The Champollion Adventure: The Secret of Hieroglyphs is the English title of a French docudrama which premiered in 2022.
The topic is the life and work of the famous French scholar Jean-François Champollion with special focus on the close relationship between him and his older brother Jacques Joseph Champollion.
Jean-François Champollion managed to solve the secret of the Egyptian hieroglyphs. He was able to decipher the ancient Egyptian writing.
According to this docudrama, the constant support of his elder brother Jacques Joseph was crucial for the scientific break-through which happened in September 1822.
The timing is significant. This film premiered in France in September 2022 in order to mark and celebrate the 200-year anniversary of the historical moment when Champollion made his great discovery.
A German version of the docudrama premiered on German television (Arte) in the same month.
Here is some basic information about this docudrama:
** French title: Dans le Secret des Hiéroglyphes: Les Frères Champollion
** French narrator: Céline Salette
** German title: Das Geheimnis der Hieroglyphen: Champollions Geniestreich
** German narrator: Susanne Grawe
** Writer and director: Jacques Plaisant
** Run time: 92 minutes
This docudrama covers the life and work of Jean-François Champollion from the beginning in December 1890 to the end in March 1832.
This is not the only topic covered in the docudrama.
Two other topics are also covered:
# 1. The role of his elder brother Jacques Joseph.
# 2. French history shortly before and after the year 1800.
We meet the elder brother Jacques Joseph Champollion, whose constant support of his younger brother was essential for his career in linguistics and his great accomplishment.
Jacques Joseph Champollion was born in 1778, twelve years before Jean-François, and he lived much longer than his younger brother. He died in 1867.
We learn about French history shortly before and after the year 1800. The French revolution of 1789 began one year before Jean-François was born.
Napoleon’s expedition to Egypt began in 1798 when Jean-François was only a young child. The French revolution and the activities of Napoleon had a huge impact on the Champollion brothers.
The brothers supported the French revolution. They did not support monarchist groups. They did not support the Catholic Church. They regarded them as conservative and reactionary institutions.
The political opinions of the brothers would cause them trouble and problems when the revolution was over and when Napoleon was defeated.
The monarchists did not forget that the Champollion brothers had supported the revolution. Leading member of the Catholic Church were concerned, because the brothers did not support the church.
In order to survive and to have a career, the brothers needed to be accepted by the powers who were in charge after Napoleon’s defeat in 1815.
After a while, the brothers were forgiven and they were able to resume their careers. The elder brother had contacts and connections which he used to help his younger brother who was allowed to resume his position as a professor of ancient languages.
Jean-François had studied Latin and ancient Greek. He had also studied the Persian language and the ancient Egyptian language Coptic.
He was convinced that knowledge of the Coptic language would help him understand the Egyptian hieroglyphics.
When Napoleon sailed from France to Egypt in 1798, he did not only bring an army to invade the country. He also brought a large group of scholars, known as savants, who were supposed to study every aspect of Egyptian society and history:
** Animals
** Flora and fauna
** Buildings and monument of the past
In July 1799, when French soldiers were preparing fortifications in Rosetta, they came across a stone which was decorated with some inscriptions. This stone, which is known as the Rosetta Stone, carries the same text written in three different ways:
** Ancient Greek
** Egyptian hieroglyphs
** Demotic, which is a faster way of writing hieroglyphs
When French scholars looked at the stone, they quickly realized that this stone might be used to solve the mystery of the hieroglyphics.
For more than 1,000 years nobody had been able to read Egyptian hieroglyphs. Nobody knew the meaning of these ancient signs or symbols.
But who was the owner of the stone? It was discovered by the French. But in 1801 the French army in Egypt was defeated by the British, and the British also understood the value of the Rosetta Stone: they told the French to hand over the stone.
The French had lost their navy in the Battle of the Nile in August 1798. They had no way to get home. The British offered to take them to France, but only if they complied with British demands. The French had to give in. The stone was handed over to the British.
This is why the Rosetta Stone is on display in the British Museum in London and not in the Louvre in Paris.
Before handing over the stone to the British, the French made several copies of the inscriptions. They were allowed to keep the copies. French scholars in France were able to study the inscriptions on the famous stone, because the copies were brought to France.
Jean-François Champollion never saw the original. He was not in Egypt when the stone was discovered. At that time, he was just a child in France. When he grew up and began to study ancient languages, he was still in France. He never visited the United Kingdom.
He worked with a copy of the Rosetta Stone and with other Egyptian inscriptions which were available to him, either in original or in a copy.
In September 1822, he had the famous break-through. He managed to solve the mystery. He was able to decipher the Egyptian hieroglyphs on the Rosetta Stone.
In September 1822, he gave a lecture in which he presented the results of his investigation. By a strange coincidence, the British physician Thomas Young was in the audience.
Thomas Young (1773-1829) was also interested in languages and had been asked by the British government to look at the Rosetta stone and try to decipher the hieroglyphs. He worked on this task for three years (1814-1817).
A scientific race between Britain and France was taking place. Who would be the first to solve the mystery of the hieroglyphs? Thomas Young in the UK or Champollion in France?
Thomas Young managed to discover a few secrets but not all of them. It has been said that he opened the door to the secret room but never went through it and never entered the secret room.
In 1817, after three years of intensive studies, Young ended his attempt to decipher the hieroglyphs of the Rosetta Stone and devoted himself to other activities.
Champollion not only opened the door. He went though it and entered the secret room. He stayed in the room until he had solved the puzzle.
When Champollion had completed his presentation, Thomas Young was impressed. But not only that: he was also a bit jealous, because the young French scholar had found the solution which he (Thomas Young) had failed to find.
For Champollion, the great discovery was not the end. In fact, it was just the beginning. Now he wanted to go to Egypt in order to test his method. He wanted to see if he was able to read ancient inscriptions from different locations in Egypt and from different periods of Egyptian history.
But travelling to Egypt was not easy. Champollion had no money to finance an expedition. He needed financial support from people who were rich.
During the following years, he appealed for support, but he was always turned down. His brother tried to help him, but he was also turned down.
Finally, his prayers were heard. He was allowed to join a combined French-Tuscan expedition to Egypt. He was to be the leader of a scientific expedition which would travel to Egypt and stay there for 18 months.
The expedition began in July 1828 and ended in December 1829. It was his first and only journey to Egypt.
His method was confirmed. He was able to read ancient inscriptions from different locations in Egypt and from different periods of Egyptian history.
During the expedition, his health had suffered and when he returned to France, his health was in a poor condition. He managed to give some lectures about his journey and to write about it, but his health was deteriorating fast.
He died in March 1832.
He was only 41 years old.
How is this docudrama about Champollion and the secret of the hieroglyphics?
The topic is interesting. The story about Champollion and his scientific discovery has been told before. In this film, it is done very well.
The account of Jean-François Champollion and Jacques Joseph is based on letters written by the brothers which have been preserved. This is obviously an important historical source.
Several academic experts are interviewed. Important historical moments are illustrated by cartoons.
If you are interested in the history of the ancient world – in particular the history of ancient Egypt – this docudrama is definitely something for you.
It is highly recommended.
PS. A short version of this film was shown on Australian television (SBS). It is available online (SBS on Demand).
This version of the film runs for 55 minutes. It is in English and English subtitles can be turned on or off, as you wish.
The title is:
The Champollion Brothers:
The Egypt Code Breakers
REFERENCES
# 1. Film and video
Egypt
A docudrama which premiered on British television (BBC) in 2005.
Narrator: Andrew Sachs.
There are six episodes:
Episodes 1 and 2 = about Howard Carter
Episodes 3 and 4 = about Giovanni Belzoni
Episodes 5 and 6 = about Jean-François Champollion
Each episode runs for ca. 55 minutes
Egyptian Journeys with Dan Cruickshank
A documentary film which premiered on British television (BBC) in 2005
There are six episodes:
Episode 1 = The Secrets of the Tomb Builders
Episode 2 = The Pharaoh Hunter
Episode 3 = The Rebel Pharaoh
Episode 4 = Building for Eternity
Episode 5 = Pharaoh’s Wives
Episode 6 = The Death of Ancient Egypt
Each episode runs for ca. 30 minutes
# 2. Books
The Monuments of Egypt and Nubia by Ippolito Rosellini (illustrator) and Franco Serino (text) (published by the American University in Cairo Press and White Star Books in 2003)
The Rosetta Stone and the Rebirth of Ancient Egypt by John Ray (2007) (2012)
Cracking the Egyptian Code: The Revolutionary Life of Jean-François Champollion by Andrew Robinson (2012) (2022)
My Journey to Egypt: Reinventing Ancient Egypt: Diaries and Letters by Jean-François Champollion (edited by Joyce Tyldesley and Richard Lebeau) (2019)
The Writing of the Gods: The Race to Decode the Rosetta Stone by Edward Dolnick (2021) (2022)
# 3. Items available on the internet
Joan Acocella, “How the Rosetta Stone Yielded Its Secrets,” The New Yorker, 22 November 2021
“How Champollion deciphered Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphs,” Art Journey Paris, 28 February 2022
Farah Al Hashem, “The Adventures of Champollion: Revealing the secrets of the Pharaohs in the heart of Paris,” The New Arab, 28 April 2022
Daniel Munro, “2022 is 200th anniversary of Champollion’s hieroglyph discovery,” The Focus, June 2022
Mary Winston Nicklin, “France fetes the man who solved the Rosetta Stone mystery,” Washington Post, 1 July 2022
Nada El Sawy, “British Museum exhibition celebrates 200 years since cracking Egyptian hieroglyphs code,” The National News, 9 July 2022
*****
Jean-François Champollion
(1790-1832)
*****
On this blog
My review of
Champollion the Egyptian
By Christian Jacq (2003)
and several other items about ancient Egypt
*****
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