From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Today's featured articleAncient Egyptian literature was written in the Egyptian language from Ancient Egypt 's pharaonic period until the end of Roman domination . Along with Sumerian literature , it is considered the world's earliest literature . Writing in Ancient Egypt first appeared in the late 4th millennium BC. By the Old Kingdom , literary works included funerary texts , epistles and letters, religious hymns and poems, and commemorative autobiographical texts. It was not until the early Middle Kingdom that a narrative Egyptian literature was created. Middle Egyptian , the spoken language of the Middle Kingdom, became a classical language during the New Kingdom , when the vernacular language known as Late Egyptian first appeared in writing. Scribes of the New Kingdom canonized and copied many literary texts written in Middle Egyptian, which remained the language used for oral readings of sacred hieroglyphic texts. Ancient Egyptian literature has been preserved on a wide variety of media, including papyrus scrolls and packets, limestone or ceramic ostraca , wooden writing boards, monumental stone edifices and coffins . Hidden caches of literature, buried for thousands of years, have been discovered in settlements on the dry desert margins of Egyptian civilization. (more... )
Recently featured: Phil Hartman – Providence, Rhode Island – Arular
Did you know...
In the news On this day...
Other areas of WikipediaCommunity portal – Bulletin board, projects, resources and activities covering a wide range of Wikipedia areas.Help desk – Ask questions about using Wikipedia.Local embassy – For Wikipedia-related communication in languages other than English.Reference desk – Serving as virtual librarians, Wikipedia volunteers tackle your questions on a wide range of subjects.Site news – Announcements, updates, articles and press releases on Wikipedia and the Wikimedia Foundation.Village pump – For discussions about Wikipedia itself, including areas for technical issues and policies.
Wikipedia's sister projectsWikipedia is hosted by the Wikimedia Foundation , a non-profit organization that also hosts a range of other projects :
Wikipedia languagesThis Wikipedia is written in English . Started in 2001 (2001 ) , it currently contains 3,653,761 articles. Many other Wikipedias are available; some of the largest are listed below.