HIEROGLYPHS OF EGYPT

     "The Egyptians believed that their system of writing was given to them by the gods. Their text was generally associated with Thoth, the ibis-headed god of wisdom who was regarded as the patron deity of the art of writing. It was upon this conviction that the aesthetics of the Egyptian script flourished. It was this belief embedded deep within the Egyptian minds that spawned the civilization of mystery.

 Aesthetic elements including size, form, materials, placement, color, numbers, action, and gestures found way into the hieroglyphs. In particular, the placement of hieroglyphs in relation to one another was governed by aesthetic rules. The Egyptians found it a necessity to group signs in balanced rectangles. Karl Zauzich suggests that it would look wrong to an Egyptian to see 'words spelled out' any other way (Zauzich, 1992, p.3).

 The Egyptians devised a system for the consistency of placement and proportion. They used an 18 square vertical grid for laying out the drafts of the glyphs. This would allow for the scribes to be consistent in dimension, proportion, and size. Also this system offered a faster production of texts as a more experienced scribe would draft out the glyphs while less experienced scribes went along after and filled them in. Here are examples of both a reproduction and original grid that was used by the Egyptians to gain aesthetic value within their writing.

 There were two different ways that the form of a hieroglyph expressed meaning; primary and secondary levels. If a hieroglyph was used in the primary level to express meaning, then it's form related concepts, ideas, or identities with which it was directly related. The form of the djed pillar is an example of primary association. The djed pillar stands for stability. This hieroglyph is shaped as a pillar as pillars offer stability. Thus the djed pillar stands for what it is. The djed pillar is also associated with the god Osiris and is sometimes said to represent the backbone of the god. Osiris was believed to have been a triumphant god who conquered and overcame his enemies, thus becoming a symbol of stability. Also backbones are the stems of life found in human beings. Thus the djed pillar symbolized both the deity and the concept of support and duration. Both meanings are similar and both are of primary association.

 In secondary level of association the form of a hieroglyph suggests another different form which has its own symbolic significance. That is the object represents something different than what it really is.This level of association is especially common in amulets such as the 'bunch of grapes' which is pictured here. The amulet was symbolic of the heart, and thus life itself, because of its similarity in shape as well as its color and the blood-like juice of the grape (Wilkinson, 1994, p.31). However, the 'bunch of grapes' did not represent grapes.

 Size was used symbolically in the Twelfth Dynasty funerary stela of Sa-Inheret. Here you can see how Sa-Inheret and his wife are depicted much larger than anything else. From their enormous size we can tell that they had a significant amount of status within their community. Servants are portrayed very small. They bring offerings that are even larger than themselves. The relationships of size between the characters help us to determine their role and station in life.

 With extensive aesthetic properties and a divine origin, the hieroglyphs of ancient Egypt became a major influence in the lives of the people. In the Handbook to Life in Ancient Egypt, Rosalie David suggests, "The main purpose for writing was not decorative, and it was not originally intended for literary or commercial use. Its most important function was to provide a means by which certain concepts or events could be brought into existence. The Egyptians believed that if something were committed to writing it could be repeatedly 'made to happen' by means of magic" (David, 1998, p.199).      

 The Egyptian script was believed to be magic. Some glyphs were viewed as complete entities endowed with divine power. Therefore, the drawing of certain figures required precautions. Human legs or torsos were sometimes omitted from a person to hinder their power. Fierce animals were often laid captive by spears so that they would cause no harm to the living or deceased. Birds were drawn partially mutilated so that they could not consume the offerings left for the deceased in the afterlife."

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