The Writing of the Gods

The surprising and compelling story of two rival geniuses in an all-out race to decode one of the worldΓÇÖs most famous documentsΓÇöthe Rosetta StoneΓÇöand their twenty-year-long battle to solve the mystery of ancient EgyptΓÇÖs hieroglyphs. The Rosetta Stone is one of the most famous objects in the world,attracting millions of visitors to the British museum ever yearand yet most people donΓÇÖt really know what it is. Discovered in a pile of rubble in 1799this slab of stone proved to be the key to unlocking a lost language that baffled scholars for centuries. Carved in ancient Egyptthe Rosetta Stone carried the same message in different languagesΓÇöin Greek using Greek lettersand in Egyptian using picture-writing called hieroglyphs. Until its discoveryno one in the world knew how to read the hieroglyphs that covered every temple and text and statue in Egypt. Dominating the world for thirty centuriesancient Egypt was the mightiest empire the world had ever knownyet everything about itΓÇöthe pyramidsmummiesthe SphinxΓÇöwas shrouded in mystery. Whoever was able to decipher the Rosetta Stoneand learn how to read hieroglyphswould solve that mystery and fling open a door that had been locked for two thousand years. Two brilliant rivals set out to win that prize. One was Englishthe other Frenchat a time when England and France were enemies and the worldΓÇÖs two great superpowers. The Writing of the Gods chronicles this high-stakes intellectual race in which the winner would win glory for both himself and his nation. A riveting portrait of empires both ancient and modernthis is an unparalleled look at the culture and history of ancient Egypt and a fascinatingfast-paced story of human folly and discovery unlike any other.