Jean-François Champollion
This point of interest is available as audio on the tour: Visit Paris, Père Lachaise : The Cemetery of the East
Here lies Jean-François Champollion, the man who gave a voice to Ancient Egypt. In 1822 he succeeded in deciphering hieroglyphs, quite the feat… But let’s start at the beginning. Champollion was born in 1790. From a young age, he was fascinated by the mysteries of Egypt — and he later became an Egyptologist, a linguist, and a historian. In 1809, he began to study the Rosetta Stone — an ancient slab found in Egypt in 1799. It featured the same text in three different scripts: hieroglyphs, the sacred writing of the Egyptians; Demotic, a simpler script; and Greek. At the time, no one could read hieroglyphs, but Champollion didn’t give up. He managed to draw connections between the three scripts on this stone, discovering that hieroglyphs weren’t just pictures… Each symbol was either a phonogram, denoting a letter or a sound, or an ideogram, denoting an idea. He even cracked how to read them: from left to right, right to left, or top to bottom, depending on the direction of the figures carved into stone. In 1822, after more than a decade of study, he declared, “I’ve got it!” He wrote to the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres, a French society dedicated to historic inscriptions and literature, announcing that he deciphered hieroglyphs. This was one of the most complex languages in history, and it had remained unsolved for over twenty centuries. His discovery thus marked the beginning of modern Egyptology. In 1825, he was awarded the prestigious title of Chevalier of the Legion of Honour by Charles X. Soon after, he became the curator of the Egyptian collections at the Louvre, and later joined the famous Académie. Jean-François Champollion passed away in 1832, at only 41 years old, likely from cholera. He asked to be buried here, in Père Lachaise, near his mathematician friend Joseph Fourier. His final wish was honoured. Now, he rests in peace.
Discover other tours to visit Paris
Discover Paris with app
An interactive guide through the most beautiful streets, squares, and districts
22 fun audioguides full of historical facts, anecdotes, and legends
Comments