Hieroglyph

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For other uses, see Hieroglyph (disambiguation).

Egyptian hieroglyphs typical of the Graeco-Roman period, sculpted in Relief.

Glyphs: viper, Owl , 'bread bun', folded cloth

A hieroglyph (Greek for "sacred carvings") was a character of the ancient Egyptian writing
system. Logographic scripts that are pictographic in form in a way reminiscent of ancient
Egyptian are also sometimes called "hieroglyphs".[1] In Neoplatonism, especially during the
Renaissance, a "hieroglyph" was an artistic representation of an esoteric idea, which
Neoplatonists believed actual Egyptian hieroglyphs to be. The word hieroglyphics refers to a
hieroglyphic script.

The Egyptians invented the pictorial script. The appearance of these distinctive figures in 3000
BCE marked the beginning of Egyptian civilization. Though based on images, Egyptian script
was more than a sophisticated form of picture-writing. Each picture/glyph served one of three
functions: (1) to represent the image of a thing or action, (2) to stand for a sound or the sounds of
one to as many as three syllables, or (3) to clarify the precise meaning of adjoining glyphs.
Writing hieroglyphs required some artistic skill, limiting the number chosen to learn it.[2] Only
those privileged with an extensive education (i.e. the Pharaoh, nobility and priests) were able to
read and write hieroglyphs; others used simpler 'joined-up' versions: demotic and hieratic script.