Hieroglyphs
at
Edfu, Egypt
vertical hieroglyphs tell the name
and the story of the gods
(these are read top to bottom)
Hieroglyphic writing first began
around 5000 years ago. Egyptians wrote in hieroglyphs up to about 400 AD, after
that they wrote in a short-hand cursive style called demotic.
looking right, hence read from the
right
Like our writing, hieroglyphs could be written from left to right. But sometimes
they were read right to left, or even in up and down columns. You can tell which
way hieroglyphs are supposed to be read by looking at the people, plants, and
animals. If they face left, start reading at the left. If they face right, start
reading from the right.
looking left, hence read from the left
Horus figures
When Egyptians wrote, they didn’t just write one hieroglyph after the other, like letters in a word. They arranged them neatly in rows and columns to look nice.
