The Rosetta Stone: Hidden Meaning Explained

In the summer of 1799, French soldiers discovered a broken stone in the Nile Delta that would eventually change our understanding of ancient Egypt. The Rosetta Stone contains the same decree written in three scripts: Egyptian hieroglyphs, Demotic, and Ancient Greek. More than a thousand years after the ability to read hieroglyphs had been lost, this ordinary political decree became the key to unlocking one of the ancient world's greatest mysteries. But the story of the Rosetta Stone goes far beyond the decipherment of hieroglyphs. Why did the Ptolemaic rulers need to address Egypt in three different scripts? What does the stone reveal about the relationship between Greek rulers and Egyptian priests? Why was a foreign king's name so important to deciphering hieroglyphs? And how did a routine political decree become the "dictionary" of an entire civilization? In this episode of Hidden Meaning, we explore the history, symbolism, political context, and unexpected legacy of the Rosetta Stone. About Hidden Meaning Hidden Meaning explores the stories, symbols, artifacts, and ideas hidden behind some of history's most fascinating objects. We look beyond what is immediately visible to understand why these objects were created, what they meant, and how they changed our understanding of the past. Copyright Disclaimer Copyright Disclaimer under Section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. This video is created for purposes including education, commentary, criticism, research, historical analysis, and transformative storytelling. Where copyrighted materials are used, they are presented in the context of commentary, analysis, education, criticism, and historical discussion. All rights to copyrighted material belong to their respective copyright holders. #RosettaStone #AncientEgypt #EgyptianHistory #Hieroglyphs #Archaeology #AncientHistory #History #HiddenMeaning