Hymn
Wood, gesso, pigment
Third Intermediate Period, Dynasties 21-25, ca. 1070-664 B.C.
Gift of A.C., E.P., and G.F. Maynard, 1924
OIM 12145

This board is inscribed with a hymn to Osiris, god of the afterlife. The symbols used for the text are called hieroglyphs, which comes from the Greek term meaning "sacred signs." Hieroglyphs were images of objects familiar to the ancient Egyptians. Some of them are recognizable to us today, such as snakes, birds, or other animals. Hieroglyphs could be written horizontally, or in vertical columns, such as they are here. In columns, the symbols are read from top to bottom. The direction the human or animal figures face is the direction the hieroglyphs are read. In this text, the hieroglyphs face right, so the columns are read from right to left.

The ancient Egyptians believed that the written word could transcend the barriers between life and death and between the realms of mankind and the gods. The written word was considered to be so potent that a written reference to a word or a person could substitute for the actual object or individual it referred to.

While many ancient writings were religious in nature, the ancient Egyptians also recorded historical accounts, legal documents, medical texts, private letters, instructions for behavior, stories, school texts, even love poetry. These diverse materials clearly show that a literary tradition was strong and well-developed in ancient Egypt.