from ju g

del. e ffort, act ion . vi o le n ce

A20

dc t. give birt h ( I) d el. chi ld ; (2) hence abb. b rd 'ch ild '; (3 ) 2e . /11I (o r ,m i)

A28

m a n stri kin g I W O ~ h an ded wit h sla ff

A t9

woman giv ing birth

A2 2

ideo . o r d el. 'I. me , my' (§36, §4 1. §49 )

A I2

AI 8

13 3

m an sta n din g with ha n d to mo uth ma n wi th arms raised in jo y m a n wit h a n ns in adoratio n

del. rej oice

m an slu m ped

del. tir ed, weak

A 35

::<f 1ie eyes co m. falcon markin g s

JE>.

A3 8

ideo. ptr 'obse rve, vie w '

eye wi th cosm etic

de l. a ctio ns o r co n ditio ns o f the eye

m outh

( I) id eo . r 'm o u t h' : ( 2) h e n ce l c. r

l c, :J

A39

h an d

A4 0

ann

A41

ann offe rin g loaf (E6 I )

A4 2

arm hold ing st ick

d el. acti o n. viole n ce, effort , a lte rna tiv e for A I 2

a nn h o ldin g flail

2e. [III'

A43

a n n ho lding wand o r le tt uce arm s h o ldi ng shield and axe

A44

del. srl: 'talk about . accu se' A45

( 1) a bb , :JWI 'adore' ; (2) hence del. ado re

death

( 1) 2 e. Ir; (2 ) del. mil 'se e'

A36

A37

dO W11,

A 46

arm s rowing

A4 7

a rm s ge sturing den ial

A48

a rms raised

r 'a n n' ; (2) h e n ce l c. <: (3) ofte n a lte r na tive for A4 1-44

(l) id eo .

( II ideo , di o r rdl 'givc ', alternati ve for £61 ; ( 2 ) read m or m i in the na mes bs-

mk t a n d dw ,. mwt=f by con fusion wi th anot h e r sign iL..Z

id eo . dsr 'sacr ed' and rela ted wo rds ide o . ' Ill ' fight' a nd relat ed w or d s 2e.an

ideo . the negat ive wo rds

(§39) an d nn

(§5S)

( I) ide o . ks 'k a' : (2) h ence 2e. ks

134

A5 0 A 5! A5 2

1I0w to read Egyptian hieroqlyp hs

~ y

boa t's m ast (E56 ) co rn . A40

brea st

Hieroglyphic siq n -listsfor the exercises

3e 'h e, altern ative for E56

B I4

co rmora nt

dc t. brea st. su ckle

BI5

Sf.

jabiru

2e bs

h u ma n- heade d bird co m. ho wl

id eo . bt 'sou l' (New Kingd om )

~ ~ ~

falcon

( 1) det. fa lco n ; (2) hence ideo. h r ' (the god ) Harti s'

ze. mt

B 16

pen is

( I ) de t. m ale; (2)

p eni s wi th issue of flu id

del. or abb . bth in m-bth 'in i he presence of :

B I7

l c. b

BI8

ideo . or det. web ' pure' an d re lated w ords

BI9 B 20

A 53

F -w

A5 4

low er leg

A 55

A5 4 com. wa te r po u ri ng

A 56

leg

( I ) ide o. o r d et , rd 'leg'; ( 2) det. tread

A57

legs wa lki ng

( I ) d et. m oti on ; ( 2 ) id eo. Iw(I) 'co me' : ( 3) ide o . nm tt ' (fo rm al ) jou rn ey'

from j ug

com bined sound -sign and de t. for 1(1)

A58

C20 co m. A5 7

A5 9

D33 com . A5 7

com bined sou nd -sign and det. fo r In !I) ' bring'

'com e'

r}:

B I 7 com . E5 2

ideo . hwt -h r ' (the go dde ss) Hath or

falcon pe rched

det. gods

falco n -headed god

ide o. r: ' (the god) Re '

sparro w

d et. small. w ea k. pa th etic

B2 1

3;>..

B22

3;?, sw a llow

B23

2c. w r

v ulture

( I ) ideo. mwt ' mo th e r' ; (2) hen ce 2e mt

B24

black ibis

( 1) ide o. 9m ' fin d' ; ( 2) h en ce 2c. 3m

B2 5

'3r.

cres ted ibis

2c. Ib in I IJ 'aklt-spirit' and related w ords

B2 6

4'-

sacre d ibis

ideo. [h wty ' (the god ) Thoth '

A60

FI 5 com. A5 7

com bin ed so u nd-sign and de l. for w ord s su ggestin g m otio n w hich inclu de t he sou nd s, e.g. sbti) 'go', m s 'bri n g'

feather

( I) 2 e. sw; (2) abb , mrt 'h ar mo n y'

F2 9 co m . A57

com bin ed sound -sign and del. for ssm 'con duct' an d related wo rd s. alternative fo r F29

B27

A6 1

B28

egg

ideo . o r d et. lSI ' (th e goddess) Isis'

co m bined sou nd -sign a nd de t. for 11(1)

B29

lJril

id eo . or det. o x, bull, catt le

head of ox

abb. kl ' o x'

ca lf

det. cattl e

A62

7f'

F33 co m . A 57

'seize '

ยงB. Siqns depicting creatures or parts of their bodies. 81 B2 133

qu ail ch ick

I e. w

owl

l c. m

Egyp tian vul ture

I e. I

pair of v ultu res

vari a nt of B 3 wh en writ ing

B3 0

B31

);:jj

8 32

new -born calf

2e lw

B33

fril

kid

zc, ib

B 34

"'B

ram

det. ram , sheep

B3 5

B3 4 com . bow l

abb. b, ' ram '

n7l

hide of goat

zc. bn

hide pierced h y arro w

de t. p ierce

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

bu zzard

2e. IW, especially at the en d of w ords, oft en con fu sed wit h B3

B3 6

gui n ea -fow l

2e nh

B3 7

pin tail d uck

( I) 2e Sl; ( 2) det. bird , alternat ive fo r B8

whi te -fronted goo se

( I ) 2c. 9 b; ( 2 t det. bird

duck tn flight

2e. pl

BIO

trussed goose or du ck

det. goose

B4 B5 B6 B7 B8

BI I

-:r

B I2 B l3

13 5

head of d uck

abb, spd 'bird'

fi>

d uck ling

2e. I '

"'(L~

nair of nlo vr-rc

id e-o or Ii.... f

r n fv ' w :t<: h f"r m .::l n '

B 38

piece of flesh

B 39

fC'

forel eg of ox

840

B4 1

( I ) det, flesh; (2) ideo. 1St ' (t he goddes s)

Isis' ideo. or det , bps ' for el eg' (of animal ). 'strong arm ' (of ma n )

w!lm

leg of ox

3e.

a nim al belly wi th ta il

l e ll

B42

o x h o rn s

2e WI'

B4 3

.tJ

ox ear

ide o. or del. sam ' hear '

136

Hierogly phic sign-lists fo r the exercises

How to read Egyptian hieroglyphs

( I) ideo . m- r 'oversee r' (ยง24b l; (2 ) 2c. ll s

h eart

ideo , o r de l. ib 'hea rt

spine wi th issue of

de l. or abb , Inll b ' ve ne ra tio n' an d rela ted w or ds

B47

spin e wi th issue of ma rro w at end s

2c. JW

B48

he ad of leopard

ideo. or del. plity 's tr en gt h '

ox tongue

B44

B4 5 B46

m arrow

*' *

B49

fo repart of lion

( I ) ideo . hst ' fro nt' ; (2) he n ce 3c. IlJe

C IO

B50

h ind pan of lion

2e. p I}

CII

cresc ent m oon

sta r

137

( I) de l. moo n , even t base d on lun a r mo nt h ; /2) ide o. I'll ' moo n' ( I) in dWI 'ado re' ; (2 ) del. sta r; (3) del. "'m vl ' priesthood'

C5 corn . C6

ideo .l bd 'm ont h ' an d rela ted words

h alf m oon corn. C6

ideo . ha lf-mo nt h fest iva l, readin g unce rt ain (see p. 76)

str ip of land corn . D4

(I) 2e. rr: (2 ) del. in ar 'e ternit y'

strip o f la nd

alternat ive Con n 01 C9

slo pe o f hill

Ie. ~

valley be tween h ills

2e. dw

B5 1

de sert dog

del. dog, incl uding the god w epwa w et

C I2

B52

dog corn . stan dard

ideo . or de l. wp-w. wr ' (th e go d ) Wepw aw et'

Cl 3

de se rt h ills

( I ) del. desert: (2) id eo. lp sr 'foreign land'

d og corn . sh rin e

ideo . or del. lnpw ' (the god ) An ub is'

C I4

c:.J

te rra ced slope

del. terrace

B54

h ead of dog

3e. wsr

C I5

ripp le o f wa te r

I e. n

B55

god with hea d of m ythical animal

ide o. sty ' rth e god) Set h '

C I6

grou p of ripples

( I ) del. wa ter, cleanse; (2 ) 2c. mw

B56

h ar e

2e.

B53

CI7

8 57

pai r of cro cod iles

ideo. ity 'sove reign '

B58

mu mmified croc odile

ideo . sb k ' (t he god) Sobek '

crocodile on shr ine

B59

cobra

B60

ideo . sbk '(the god) Sobek ', a lternat ive for B58 Ie.

B6 1

ho rned viper

( I) Ie. [: (2) d et .P ) tt ' fath er'

B62

E I6 corn . B6 1

3e. hs], a lterna tive for E 16

B6 3

frog

de l. fro g, including th e go ddess Hek et

B64

fish

de l. or a bb. fish

B65

oxyr hy nc h us fish

2e. 111

B66

d un g beetl e

3e. hp r

B67

bee

ga rden pool

Ie. S

C 18

po ol with flow ers

2e. SI

C I9

!lili1

reeds

ideo . o r del. stl l ' cou nt ry side'

C20

reed

I e. I

C2l

pair o f re eds

Ie. .v

C22

'\.

he rb

( I) de l. plant ; (2 ) 2e. hn

lotus

( I ) 2e. iJ'; (2) abb, iJJ ' th o usa nd', or uni ts per th ou san d in co un ting

clump of pap yru s

2e. ill

Wll

cn C24

C2 5

sedge plant

( I ) 2 e. sw ; (2) abb. IISW ' kin g'

C26

C2 5 com. DI6

abb. rh-n sw 'ki n gs adviser'

flowerin g sed ge

ideo . or del. sm: 'Upper Egypt '

C28

pair o f ru she s

2e. 1111

C29

C27

ab b. buy ' king'

tree

( I) del. tree; (2) 3e. 11m, i nu

tree b ra n ch

(l ) de l. iJt ' woo d ' and rela ted wor d s; (2) hen ce 2e. iJr ; (3) de l. pkr 'Po ker', a n d hskr 'Hake r-rires'

ยงc. Siqn s depicting sky, earth, water or plants ( I) del. sun, day, time ; (2) ideo . rr 'sun', ' (th e god ) Re'

C30 C3 1

scent ed po d

( I) ideo . or del. fl am 's w eet'; (2) he n ce 3e. ndm

ca no py of th e sky

2e. b' ( I) del. sky; (2) del. h ry ' w h ich (ยง 60)

C 32

sce n ted rh yso me

ideo . o r del. bn r 'swe et'

C3 cum . E3

del. n igh t. dar kness

th orn

( I) ide o . or d el. spd 'sha rp, kee n '; (2) hence 3c. spd

sun-disc

su n rise abo ve hill s

=="

upo n'

C33

138

How to read Egyprillll hieroglyphs

§D, Other sma ll siqns DI D2

sin gle st ro ke

(I ) ind icates word grou p or ideogram (§ 13); (2 ) abb. w' 'one ', or u nit s of one in co un tin g (§ I 9)

pair of stro kes

Ie. y. especia lly as th e du al en ding (S I5)

th ree str oke s

( I ) de l. plura ls (§ 8 ,; (2) del. singu la r nou ns w hich re pre sent colle ction s of individuals, e.g. m )'(r 'expedition'

gra ins o f sa nd

del. mi ne ral abb. mdw 'te n ', or un its 01 te ll in cou m in g (§I 9)

ih!

0 0 0

canle h obb le

:II

irrig ati on canals

del. irrigated land

Hieroglyphicsign -lists[or the exercises

D27

beer jug

d el. or abb, !l n k l 'bee r'

D28

basin (7)

det , sn' w 'm agazi ne'

D29

well full of water

2e. hm

D30

bundle of tlax

2e. dr

D3 1

ill

jar-sta nd

( 1) l c, g; (2 ) ideo . n SI ' th ro ne'

D32

o1t

butc he r's block

D33

pot

2e. br (I ) 2e. I/W; (2) 2c. /n (§ 49); (3) often as a grap hic compleme nt for n d (E 15) an d ~d (E24) .

D34

0 00 th ree pot s

cro ssed sticks

de l. sepa ra te , cross. pass by

burn ing ch a rcoa l wi th tlam es

( 1) ideo . km 'black'; (2) hence 2c. km

D35

I,]

reed she lte r

I e. h

D36

<i!

BI as abbre viated for hiera tic

Ic. w, alte rna tive for B I

D37

coil of ro pe

(1 ) del. ro pe; (2) abb. fl n ) 1 ' hu n dred' , or unit s per h und red in counti ng

D IO DII

tw isted cord

( I ) 2e. ss; (2) hence abb. 5S 'alabaster'

twisted cord

2C 51l

D I4

twisted co rd 17)

del. hbsw 'clot hing'

DI 5

]

reed rna t or

I e. p

D I6

€I

place nt a (?), ball of string (7)

l e. O

DI 7

th re shin g-floo r

2e. sp

DI8

road s w ithin en closure

(I ) ideo. n wl 'tow ri ' : (2) hence de l. to wn, estate

rou nd loaf

del. pt t ' begin ning of tim e ', fro m a wo rd pt t ' loaf' (similar writ in g)

D I9 D20

D21

D22

e ~

'\J

D23

moon part ly obscured

pustu le pu stule wit h issue o f flu id

( I) 3e. psd; (2) by co nfusion , alte rnative for D I9 (1) del. we in imy-wt, title of An ubis; (2) del. scent, odo u r, disease; (3) a bb . hsb 'cou nt' an d relat ed words de l. scent , od our, d isease , alt erna tive for D2 1

log stri ppe d of bar k

del. scent . scen ted wood

024

bUll

(1) l c. I; (2) abh. it in lt- n tr 'god's fath e r'

D2 5

small loa f

de l. or abb. Z 'bread '

,,~ ~

\.-. 1"

') "

(1) 2c. nw, alt ern ati ve for D33 at th e en d of a w o rd; (2 ) 3e. Iln w (7) in the nam e n n"y

Dll

s10 0 1

1 39

sto ne j ug

3e. lJn m

pa rt of stee rin g-gea r of boa t (7)

(1) ide o. hpt 'stee ring oa r'; (2) h en ce 2e. hp

sea l o n necklace

ideo . or del. IJCm 'se al' a n d relat ed wo rds

heart

see B4 5

§ E. Other tall siqns

i 1

1 1 y 1 ~

"' ".

w ood en st aff

de l. sryt 'sta ff'

t h row -stick

( I) del. th row; (2) del. fore igne r, enemy; (3) de l. kmi 'cr ea te '

fuller 's cluh

2e. h m

head of dog

see B5,1

sceptre

3e. WIS

sce ptre with feath er

ideo . W'SI 'Th ebes'

scept re w ith spi ral sha ft

3e. d 'tl!

standar d with feat her

ide o . lm n t 'th e w est ' an d related w ords

totem

ideo . or del. mnw '(the god ) Min'

totem

ideo . /l -wr 't he n om e of Taw er'

E IO

totem

ideo . or del. III 'o ffice '

El l

crook

( I ) ideo. Ilkl ' ru le r'; (2 ) hence 3c. IZ!;I

E ll

crook wi t h pa cka ge

id eo .5ms 'follow ' an d re lated wo rds

scep tre

(1) ideo .l;rp 'cont ro l' and related w ords; (2) ideo. shm 'co nt rol' an d related w or ds

EI4

sto ne mace

2e.

IzIf

~ ~.

l .JcO

1'1 5

H<'lI' to re.u! E~JYl'ti"l1 li ieroqtvphs

Hi~r('glypl:ic

2c.

lI!1 Kl lO W IJ

1Ii..i.

nsu al lv JCCl) lII p .lI l icd hy D "

1'4 6

spin dl e

1'1 6 1' 17

illlP:/ 'w hich is upon ' (S60)

1'4 7 1'4 8

FI 8

but cher 's k n ife

2c. nut

1'19

lnu clu-rs knife

atu-ruauve 2r.

1'2 0 Ell

1'22

fnr Elf:

~'" ~

1'49

large l pie rced hv a rro ws

d ct . .\Hi; or n(i) 'spear'

cord wo u n d on stick

cord w o u n d

1'24

iu ort.ir

1'25

n otch ed pa lm

s tick

f10J I (?)

[ 25 com . D2-1

tire- d rill

14 1

d rill cutt in g bea d

)c. \v b .~ ,

ideo . '1/ ' pala ce '

reed co lu m n

2c. ,jd

w ith a sim p le r va ria n t

woo.len column

2 c.

p illa r

I I) id eo . 111"1 'pilla r': 12\ hence 3e l wn ; 13) abb . iI "nw ' Ihe o ry of Hcli opo lis'

r·"l"

1'5 1

JJJl

s l trlll l'

1:5 2

p lan of

a lt crua tiv c Ior E22

2c.

pala ce facad e

.\11

E50

[ 26

1'4 5

sian-lists fi.'1 th e exercises

ideo , o r d el. sh 'sh rin e '

estat e

ide o. 1)wt 'en closu re . fo u n datio n '

( I ) id eo . or de l. kd 'bu ild' and related word s; ( 2) hence 2<. ktl, usu al ly accompa med hy D33

E53

1'52 co m . D24 a n d 1'5

id eo . n bt-h wt ' (th e go dd e ss) Ncphrh ys'

E54

J11

g ra in h eap

ideo. o r del. Jn w r 'gra lla r y'

3<. rnp

E5 5

fri n ge d clot h

d ct. or ab b. mll Ll1 'linen'

abb . rupt 'y ea r '

1'56

! Y

bo at's In a SI

1c.

oar

3<. hrw

sh ip 's sa il

ideo.

3(". nI t

r~ l r

1'27

p estle

2c. fi

1'5 7

1'2 8

fold e d clo t h

le 5

1'58

pen na n t

I I) id eo . lil t 'god'; (2 ) h ence 3c , n tr ill SIl!' ' in ce nse:

E5 9

he art a nd windpipe

[(;0

s ce t

( I I ideo , SI 'pl ace, sca t'; ( 2) h e n ce 2<. st : (3 ) he nce (I I 2e. IS( /) inls /t '( the god ; Osi ri s' and sst ' (th e god dess ) Isis'

( I ) 2c ms; 121 a sim ila r sig n ' lI.bl ' Ia n iilv, househo ld ' is probab ly a writi ng of 1'71

Eo l

Ii,

o ffe r in g loaf

id e o , d t o r rd! 'give', a ltc rn a rive for A4 1

in imy 'w h ich is in ' (§6 0 )

1'6 2

( 2 1)

'"I

1'29

1'30 0 1 1'32 FB

E34

1'3 5

COl [(.

D 32

1.'29 rom . Cl I and D3 2

ffi

crosse d p la n k s

ideo. hrt-utr 'cemctcry'

ideo . h rt-ntr 'ce m ete ry ', al tern a tive for 1'30

1f ".

twi st ed w ick

Q..

b ra zie r w ith fla me

de l. li cat . co o k

E65

bu n d le o f re ed s

2<. Is

p ie ce s o f wood las h ed

i c. h

wat er put

E06

2c hs

rack o f ..v a rer pots

klpll

E0 7

rack o f wa te r pot s

alt c rn a tiv r for E , S

1'6 8

wate r pot with issu e: o f

id eo . or oct. k h ltw "liba tio n w a ter ' an d re lat ed w or d s

co n ten ts w a ter po t in sta n d

a Ite m " Ii \ e for 1'40

1'42

o intment jar

de t . Dr JUh. rnrht 'o i n tu u-n t'

1'4 3

o in tmen t jar

.iltcrua tiv« for FA 2

1'44

2c , H '1

1'64

1'3 8

E41

2c. 111 1

lasso

sanda I st ra p

E39 1'4 0

6 r,

mi lk-j u g withi n n et

'b rea th

1'6 3

t 1) 2e. sk: (2 ) 3(. 14.' 1(1

[3 7

{I IV

( 1, 1 c. I! '; ( 2i 2c.

1'69 1'70 E71

togeth er

2c rs

J.J

s tylise d ba la nc e

a lt e rna uv e for E66

wall o rn a m e nt

ideo. or de l. I; k n 'di a d em . ornam en t '

w ri ting eq uipme n t

ide» . sl; 'scr ibe '

f~ e I y I'll "' t~

royal cro w n

t c.

Iairnrc ne cklace

de t . e i ibt ' fa lll ily, h ouseho ld' , a ltern a tive lor 1'8

( fro m th e 13 1h d yn a s ty onwar d s)

142

How to read Egyptian hieroglyphs

How

§F. Other broad signs

F30

harpoon

read Egyptian hieroglyphs

2e. we

papyrus roll

det. write, abstractions (§6)

F31

whip

2e. mh

papyrus roll

earlier fonn of Fl

F32

water-skin

2e. .fa

papyrus roll

alternative form for F1

F33

tethering rope

Ie.

"1'" I

fringed c101h com. E28

dei. clothing

weaver's comb (?)

alternative form of F34

F4 F5 F6

basket with handle

lc.k

F34 F35

basket

2e. nb

basin com. canopy

(I) det. festival; (2) abb. hb 'festival'

F36

netting needle

2e. eil

F37

gird Ie knot

(1) ideo. rs(i) 'tie' and related words; (2) hence 2e. Is (1) 2e. ,qs; (2) sound complement for tm orm

'lP

alabaster basin

alternative for F6

stylised bowl

(I) det. sbw 'the town of Elephantine'; (2) hence det. sbt 'family, household'

loaf (for offering)

det, bread, offerings

FlO

loaf (for offering)

alterna tive fonn of F9

FI2

loaf on mat plan of house

ideo. htp 'offer' and related words (1) ideo.pr 'house, estate'; (2) hence 2e. pro (3) det. building, location

Fl3ff!J

F12 com. D25, D27 and E57

abb. prt-hrw 'voice offering'

FI4

laden offering table

det. dbht-htp 'ritual offerings'

•

door bolt

F15

F38

pair of ribs (0)

(similar writing)

Fil

F39

wooden column

alternative torm of E49

FI7

fence

3e. ssp

2e. ss

F40

vertebrae (0)

later alternative for F39

r41

<ffII>

cattle hobble

2e. ss

F42

i';;"r

road bordered by shrubs

ideo. or det. Wlt 'road'

canal

(1) 2e. mr, but read m in mhrt 'cenotaph'; (2) del. water ideo. or det. spst 'district'

F43 F44

lHlH

irrigation canals

F45

papyrns boat

der. papyrus boat

F46

papyrus (7) boat

det. (Ni) 'ferry'

ferry boat

dct. mljnt 'ferry-boat'

Fl8

lid or door

det. open

F47

det. krs 'bury', perhaps as alternative for

F19

stone block (0)

F20

coffin

det. coffin, burial

F21

carrying chair

ideo. ssir '(the god) Osiris' (see p. 41)

statue plinth

vertebrae (7)

Ic. s

Fl6

F22

FI8

3c. m«

F23

F22 com. F24

3c. ms:

F24

sickle

2e.

nil

F48

boat with sail furled

det. boat, sail (downstream)

F49

boat under sail

det. sail (upstream)

r50

processional boat of Osiris processional boat of Osiris

F51

boat of Sokar

det. festivals for the god Soker

sledge

2e. tm

F54

elephant tusk

(I) 2e.

gaming board

2e. mn ideo. btmly 'seal-bearer', alternative for D38 (1) ideo, nbw 'gold'; (2) hence det. precious metal

F55

hoe

2e. mr

plough

(1) 3c. sn«: (2) 2e. hb

F56

seal with necklace

F57

gold collar

adze on block

3e. stp

knife or saw

ideo. or det. sttwor

F29

"c"

knife-sharpener

3e. S.flll

strw 'buicher:

alternative form of F50

F53

F26

F28

det. nimt 'the Neshmet-boar of Osiris'

F52

F25

F27

143

bh; (2) 2e. hw

Reference tabk s

14')

Th e infinitive of st ro ng verbs sho ws no specific w riting . whereas w eak verb s show a fina l -t.

Referen ce tabl es

Main t e nse s appearing in this b ook

Tile past tense (§ §J J an d 38) , dm .n(- f >

Verb Iorms The fOt115 of th is boo k is on read ing ac tua l rnu nu men ts. rather (han Str u g gling through a nWTa s50 of gr ammar. :\t"vcn helt:s:s. a size-ab le area of Egypti an grammar has also be en co vered . Th e reference ia bles provide d he re CO VC T the gra mma r as. prese nted in th is book and are for quu-k refer en ce a nd cornpa nso n. Verb classes (§JO) Middle Egypt ian ver b-forms sh ow d ifferen ces in th eir w riting accord ing th e type of the verb. The fo llo w ing arc the (our basic ve rb classes: Sl 'RO ~ G

c.g.

VERns

f..1i,

hear

sdrn

.c ~ =

~TR O I\' C

nocuu vc

he heard

- no dc u blrn g

~~ =

nJl.n=/

he'

wr AK

;:;:~::

mr.n=I

h e loved

(r)di n4 (r opti on al)

he gave

t=--:" 1 -

exTR A WEAK

L...) . . . . .

stem docs not usua lly show any alteration

sJ m _ 1l-~ f

ge"er~JI

Th e present tense:

\ <I\-\'

pres ent s fjm (::;f) and specifi c presen trr sd m

(§§42-4J)

e .g.

~~~

vr sns

c.g.

EXTRA W EA K VERB S

c.g .

[JOt;BU1\(, VERB S

WE AK

sec

m r (l)

lo ve

rd( j)

give

'-"'

stem en ds in a double consonant

GF:r.,;F RAL PRESENT sJm (~J)

stern ends whh a 'w eak '

consonant. usuall y ·j

Notes

DOU AU KG

\Vith w ea k ver bs. the final -J is u su a lly omitted in w riting a n d th er efore in tra n vlite rat io n. thou gh for practica l reaso ns we n o rma lly rranslucr arc 'give' as rdf. ii Ext ra weak verbs behave like ord ina ry' weak ver bs. but so metim es: sh ow addit ional features. i

J7.1%

s4 Jn ~f

he hears

:.J: ~ 1, ,-

m1lo-cf

h e see s

~ ~ ,,-

mr;:;f

he loves

STRO NG

chie flv ve rbs wit h two or three ~vea k conson an ts

- doubling W ~A K

'b..

d!of

EXTR A W l::AK

Inor)

sPf~ ( I FK

I~H~JTl VE ST R () ~ ( ,

ch a nge

D O U BU ~G

- do ubli ng WE A K

- end i n 'l [ XT RA WF .-\K

- end ill

PRFSPlT

h r sdm

Tile infi n itive (§ J l )

- 110

he gi ve s

·1

dJ~

srJm

~~Ji.,

m Jl

Inn

~ or

rdl l id i l Ir option al!

heari ng, 10 hea r

1 ) ()l ;JlU~( ;

St"CID t: , (0

se e

loving. mlove ~ i v i ng. (0

give

W!:.AK

f J7 ~

hr sdm

is liste ning

d::1.~

tw mn

is looking

y ~~

lJrm n

i\ loving-

tu rdi v

is ~I vi n g

?~ The sp ecific present is m an e lip of

h r followed by (h e infimrive.

How 10 read Egyptian h ierogly phs

146

Reference rabies

The future tense (wishes, req uests, expectations} : the fut ure sgm(=f) (§§55-57, § 5 9) Fl'TURE s(im(=.f) STROl<C

.t7 ~ "-

sdrn--f

may he hear

DOl;B UNG . no dou bling

~ }, ~

rlll=!

ma y he see

WEAK

II sltm=!

EXTRA WEAK

sPECIALCASES

"'-

d/=! (no r)

k"'-

(WI=! (with eX ira

may he -give

.1)

may he come

Int=! ma y he brin g (with extra ·1)

Notes Th e ve rb I1IU 'to see ' also d isp lays a Iorm ~ ~ = msn r]. ii Th e w e ak verb form wi th Q .y is m ost co m m on in the first person . iii Not ice th a t the forms fro m the ve rb s 'to com e ' an d ' to bring: sh ow a n extra r tn the future sgm(=j) form .

Negation (§§ 39 and 58) Th e th ree p rindpaltense s abo ve are nega ted a s follows : :-l EGATlOl<S PRf:SE:>'TTENSE

-'- d7 ~ =

n ,(im.n=!

he does not hear, he canno t hea r

PAST TENSE

-'- .t1~ ........

n sgm=!

he did not hea r

FUTURE TEN SE

::: fl ~ -

nil

Sglll=!

mav he not hea r, he ~IJ nOI hea r

The fu ture is n ega ted by addin g th e ne gat ion 1111 10 th e fu tu re sgm (=f) Iorm . Ho w ever, th e prese nt and pa st te ns e ne gat ive s display a m ost u nu su al a ppa re nt rev e rsa l - known a s GU1m 's ru le - wh er e n Igm, n(=f) negate s th e pr e sent s g m (=f) , not the pa st sqm ./I(=j), a nd n sg m (=f) negates the pa st sgm,n(=f) , not th e sdm (=j), In fact. t he sdm (=j) in thi s co ns tru ct io n sh o ws a spe cia l fo rm :

STRO'o;G VERRS

-"-.a.'P:,"-

sdm »]

he did not hear

DOUBLING VEKB S . no dou bling

-'- ~ 1,"--

m!=!

he did nOI see

.-.\..- ~ ~--

mr=!

he did not love

rdl=! (with r)

he did nOIgive

\V EAK VERBS

~ ~ "- or ~ QQ ~~ mr=! or mry=! may he love ~

147

EXTRA WEAK "ERBS

<z>

-"- <-J ""-

So , the present a n d pa st tense n eg at ive s are be tte r th ough t o f a s constr uctions in their o w n right wi th th eir own grammar, rather th an j u st a s sdm (=f) a n d sdm .II(=j) w ith -'- 11 st uck in fro nt o f them ,

Sp ecialised forms: the participles, relative forms and sg m tY ,fY The participles (§§46-5 I) PRESENT OR INCOMPLETE

d7 .'P:,

STRONG DOUBLING

~~~ ~~

W EA K

EXTRA

'--"

WEAK

L....1:

PAST OR COMPLETE

sdm

(one) who hears

d1~

sgm

(one ) who heard

m il

(one) who sees

Ill'

(one) who saw

mrr

(one) who loves

(one) who loved

rdl (w it h r)

(one ) who gave

dd (one) (n o r) who gives

Part iciples a lso so m e t im e s show a} -we nd ing. T he relative forms (§§37 and 52 ) PRESE:-.-r OR Il'COMPLRTE STRONG I) O UB lI~ G

WEAK EXTRA WEAK

fi ~":'

,gllll=!

~ ~ ~..:.

mill=!

ss-.

"i:

'-"

'-""'-Co

.t71\":

what he s<!ntl,n=! heard

wha t he

~~..:.

m tt.n »]

'Z ~ -

mrt.n»]

what he loved

rdil.n=!

wha t he gave

sees

what he mrn =! loves

ddl=!

PAST OR COMPU TE

what he hea rs

wha l he gives

Z:?

=> -

L-"J

Co " ' -

Compa re with th e corresp ond in g fonns o f th e participle s,

what he saw

148

Reference tables

How 10 read Egyptian hieroglyphs

The re lat ive form s here displa y th e ·1 of femi ni ne adjectival ag reemen t. Th ey ca n also occu r in certain usages wi th ou t th e· ( (i.e , with ma sculi ne adjecti va l agree me n t). tho ugh th e y still carry the same meanin g of 'wh ich someone doe s/did ' . See §52 .

~ O

DOUBUN G VERBS

WEAK VERBS

EXTRA W EAK VERBS

___

silm ty.fy

(one) who may/will hear

~~~ ~"':-

mmy.fy

lone) who may/will see

:Jlfg~~

SdlY.fy

(one) who may/will read

<=> 0 " ' -

rdfly.fy

(one) who may/wilt give

\\ \\

'----fj \\

} :it or 1>

·w l

= 1> or o}

you

= ,.:;

rfern .)

-(tv

C>.

he rit

s,Jm ly.j1' STRO!': G Vl'R BS

Dependent p ron ouns (§4 I )

you

Th e sd m ty .jy f or m (§§ 53 -54, §59)

149

- {11

+I?

·rr ~=

you (pl. )

- ( \.1'

-tn

,.52.. ,I

or -tn

thcv

".Hi!

r" or r

'helit

or · w (i)

-sy or -sty)

it.

or I::::: i

-sn

they

·51

-st is used for ind efini te 'it' and ge ne rally a s th e de pend..nt p ronou n for m for ' they/the m'. Uses: a. Obje ct of th e ve rb (except the in fin itive , whi ch usually takes a su ffix pron oun object). b. After ini tia l part icles an d the nega tion 1111. Independent pronouns (§ 4 9)

Pronouns, nouns and a d j e ct iv e s

~ or ~ ~ :it

Suffix pronouns (§§33, 35, 36)

:it or ~ you

we "

you (Iem.)

you you (pl.)

I I

, I

or ~ I

<lrt o t r

"'-

sh e/ it

~ or _

they

II I I

or I-

sh../tt

=sn

ntk

you rpl)

1It(

lit!

- n--- a

~ lfg, , I -~ 0

he/it

= 1 or = 1

helil

you (Ie m .j

ink

Inn

min or

0 I

n lln

or n il they

- lc::.

If I r

nt5 1J C .

nts

Uses: As the su bject of cha rac terisations .

Uses: a. as the su bject after a su ffix-co njuga tion verb -form. such as sgm.n(=fJ b. as the object after a p rep osition . e. afte r aux iliarie s. d. as the posse sso r or genitive of nouns.

:it

or The suffix pronoun s tran slate as th e ap propriat .. English pro noun , so Q= / tran slates as 'I' o r ' me' or 'my' dep en ding on English usage (a nd so o n for the othe r pro no u ns) . Th e use of T , ' you ' etc. in the tab les a bove an d below is m erely to point ou t th e pe rson or thing the pro n ou n refer s to.

N ou ns (§ §8, 9, 15)

Nouns have a n u m ber (singular or plural ) and a gen de r (mas culin e or fern . ini ne) : th e -w of th e plur al is often omitted in writing :

~ )fr

511

brothe r

SG. FEM .

-I

~> ~ 0

Stll

sister

PL. MSC.

}

-w

Sl1 11/

brothe rs

PL. FEM .

~c} l1t

-wr

1 ~r.$ ....::to :~

Sll w t

sisters

SG . MSC.

no special ..nding

The du al en ding rnsr . come in pa irs:

ow )'

and fem. -ty is common on ly with things wh ich

150

How to read

t~i/yptia n

h ieroglyph s

Adjectives (§ § 1O, 44-45)

Adjectives follow the noun they describe and agree with it in numb er and gender: no special endin g

SG. MSC. SG. FEM .

-t

}

PL MSC. PL. FEM .

-w

-r

The plural ca n also be written with the plural strokes, and the -w is ofte n omitted in writing, Adjectives can be used on their own as a noun, e.g.: ~~

nfrt

Egyptian-English vocabulary

the good (n .)

from

t:::

nf r good (a dj .)

The genitive (§27)

Direct genitive : common only between closely conn ected words or in fixed expressions. Indirect gen itive: the two nouns ar e linked by form s of the 'genitival adjective ' n: SINGULAR MA SCUlJ:-iE

FEM I:-ilNE

PLURAl.

or_ e>

nw o r n nt

Her e. as in ot h er Egyptian dictionaries. words a re liste d alphabetically in transliteration following the orde r set OUI in List 1 (the only exception being that the feminine ending -t is ign ored, e.g. 5 ' m an ' and st 'woman' are listed to gether). In oth er words. th e particu lar hieroglyphs used to write a word do not determine where it is listed. So to find a w ord. yo u need to kn ow its reading in tran sliteration : if necessary, con sult th e variou s sign- lists . For example, imagin e you come acros s the wo rd ...l ciFt but do not recogni se its constituent sign s. There a re two stages in tra~king down its mea ning: ( I) If you turn to List V beginn ing on p. 129, you wiu find (862) ha s the reading Us/. whilst ~ (F49 ) is n ot a so und- sign but a determinative for 'sail upstream '; so the reading of the whole word is fJ sf. (2 ) Returning to this vocabulary, you will find in th e section head ed !J that there ar e two words rea d hs]': 'repel ' and 'travel u pstream ' (see p . 158 ). Of course, the determi native indi cat es that the second of these is the co rrect meaning, alth ou gh, more often than not . the cont ext in which t he w ord OCCllIS will also help yo u de cide whi ch of the tw o is correct . Although the hieroglyphi c writings given in this list are representat ive of what yo u ma y find . it is not po ssible to list all of th e wa ys in w hich a word could be w ritte n (see § 14 agai n, if yo u ar c not yet sure about th is). The followin g ab br eviations h ave been used here : (a .) ad jecti ve: (n .) no u n; (v.) stro ng verb; (w .v.) weak verb; (I.) feminine; (p l.) plura l.

Adjectives ill -y (§60) SG. M SC .

-y

H~\

imy

who/which is in

SG. FEM .

-L

imt

who/which is in

QJ= ~ I

-w

H l%}

im w

wh o/which are in

PL. FEM.

-t

im t

wh o /which ar e in

sbd (n .j month: monthl y fes tival

~ J~

Ihaw Abydo s (plac e na me)

~~~ ~ ~ ~~ ~ T ~

ipd (n. ) bird

sryt m

staff

II] W i beco me an akh -spirit ; be

useful ~.

lSI

(the godd ess) Isis (see p. 70)

tsir (the god) Osiri s; possibly read wsir

tbt In .) family, househ old

J t t

PL MS C.

(a .) long; joyful

1J~

m .. akh -snirit

llt

=1 I. m e. lil y (suffix pron ou n . p.

148)

I O! (In te rject ion} 1§54a)

tu (n .) o ffice. function

Q~ jJ

II ( w ) (n .) prais e. ado ra tio n

li ~ } ~

[iu

Iv(fj

I IW

(a .) old ; (n .) old age

( w. v . )

come

152

How

read Egyptian hieroglyphs

Eqyptian-Enqlish vocabulary

~Il]> iiw welcome see also Iw(l) r~

~= ~

'="r 4_ 4\

"It (n.) moon

~} Iw see §34

./l}

see also iytt ) Iw(l) (w.v.) be boatless

~ Iww

~f\~lj;:jj

,'lHl

(n.)

bootless person

t he sons of Horus.

~]>=~

iwrt luri (name)

~ J~= ~

11 0

lJl I I

Ib thirsty

person

~~ Ip

(v.) count, inspect

>0 ~

-fiIll\

Imil; (n.) reverence

~ ~~ or or ~ imihy or imshw (n.) revered one.

iIll\

~+ ~\ or

i11i!\]>

Imy (a.) who/which is

in (§60) imy-wt 'the one who is in the wr , i.e. Anubis (title)

iYN1~ Imy-itnt chamberlain

1...::.

Imn-m-Itil

Ip-'

(a.) relating to (§60) (n.) keeper

one, alone

(a.)

'nl; (v.) live; (n.) life

-t ~ 'nl; living for all time -t]> 1ft: nhw rn.j the living -t cs I~ ~ <nht ntr 1m on which ill

Q"'::" T...

Y1=}1ft Ikdw (n.) builders; see kd ~~ 1ft or": (n.) father ~~ 1ft! It(w) forefathers I'" It-11fT god's father (title) l1y Ity Iname) Itn (n.) sun-disc; Ithe god)

life

(v.) fight; (n.) fighting

wp(l) (w.v.) open, separate

wnwl (n.) priesthood

or ~

f\ ~

W!I

wnn IV.) be, exist:

n-wn-ms: truly, truthfully.

£.~tJ wnn-nfr (the god) ~

wr (a.) great. important ~.\\l[

=1:'1,

~~ j~

-4r

wr(w) (n.) the great (in

In.) road, wav

wsr (a.) powerful

1n~ w5rt Wosret (name), literally 'powerful one' and may be used a s a designa tion for female deities WI

see imv

WO! (v.) order; (n.) order

}-~./l

Wili (v.) set OUl, proceed

Wist Thebes (place-name)

Wi!! (n.) the Wag-festival

wrt (n.) the great bark

whm (v.) repeat; reporter, herald (title)

<rr>

]> w r~ or '1 C

cup-bearer

~ ~f;)

~ 'kyt (n.) entering maid

(rr.)

wn (v.) open

rhnwt» overseer of the chamber uitle;

wbs

~~n 'onwlY (n.) chamber; m-r

\~t'?

society)

OO~ rhnwty variant form of 'onwty

f l \'-,

wbst (Ie m.) cup-bearer

Wepwawet

~~ 'h rn.) palace

rri.)

rnh-n-nwt (n.) local soldier

~-:;;" 'he (v.) stand

astute

wrb (n.) pure one, i.e.

Wenennefer, i.e. Osiris

'Ill:! given

keeper of the kings diadem

~!;, Ikr (a.) excellent, effective,

?J,-" +

a god lives I§26) di

privacy

pure

(a.)

Ii, t

(11.)

V~I;\:;l. WP-Wiwt (the god)

(':j \.jj 'hi

Is (11.1 iornb

11= web d=1ft

'm'i(v.)(hrow(a

~ -=:~~",£l try-nfr-hst (title)

H;:;

in n-rst-n because

throw-slick)

-t--;;

ir-n made by, i.e. born of

-=: Iry ~ -=:\1) try ~

~.:. (')

, (']1

----!J~--J:~j

Intflntef (name)

I. me (dependent

w'-b-priest

'i(W) (n.) the great

----!J~~

Ir(I) IW.v.) do, make; plus many idomatic meanings

-<00-

-WI

pronoun. p. J49)

ink I (independent pronoun, §49)

Imn (the god) Amun

r= "".,.2j ~_~C~ I

Inpw (the god) Anubis

Ity (n.) sovereign

(title)

in-hrt-nht

"try arms;

(a.) great

::::: ~it, ~~'"

+]>C)

-~~~ 'i

Inhuretnakht (name)

im) (a.) channing, gracious

(the writing indicates the reading has become Inn or 1m)