The Writing of the Gods

The Writing of the Gods chronicles the race to decode Egyptian hieroglyphs after the discovery of the Rosetta Stone in 1799. Author Edward Dolnick focuses on two scholars at the center of the effort: the English polymath Thomas Young and the French linguist Jean-François Champollion. The book reconstructs the intellectual journey of decryption, detailing how these men approached the ancient symbols as a complex puzzle. Their work occurred against the backdrop of Anglo-French rivalry in the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars. The narrative tracks the evolution of writing systems and explains how hieroglyphs functioned as both art and language. Dolnick presents the technical challenges of decoding while maintaining accessibility for general readers. The story serves as a meditation on human ingenuity and the universal desire to recover lost knowledge. Through the lens of this linguistic quest, the book examines how breakthroughs in understanding often require both competition and collaboration.

Readers describe this as an engaging history of cracking the Rosetta Stone's code, with clear explanations of the decryption process. Many note the book bridges complex linguistics and general interest reading through its focus on the rivalry between scholars Champollion and Young. Readers appreciated: - Accessible writing style for non-academics - Character-driven narrative approach - Strong historical context about Egypt and Napoleon - Effective diagrams and illustrations Common criticisms: - Too much biographical detail about the scholars - Repetitive passages - Occasional meandering from the main narrative - Some found the technical linguistics sections confusing Ratings: Goodreads: 4.2/5 (2,900+ ratings) Amazon: 4.5/5 (1,100+ ratings) Notable reader comment: "Explains complex linguistic concepts without dumbing them down, while maintaining narrative momentum" - Goodreads reviewer Criticism from Amazon reviewer: "Needed tighter editing - same points made multiple times across different chapters"

The Riddle of the Labyrinth by Margalit Fox The story of scholars racing to crack Linear B, an ancient script from Crete, mirrors the decipherment drama of Egyptian hieroglyphs.

The Man Who Found Time by Jack Repcheck A chronicle of James Hutton's discovery of deep geological time runs parallel to Champollion's revelation of ancient Egyptian history through hieroglyphs.

The Map That Changed the World by Simon Winchester The tale of William Smith's creation of the first geological map demonstrates the same patient unraveling of hidden patterns that marked the hieroglyph breakthrough.

The Codebreakers by David Kahn This comprehensive history of cryptography includes the techniques and systematic approaches that connect ancient script decipherment to modern code-breaking.

Breaking the Maya Code by Michael D. Coe The decades-long effort to decipher Maya hieroglyphs follows the same path of scholarly detection and competition that characterized the Rosetta Stone work.

🔍 The Rosetta Stone was discovered completely by accident during Napoleon's invasion of Egypt in 1799, when French soldiers were simply digging to build fort foundations. 🏺 Ancient Egyptians used approximately 1,000 distinct hieroglyphic symbols, while modern English uses just 26 letters to convey the same range of meaning. 👨‍🔬 Jean-François Champollion, who ultimately cracked the hieroglyphic code, learned eight languages by age 16 and would eventually master more than a dozen ancient languages. 📜 Before the Rosetta Stone's discovery, scholars wrongly believed that hieroglyphs were purely symbolic pictures with no phonetic value—a misconception that delayed the decoding process for years. 🗝️ The key breakthrough in decoding hieroglyphs came from studying the name "Ptolemy," as royal names were written inside oval frames called cartouches, making them easier to identify and compare across the different scripts.