What are hieroglyphics?
Hieroglyphics were the formal writing system of ancient Egypt, in use from about 3200 BCE to 400 CE. The word means "sacred carvings" in Greek. Unlike cuneiform's abstract marks, hieroglyphs retained their pictorial character, with signs functioning as logograms, phonograms, and determinatives simultaneously.
Egyptian hieroglyphics represent one of the longest-lived writing systems in human history, spanning roughly 3,600 years. The name comes from the Greek hieroglyphikos — "sacred carvings" — because the Greeks encountered them primarily on temple walls and monuments.
The system was far more sophisticated than simple picture-writing. A single hieroglyphic sign could function on multiple levels: as a logogram (representing a whole word), a phonogram (representing a sound), or a determinative (a silent classifier helping readers distinguish between words that sounded alike). This complexity made the system powerful and expressive but also difficult to learn — full hieroglyphic literacy was restricted to a small scribal class trained in temple schools.
For everyday purposes, Egyptians developed simplified scripts: hieratic (a cursive form used for administrative and literary texts) and later demotic (an even more abbreviated script). But hieroglyphics remained in use for formal and religious inscriptions throughout Egyptian history.
The ability to read hieroglyphics was lost after Egypt's last temples were closed in the late Roman period. For nearly 1,500 years, the script was an undeciphered mystery. The breakthrough came in 1822 when Jean-Francois Champollion deciphered the Rosetta Stone — a decree inscribed in hieroglyphics, demotic, and Greek. This achievement unlocked an entire civilization's literary output: religious hymns, royal chronicles, medical treatises, mathematical texts, love poetry, and personal letters.