Editing Egyptian hieroglyphs (section)

===Late survival===
Hieroglyphs continued to be used intermittently under Persian rule in the 6th and 5th centuries&nbsp;C, as well as during the ensuing [[Ptolemaic dynasty|Ptolemaic]] and [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] periods that followed after [[Alexander the Great]]'s conquest of Egypt. It appears that the misleading quality of comments from Greek and Roman writers about hieroglyphs came about, at least in part, as a response to the changed political situation. Some believed that hieroglyphs may have functioned as a way to distinguish 'true [[Egyptians]]' from some of the foreign conquerors. Another reason may be the refusal to tackle a foreign culture on its own terms, which characterized Greco-Roman approaches to Egyptian culture generally.{{citation needed|date=November 2016}} Having learned that hieroglyphs were sacred writing, Greco-Roman authors imagined the complex but rational system as an allegorical, even magical, system transmitting secret, mystical knowledge.<ref name="Last hieroglyph" />

By the 4th century&nbsp;AD, few Egyptians were capable of reading hieroglyphs, and the "myth of allegorical hieroglyphs" was ascendant.<ref name="Last hieroglyph" /> Monumental use of hieroglyphs ceased after the closing of all non-Christian temples in 391 by the Roman Emperor [[Theodosius I]]; the last known inscription is from [[Philae]], known as the [[Graffito of Esmet-Akhom]], from 394.<ref name="Last hieroglyph" /><ref>The latest presently known hieroglyphic inscription date: [https://web.archive.org/web/20070815135548/http://academic.memphis.edu/egypt/l0039.gif Birthday of Osiris], year 110 [of Diocletian], dated to August 24, 394</ref>

The ''{{lang|la|Hieroglyphica}}'' of [[Horapollo]] (c.&nbsp;5th century) appears to retain some genuine knowledge about the writing system. It offers an explanation of close to 200 signs. Some are identified correctly, such as the 'goose' hieroglyph ({{tlit|egy|zꜣ}}) representing the word for 'son'.<ref name="Last hieroglyph" />

A half-dozen Demotic glyphs are still in use, added to the Greek alphabet when writing [[Coptic alphabet|Coptic]].