Rosetta Stone-Decoding the Demotic Text

Originally posted by Petro Invictus The middle text has inscription that if read well sounds like this (in original pronunciation): "nemu komu bogove divejej", in modern Macedonian:"nemu komu bogovite mu se diveat", meaning "whom the Gods admire".

And that is ofcourse irrelavant compared to the content of the other two texts. Think a little bit... The translation of Tentov is not a match.

Originally posted by Petro Invictus  The Demotic text was the original, as affirmed by the French and British scientists who worked on the first translations of the texts.

As you said it...But look what the French and Brittish scientists said about it above.

Of course! But these were the translations of the Hieroglyphic and Greek Texts. Not the Demotic text!

I think you are mixing the term SCRIPT and LANGUAGE! The Demotic script was not used with Egyptian langauge. It was used with the langauge of the rulers, and as we know the rulers were the Ptolemy dynasty of Macedonian descent! So which ruler would conquer a country and use the langauge of the conquered for his decrees.

Afte all this is a recent study and it is still open for debate. However, not a political one!

The translation of Tentov is even more detailed than the other two texts, which is logical taking into account that it was the original text, as you have confirmed!

Originally posted by red clay Akritas, stop stirring the pot.  If this thread continues in this direction I'll lock it down until you folks decide to comply with the CoC.

Edited by akritas - 24-Nov-2007 at 14:37

Again you are pointing at the use of a SCRIPT not a LANGUAGE. If I write something like this:"MAKEDONIJA VE SAKA"! Is this Latin?

The Demotic script has been used long before the Macedonians conquered Egypt. It suffered changes and it went through several stages:

Early Demotic

Early Demotic (often referred to by the German term Fr�hdemotisch) developed in Lower Egypt during the later part of the 25th Dynasty, particularly on stelae from the Serapeum at Saqqara. It is generally dated between 650 and 400 BC as most texts written in Early Demotic are dated to the 26th Dynasty and the following Persian period (the 27th Dynasty).

Middle (Ptolemaic) Demotic

Middle Demotic (circa 400–30 BC) is the stage of writing used during the Ptolemaic Period. From the fourth century BC onwards, Demotic held a higher status, as may be seen from its increasing use for literary and religious texts.

Late (Roman) Demotic

From the beginning of Roman rule of Egypt, Demotic was progressively less used in public life. There are, however, a number of literary texts written in Late Demotic (circa 30 BC–452 AD), especially from the first and second centuries AD, though the quantity of all Demotic texts decreased rapidly towards the end of the second century. After that, Demotic was only used for a few ostraca, subscriptions to Greek texts, mummy labels, and graffiti. The last dated example of the Demotic script is dated to 11 December 452 AD, and consists of a graffito on the walls of the temple of Isis on Philae.

Yes the source for this thread is the official standpoint of the Republic of Macedonia's MANU (Macedonian Academy for Arts and Sciences), which is an internationally accepted institution.

Originally posted by Petro Invictus Yes the source for this thread is the official standpoint of the Republic of Macedonia's MANU (Macedonian Academy for Arts and Sciences), which is an internationally accepted institution.

Great, then if it is so i may I post other sources from the university of Skopje? I have an archive of books and translation from your own books. Even your own serious academics use the term "Hellenistic"!!!

I have checked the British Museum and they offer a translation of the Rosetta Hierogliphyc and Greek texts. The Demotic is negleckted! There are attmepts to translate it but no-one has managed to give a full translation of it! That was my primary focus!