Umorismo attraverso i geroglifici: giocare con le parole nell’antico Egitto

The article explores the relationship between the so-called culture of laughter in ancient Egypt and one of its main means of expression: hieroglyphic writing. Hieroglyphs, or as the Egyptians themselves called them, mdw nTr, "the words of God," have an unusual characteristic compared to the alphabetic writing of most modern languages. Alongside the levels of expression and content, hieroglyphic signs possess a strong visual component—a fact that the ancient Egyptians masterfully used when creating their puns. The study traces examples from simple symbolic play at various stages of Egyptian history to works of comedic literature from the New Kingdom, among which there are entirely humorous pieces. The pinnacle of Egyptian culture of laughter is The Contendings of Horus and Seth, written in such a way as if it were entirely composed of spelling errors. A brief methodological essay suggests a distinction between comedic works created spontaneously and those intentionally created for a religious purpose (ritual laughter).