The term papyrus is related to the ancient Egyptian expression, pa-per-aa, which can be translated as “that which belongs to the Pharaoh.” Our word paper is derived from that Egyptian expression.įrom the earliest times, papyrus played a predominant role in ancient Egypt. In ancient Egypt, papyrus was the symbolic plant of northern (or lower) Egypt, the Nile Delta region. Papyrus is rarely found in the wild in Egypt today. In the ancient world, papyrus was concentrated in Egypt, Syria, and the Euphrates River regions. This stalk was composed of a green outer rind and inner, white, spongy pith. In ancient times, papyrus often grew to heights of about 15 ft, had a “mop-shaped” umbel head, and developed a stout, triangular stem about 3½ to 5 in in thickness. In this scientific name, hadidii represents the subspecies that was the ancient Egyptian papyrus plant. In today’s taxonomy, Cyperus papyrus hadidii is the scientific name for the ancient Egyptian papyrus. The papyrus plant represented lower (northern) Egypt while the lotus plant represented upper (southern) Egypt. Both papyrus and lotus were considered sacred by the ancient Egyptians and are commonly depicted in their art. Typical ancient Egyptian representation of papyrus (left) and lotus (right) plants. This article will explain how papyrus influenced the lives of people in ancient Egypt and how it was used in the Bible. Later on, after the Greek writing techniques became prevalent (about 650 BC), the scribes began using reed pens made from the much larger reed, Phragmites aegyptiaca. In addition, the sea reed, Juncus maritimus, was used as the “reed “ pen of the scribes at that time (Thimes 2000a). In the era of Ramses II (about 1250 BC), the sacred plants of Egypt were lotus and papyrus.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |