Hieroglyphs are the symbols used to write the ancient Egyptian language. Based on simple pictures of well-known objects, this writing system is one of the oldest in the world. The Egyptians called them 'god's words'. The Greeks, upon first seeing this colorful pictorial script in religious settings, called it hiera grammata (the sacred letters), or hieroglyphica (the sacred carved letters).
Because they were found carved in stone in temples and the tombs of pharaohs, the hieroglyphs were thought to contain the kind of mystical wisdom and knowledge needed to negotiate the journey from this life to the next. But breaking the hieroglyphic code was complicated by a Western notion that the characters in this colorful 'alphabet' were symbolic rather than phonetic. Some investigators were even convinced that each symbol represented an abstract concept that transcended language -- from symbol directly to thought. Such extravagant and hyperbolic speculation cloaked the hieroglyphs in ever more mystery, and perhaps explains why they show up as the chosen script for the most exotic text tattoos.
Hieroglyphs were generally written from right to left, although left to right worked just as well, as did top to bottom. The direction the glyphs faced - a bird looking left, for example - showed the reader how to proceed. Words weren't demarcated by spaces or punctuation, although some glyphs served as word-endings.
See also: Ankh , Eye of Horus , Scarab Beetle Tattoo , Egyptian Tattoo Index
