More from George Hart on hieroglyphs, this time looking at some of the tales they weave:
Scenes of daily life on tomb walls with accompanying hieroglyphs (such as the man carrying an offering, right), and vivid stories and letters provide many illustrations of the Egyptian imagination and sense of humour. In fact, they convey a sense of joie de vivre and correct the mistaken perception that the Ancient Egyptians were morbid people who were obsessed with death. They wanted life to be unending, with a happy existence for the whole family in the hereafter.
But they were also human beings with imperfections and tempers. In one letter to a scribe who had self-important notions, the writer accuses him of being a skinflint and adds the insult that he is not a “real man” as he cannot get his wife pregnant.
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