18. For centuries, nobody could read Ancient Egyptian writings
Beginning with Alexander the Great’s conquest of Egypt in 332 BC, Greek became the language of the ruling elite. Native Egyptian writing, whether colorfully picturesque hieroglyphs found on the walls of temples and monuments, or the simpler demotic script, went into a steady decline. Hieroglyphs continued to be used by priests, and demotic continued to be used by commoners, as century succeeded century with Egypt ruled by outsiders, who used a foreign official language, native Egyptian writing waned.
The spread of Christianity centuries later eventually killed off the ancient Egyptian religion, and as the old gods’ priests vanished into history, so did their knowledge of hieroglyphs. Centuries later, the arrival of Islam, Arabs, and the Arabic language, killed off the Egyptian demotic language and script as well. Eventually, the day arrived when knowledge of Ancient Egyptian writing vanished. Egypt became a country teeming with ancient monuments, covered with colorful and intriguing texts and symbols that nobody could make head or tails of.
