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Egyptian Artifacts Reading Hieroglyphs

Statue of Cleopatra VII

I’m going to make my first post of 2024 about one of my Nonno’s absolute favorite people from Egyptian history – Cleopatra VII! Even though Cleopatra VII π“ˆŽπ“ƒ­π“‡‹π“―π“Šͺ𓄿𓂧𓂋𓏏𓄿𓆇 was Greek, she is considered to be the last pharaoh 𓉐𓉻 of Egypt π“†Žπ“…“π“π“Š–.Β 

Cleopatra VII

One of the interesting features about this statue 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓀾 is that on her forehead there are three Uraei 𓇋𓂝𓂋𓏏𓆗π“ͺ instead of the standard two! During the Ptolemaic Period, rulers π“ˆŽπ“π“‹Ύπ“ͺ had three Uraei 𓇋𓂝𓂋𓏏𓆗π“ͺ on their forehead, with the third possibly representing the goddess π“ŠΉπ“ Isis π“Š¨π“π“₯. 

Let’s read some hieroglyphs π“ŠΉπ“Œƒπ“ͺ! The cartouche π“ π“ˆ–π“ˆ™π“· seen on the shoulder is actually a later addition and not an original part of the statue 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓀾, so Egyptologists do not know if this statue 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓀾 was originally meant to represent Cleopatra VII π“ˆŽπ“ƒ­π“‡‹π“―π“Šͺ𓄿𓂧𓂋𓏏𓄿𓆇!Β 

Cleopatra VII

The picture 𓏏𓅱𓏏 above shows the birth name cartouche π“ π“ˆ–π“ˆ™π“· of Cleopatra VII π“ˆŽπ“ƒ­π“‡‹π“―π“Šͺ𓄿𓂧𓂋𓏏𓄿𓆇! Since Cleopatra VII π“ˆŽπ“ƒ­π“‡‹π“―π“Šͺ𓄿𓂧𓂋𓏏𓄿𓆇 was Greek and not native Egyptian, this cartouche π“ π“ˆ–π“ˆ™π“· of hers is very phonetic – most of the hieroglyphs π“ŠΉπ“Œƒπ“ͺ used are uniliteral signs, which means that they correspond to a single sound, just like a letter in the alphabet.

This statue 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓀾 is made out of limestone π“‡‹π“ˆ–π“ˆ™π“Œ‰ and is dated to the Ptolemaic Period (200-30 B.C.E.). 

This is my personal photograph and original text. DO NOT repost.Β 

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