The Egyptian hieroglyphic script was one of the writing systems used by ancient Egyptians to represent their language. Because of their pictorial elegance, Herodotus and other important Greeks believed that Egyptian hieroglyphs were something sacred, so they referred to them as 'holy writing'. Thus, the word hieroglyph comes from the Greek hiero 'holy' and glypho 'writing'. In the ancient Egyptian language, hieroglyphs were called medu netjer, 'the gods' words' as it was believed that writing was an invention of the gods.
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Definition
Timeline
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c. 3200 BCEHieroglyphic script developed in Egypt.
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c. 2000 BCE - c. 1650 BCECretan Hieroglyphic script is in use.
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196 BCEThe Rosetta Stone was made, a stela carrying a priestly decree from the reign of Ptolemy V in three languages: Egyptian hieroglyphs, demotic and Greek script.
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1822 CEChampollion announces decipherment of hieroglyphic writing.
