This is a handy & colourful illustrated guide to reading writing & understanding ancient Egyptian names epithets titles & phrases. The Egyptians believed that the creator god Ptah brought the world into being by naming everything in it. Names had great power & kings often over-wrote their own names on the monuments of earlier rulers. A persons name was a vitally important part of them & the Egyptians were very concerned that their names should be recorded remembered & spoken. Criminals & those who had fallen out of favour could be punished
- wiped out of history
- by having their names destroyed or defaced. The hieroglyphic script provided a beautiful flexible & expressive means to write the names of humans gods & animals. Angela Mc Donald explains the meanings of Egyptian personal names & how they were made up (Rameses = Ra has given birth to him) & demonstrates how they were written in different ways to convey various shades of meaning. Royal & divine names are always given special treatment. The Egyptians were not always formal & nicknames were common. Even the names of pet animals are recorded in tomb paintings.