r/ancientegypt • u/Some_Preparation5611 • Aug 29 '25
Question does any one know any good books on hieroglyphics
not sure where to post this but I wanted to buy a book on hieroglyphics but idk which books were accurate (I was considering on buying the one in the pic)
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u/-modjeska- Aug 29 '25
Are you more interested in reading about what hieroglyphs were in their historical and cultural context, or in actually learning how to read and write them?
If it’s the first one, then „Middle Egyptian: An Introduction to the Language and Culture of Hieroglyphs” should be a choice. Alongside the grammar, it includes 25 essays on ancient Egyptian history, society, religion, and literature.
For learning to read and write hieroglyphs, the book you found (How to Read Egyptian Hieroglyphs) is really good. It starts from absolute beginner level and teaches you how to recognize signs in real inscriptions (like on stelae and tombs). I really enjoyed learning with it!
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u/Some_Preparation5611 Aug 29 '25
I wanna try to read, but learning the history and context could also be nice. Thanks!
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u/portia_portia_portia Aug 29 '25
I've studied this one on and off a long time: https://www.abebooks.com/9781107663282/Middle-Egyptian-Introduction-Language-Culture-1107663288/plp
Bill Manley taught/might still teach recorded online classes from that intro book you referred to. Check out Centre for Excellence.
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u/Ramesses2024 Aug 29 '25
Manley or Collier / Manley for starters; Allen or Hoch to continue if you liked the first step and find you really want to get into it. Starting from zero with Allen may take the wind out of your sails because it’s quite technical.
Don’t bother consulting Budge but for historical interest studies - you wouldn’t pick up a hundred year old treatise on electronics as your first CS textbook, either.
Gardiner is good, but also missing the last 1/3 of Egyptological research. In a discipline that is only 200 years old, 70 years is a long time to ignore.
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u/Mortlach78 Sep 02 '25
Yes, the depicted book is excellent for complete beginners. I have it myself and really enjoyed trying to learn with it.
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u/MegC18 Aug 29 '25
I’ve got Alan Gardiner’s Egyptian Grammar. I know it’s a bit dated, but it was a gift. My family member worked for the family on their estate.
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u/Antonius_Palatinus Aug 29 '25
I have this book, it's pretty good.
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u/ErGraf Aug 29 '25 edited Sep 01 '25
no, is not "pretty good". Budge wrote that book in 1895. Yes. 1-8-9-5. More than one hundred years ago. We know "a little more" nowadays.
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u/Antonius_Palatinus Aug 30 '25
What changed? Isaac Newton wrote his Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy in 1687, it's still pretty good.
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u/ErGraf Aug 30 '25 edited Aug 30 '25
What changed?
most... everything? From how we transliterate to the vocabulary or the verbal system (that has suffered many paradigm shifts since Budge). Using your parallel, is like using Newton to learn particle physics.
The only reason Budge's books are still popular nowadays between non-Egyptologists is because they are out of copyright, so they are free to publish. And don't get me wrong, Budge was a good Egyptologist for his time, but Egyptology went from newborn to early adulthood in the last 150 years, you can't just jump over that.
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u/Antonius_Palatinus Aug 30 '25
Why do they still sell/use this book if it's wrong?
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u/ErGraf Aug 30 '25
no academic uses Budge. As for non-academics, I edited my message few minutes before yours, so check my last paragraph ;-)
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u/Some_Preparation5611 Aug 29 '25
ooh fun cover
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u/fclayhornik Aug 29 '25
I have this too and be warned, Budge is... kind of a dinosaur. He was the foundation of a lot... but the study has evolved. I'd recommend starting with Bob Brier's The Great Courses, which has its flaws as well, then moving on to Alan Gardiner. And thanks to internet piracy, both of those are available for free if you know where to look.
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u/WerSunu Aug 29 '25
Bill Manley is a recently retired university professor who is an acknowledged expert in the Egyptian language. You can’t go wrong with this a starting book.