Egypt From Alexander to the Copts

Egypt

From Alexander to the Copts
An Archaeological and Historical Guide

Edited by Roger S. Bagnall and Dominic W. Rathbone (2004)


1.3 Languages and Scripts

The earliest system created was the Hieroglyphics, later known as 'sacred incised letters' when the more popular and easier writing style 'demotic' came into use. Another form of writing was Hieratic created as a simpler easier cursive form of Hieroglyphs, it was sequences of Hieroglyphs that was designed for rolls of papyrus written with a brush of rushes, this style of writing was useful for legal documents.

Hieroglyphs could both represent the picture and have a sound, a determinative stroke to mark whether the symbol represents the picture or not

This system was used up till AD 394, this is the latest date on the inscriptions.

The Rosetta Stone was the turning point in understanding the Hieroglyphs as one piece of text was written in Hieroglyphs, Demotic Egyptian and Greek.

1.4 Religion

" Because of the profusion of surviving funerary monuments and materials, it is easy to forget that this was also a religion for the living "

The Ancient Egyptians believed that the soul could continue to live as long as the soul had a body, mummification was practiced by also Greeks and Romans. Sacred animals were also mummified as the cemetery's of Sacred cats, crocodiles and the Catacombs of the Apis bulls shows.
The Egptians did not only have temples and monuments, they also had many other objects that they believed helped them.

" Egyptians temples were centres of life, not just static buildings "

1.5 Literature

The Demotic Chronicle is one of the Demotic Pieces of Literature found, it reads as a prophecy - stories about magic featuring the high priests of Memphis and...

" narrative text featuring the popular King Amasis of the Saite Period; and the Myth of the Eye (daughter) of the Sun, in fact a narrative framework for a series of animal fables "

other religious texts include the the ritual for embalming the Apis bull at Memphis.

In the late 19th century many demotic texts were discovered that could have been from the private libaries of the priests of Fayyum village of Soknopaiou. Texts include religious pieces of gods and wisdoms and technical works such as medicine, mathematics, law and astronomy. An illustrated piece also documents plants, detailing what should and shouldn't be used in medicine.

1.6 Art

Some distinct portraits from Graeco-Roman Egypt include the mummy portraits, which are representing the deceased. The later portraits can be dated by the details in the hair, clothes and jewelry.

The best surviving mummy portrait is the Stucco Mummy of Artemidoros

Artemidoros

" Museum collections contain an amazing variety of other artifacts: inscribed temple and funerary reliefs; pottery; coins; glassware; statuettes of gods, worshipers and animals carved in wood or made from terracotta, faience (glazed quartz frit), or bronze; jewelry, especially gold rings, earrings, bracelets and necklaces " 

There are also many objects that give an impression into daily life such as :

" glass, childrens toys; bronze mirrors; models of houses; boats, temples and altars; agricultural implements (winnowing shovels, sickles, pitchforks); doors and doorlocks; tables and reading stands; toiletries (combc, hair pins, kohl sticks); baskets; spindles, whorls, crochet hooks, sewing needles; boxed pairs of dice; writing materials and products (pens, inkpots, papryi, ostraka, tablets) "

Alexandria was famous for glassware, the art was introduced into Egypt from Phoenicia.
The technique of pouring hot glass around moulds produced many works such as perfume vials, flasks, pitchers, plates and mosaic tiles.