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Reading Hieroglyphs

Inscription from the False Door of Mery at the MET

Let’s read some hieroglyphs π“ŠΉπ“Œƒπ“ͺ!

This inscription π“Ÿπ“›π“₯ comes from the false door of a man named Mery (4th Dynasty/Old Kingdom), however the inscription π“Ÿπ“›π“₯ is about his wife π“‚‘𓏏𓁐 Niankhwadjet π“ˆ–π“‡…π“π“‹Ή. 

Today π“‡π“‡‹π“ˆ–𓇳 we are going to be looking at a different type of title! A title is a phrase that usually appears before someone’s name π“‚‹π“ˆ– in hieroglyphs π“ŠΉπ“Œƒπ“ͺ. A title is basically a summary of the person! I’ve only really talked about royal titles before, but today let’s look at a non-royal title! 

Right Hieroglyphs π“ŠΉπ“Œƒπ“ͺ Column:

𓇓𓂋𓐍𓏏 – King’s Acquaintance (literally β€œKing’s 𓇓 Knowledge 𓂋𓐍𓏏(π“œ)”)

𓉑 – Hathor

π“ŠΉπ“› – Priest [Priestess in this case] (literally β€œGod’s Servant”) 

All together, this inscription π“Ÿπ“›π“₯ would read β€œThe King’s Acquaintance, Priestess of Hathor…” The title β€œKing’s Acquaintance π“‡“π“‚‹π“π“β€œ is taken to mean that the person was close to the pharaoh π“‰π“‰»! 

Left Hieroglyphs π“ŠΉπ“Œƒπ“ͺ Column: 

π“ŽŸ – Possessor

π“Œ³π“π“„ͺ – Reverence

π“ˆ–π“‡…π“π“‹Ή – Niankhwadjet

β€œPossessor of Reverence, Niankhwadjet.”

Let’s put it all together! 

π“‡“π“‚‹π“π“π“‰‘π“ŠΉπ“›π“ŽŸπ“Œ³π“π“„ͺπ“ˆ–π“‡…π“π“‹Ή

β€œThe King’s Acquaintance, Priestess of Hathor, Possessor of Reverence, Niankhwadjet.”