Scribes in ancient Egypt
The native writing systems of ancient Egypt were used primarily to record the Egyptian language. Thus, both the Egyptian hieroglyphs and the Hieratic script from the 13th century BC are among the most polar cursive variants of hieroglyphs. In the 2nd century, the term ""Hieratic"" was first used by St. Clement of Alexandria. It derives from the Greek term ?µµata e?at?? (grammata hieratika; literally, ""priestly writing""). At that time, ""hieratic"" was used only for religious texts. This tradition lasted for a whole thousand years.
- Height approx. 17cm
- width / depth ca. 9x9cm
Scribes in ancient Egypt
Most scribes in ancient Egypt used the hieratic script for writing administrative documents, invoices, legal texts and letters, as well as mathematical, medical, literary and religious texts. In the Greco-Roman period, ""Demotic"" and later Greek became the supreme administrative script and hieratic writing was primarily restricted to religious texts only. In general, hieratic was much more important to scribes in ancient Egypt than the otherwise world-famous hieroglyphics.
Throughout Egypt's history, writing was used primarily in daily life. It was also an important writing system for students of scribes in ancient Egypt, who with the already acquired knowledge of hieroglyphics, additionally became familiar with hieratic writing. In fact, hieratic was very important for many scribes in ancient Egypt, as it allowed them to detect many errors in hieroglyphics when comparing the characters with an original text written on hieratic.
Papyrus
Papyrus is a thin paper-like material made from the pith of a papyrus plant and was often used by scribes in ancient Egypt. Papyrus, first known from ancient Egypt, was later used throughout the Mediterranean region and in the Kingdom of Kush. Ancient Egyptians and scribes in ancient Egypt used papyrus primarily as a writing material. However, the plant was also used to construct other artifacts such as reed boats, mats, ropes, sandals and baskets.
In the proud posture of the respected scholar who can read and write the divine signs, the official sits there, an inscribed papyrus scroll on his knees.
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