Scribes and Hieroglyphs

Writing was invented in Egypt around 3000 bc. This change defines Egyptian history more than any other. Because of the complexity of the script, literacy was confined to a select few, the scribes.

There was no illiterate class of nobility in Egypt. All high-ranking people were scribes before entering into a higher profession, Including the King. The highest administrative titles don't allude to writing but we know from statues and other representaions that such people were once scribes. They had gone beyond the level of achievement at which writing was their main occupation, but they never bypassed it.

A scribe was trained by another scribe. It was most often a family business. The scribe would most often be trained by his father, often beginning as young as the age of 12. It was only after his training that a scribe would rise through the ranks of office. Basic knowledge of the language was most often aquired before he got the job.

The main initial traning comes from a book of cursive hieroglyphs called "The Book of Kemyt" After that the scribe would move on to classic works. Two important features of the scribal training were, first of all, it was mainly taught in cursive. Cursive was the commonest form of writing from the beginning. Further instruction was necessary for writing the type of hieroglyphs that were used on the monuments. Learning was accomplished through copying words and sentences rather than starting with the individual signs. Students had to master over 700 signs, some of which were representing objects or ideas (determinatives and ideograms) others represented sounds (phonograms.)

Students usually would copy works dictated to them by their instructor. Some were interesting tales such as "The Tale of the Two Brothers" or "King Kheops and The Magician." Others were stern moral works such as "The Maxims of Ptahhotep." These were of course ment to shape the pupils into fine, upstanding citizens although this wasn't always as effective as the teachers rod, reminding us that "seba" the word for "teach" is the same as the word for "torture."

For Examples of many Ancient Egyptian texts, visit the Library of Buto. There you may find a selection from "The Maxims of Ptahhotep" and many others.