Category Archives: WHAT?
271.WHAT IS HIEROGLYPHIC WRITING?
The word “hieroglyphs” means “sacred carvings.” Actually, it is not an accurate name for the ancient writing of the Egyptians. It came about because when the early Greeks first saw these writings, they believed they were made by priests for sacred purposes.
But Egyptian hieroglyphics is really one of the oldest known systems of writing. Some of the inscriptions go back to before 3000 B.C., and hieroglyphics continued to be the written language of Egypt for more than 3000 years.
270.WHAT IS CRYPTOGRAPHY?
Suppose you and your friends wanted to set up a system of sending secret messages to each other You might say, “Instead of using letters, let’s use numbers.” Each number will stand for a certain letter of the alphabet.
You would then have a code. Cryptography is writing using a secret code. Sometimes the word “cipher” is used instead of code. Did you know that Julius Caesar used a cipher to keep his message secret from enemy eyes? In modern times, ciphers and codes are used by both government and business for important and secret messages.
269.WHAT ARE THE CATACOMBS?
The catacombs were underground tombs near Rome where the early Christians were buried. These tombs were cut in soft rock in a sacred area surrounding the city of Rome.
When Emperor Nero began his persecutions of the Christians, they gathered in the tombs to worship. This was because every citizen was safe from attack in the burial grounds. Later, in the middle of the third century, even the burial grounds were not safe. The Christians then blocked up the regular entrances and made secret ones. They extended for miles in the underground galleries. It is said that the catacombs would be longer than the peninsula of Italy if the passages were in a straight line!
