世界小史 第29章:俄赛里斯

Would you like to know how to write using hieroglyphs?

你想知道如何用象形文字书写吗?

In fact, learning this sort of writing must have been incredibly hard, as it's more like constructing a picture puzzle.

事实上，这种书写确实不容易学会，因为这情形跟猜画像十分相似。

If they wanted to write the name of their god, Osiris, they would draw a throne,

如果他们想写他们的神俄赛里斯的名字，他们会画一个王座，

which was pronounced 'Oos', and an eye,

发音为"Oos"，再画一只眼睛，

which was pronounced 'iri', so that the two together made 'Os-iri'.

发音为"iri"，所以这两者合在一起就是"Os-iri"。

And to make sure that no one thought they meant 'Throne-eye', they often drew a little flag beside it.

为了不使人以为这是王座和眼睛的意思，人们往往还在旁边加上一面小旗。

Which meant that person was a god.

表明那个人是一个神。

In the same way that Christians used to draw a cross after a name, if they wanted to show that that person was dead.

就像基督徒在一个人的名字后面画一个叉，如果他们想表示那个人已经死了。