Interview with a Sphinx: Deciphering Lost’s Hieroglyphs Pt. 2

By John Cabrera on May 06 2009

Comments (25)

25 Responses to “Interview with a Sphinx: Deciphering Lost’s Hieroglyphs Pt. 2”

1. JR Tschopp on 06 May 2009 at 6:23 pm #

   

   Having seen tonight’s episode, I don’t think it changes any of the meanings of the glyphs or vice versa, however, it was another episode full of hieroglyphics. Maybe a Pt. 3 is in order?

2. Pauline on 06 May 2009 at 10:56 pm #

   

   You guys are hilarimous!

   My LOL moments were:

   The gimmick. As a dearly departed friend of mine (who was Frank Sinatra’s manager and drummer for a while back in the Tommy Dorsey days) used to say… “You always gotta have a gimmick!”

   The Limbo bit. I can basically hear you guys in my head… and Ed’s deadpan remarks are priceless.

   Had trouble reading Ed’s comment with all the ‘teh’s’ and had I been drinking something I would have spit it all over my monitor when John said he could barely understand it.

   The Graph. Really, really nice graph J. And I thought I was being nerdy when I tried to make a chart of all the possible parallel universes.

   Squirting penis. Enough said.

   Ed’s reaction to smoke monster. Nice.

   Smoke Loaf. I can’t even type it without giggling.

   Very well done guys!

   My question… could the set dressers/producers not be consulting anyone like Ed here and be basically trying to convey meaning word for word instead of in themes as Ed had interpreted them?
   Like… I got a buddy tattoo with my foster sister when she turned 18. It was a Chinese symbol that was supposed to mean “sister” we got it from a chart where there were two symbols meaning “little sister.” We subtracted the one we knew meant “little” and tattoo’d the symbol remaining. Tada! A sister tat! Wrong! It didn’t means sister at all… it actually meant “The End.” Nice right? The lesson? Never, ever let a Hungarian interpret your chinese tattoos! And perhaps, never let your set dresser who saw the king tut exhibit once back in the 70′s write out the hieroglyphs for a show with obsessive fans like John.

   Bravo!

3. Jenny on 07 May 2009 at 1:48 am #

   

   SMOKE LOAF…

   Hell yes!!!

4. itzel on 07 May 2009 at 5:18 am #

   

   Wow! so many things here, oh how I wish we could get more hints from the writers as to wth is Lost. So, yes Limbo is totally ruled out and about the ‘in unknown lands’ and ‘coming forth’ interpretations, it got me thinking… maybe it’s refering to the Losties? they arrive in unknown lands, and maybe at the end of the series they finally come forth with the real story? hell! I don’t know, lol.

   And well, for the sake of theorizing, what if that Anubis God represents John Locke? I mean he WAS in a weelchair, so he wouldn’t be standing, right? And he was in front of Smokey and didn’t get killed… Awesome the thing about ‘Smoke Loafs’! but seriously, so cryptic!!!

   Fact: You guys are awesome!

5. Johnny Hugel on 07 May 2009 at 6:10 am #

   

   More good work (and writing) you two. I don’t think the old things are recent reproductions as has been suggested previously, but maybe they’re a bit more recent than the Egyptian era and whomever created them took cues from Egyptian mythology to build their own society.

6. John Cabrera on 07 May 2009 at 1:21 pm #

   

   Thanks guys! Itz, I’m not sure if you’ve seen last night’s ep, so I hope I’m not about to spoil anything with what I’m about to say…

   I’ve stared at these hieroglyph graphics for so long now, that during last night’s episode I was able to instantly spot the same sets on pillars in the underground chamber. I actually changed my overhead diagram to reflect how I think the pattern is constructed in all these inderground chambers. The only side we didn’t see any part of in “Dead is Dead” was S4 on my diagram. But last night, I believe we did.

   There may not be much more I can squeeze out of Ed, but if I can, I’d love to have at least a loose interpretation of all four sides of the pillar.

   Johnny, I think it’s entirely possible that what Ed is referring to as “altered” glyphs like Tehuti or the “roll call of gods” on the mural… may actually be the original glyphs. Perhaps the writers are trying to say that this society existed first (Archaic Egyptian… as written on the chalk board). From what I’ve read, the history of Ancient Egyptian mythology has several gods being renamed, reenvisioned, or combined with other Gods over its span of thousands of years. Glyphs change, names change, even the stories themselves change (or have different characters/endings) depending on region or time period.

7. Dominy on 07 May 2009 at 2:17 pm #

   

   The pose that Anubus is in is called the “Praise and Glorification” pose known as the “Henu” pose. Anubis and sometimes Horus are often shown in this pose where they salute the rising sun each dawn.

8. John Cabrera on 07 May 2009 at 3:00 pm #

   

   Ed? Henu?

9. MarmaLady on 07 May 2009 at 3:14 pm #

   

   Damn!!!

   I know nothing about Lost. Nor do I understand heiroglyphics. But this post was the FUNNIEST thing I’ve read in a long time.

   Seriously my sides are killing me from the laughter! Can’t decided if the two of you should team up or stay far far away from each other!

   Ed, just you wait and see, before long everyone here will be all with “teh”!!!

   Glad to see you all having so much fun with this!
   

10. Ed R on 07 May 2009 at 3:25 pm #

    

    Dominy, that’s not Henu. Henu has teh – um, the left arm behind and above the head, like this:
    http://www.egyptianmyths.net/images/praise.gif

    The only time you ever see a God in Henu is when he’s greeting the Sun, I think. And then I can only think of two times I’ve seen it in authenticated context . Not saying I’m the big expert, I just don’t remember Gods in that pose anywhere but art stores or modern depictions of Egyptian sculpture.

11. Ed R on 07 May 2009 at 3:40 pm #

    

    that pose was a stickler for me. That’s why I figured this mural was of modern origin- because the pose Anubis is in ( called ‘se’ ) is the ‘seated man’ pose, it’s only used by mortals. It looks like this:
    http://www.seattleartmuseum.org/Exhibit/Archive/egypt/discover/images/image10.GIF
    You can see , this pose matches up pretty closely.

    But when a God is seated like this, he has no arms. This pose is called ‘netcher’ and looks like this:
    http://www.seattleartmuseum.org/Exhibit/Archive/egypt/discover/images/Image12.gif
    In hieroglyphs, this nechter would be followed by the name of the God. If it were a Pharoah ( who was technically also a God ) it would be followed by three names of the Pharoah and each would be surrounded by a golden rope, thus making a cartouche.

    Now remember that this is art, not hieroglyphs, but the art did follow the same conventions.

12. Sandy on 07 May 2009 at 8:16 pm #

    

    Smoke loafs… as in smoke is sleeping on the job? laying around, not active, resting? or Smoke loafs as in a quantity or portion of smoke?

    Wanted to remind all that the smoke judged a few other losties. The first time it judged Mr. African guy, Smokey figured he still had work to do and left him alone to atone or repay mankind somehow. Sometime later Smokey dragged him off.

    Are there any visible gylphs on the creepy door located behind Ben’s closet full of clothes? Afterall, that door leads to the place where Ben unleashed Smokey.

13. leah on 07 May 2009 at 9:23 pm #

    

    Not only is this very entertaining, but I am also learning something.
    But I have a couple of questions, one of which I bet has been answered already….why the “teh” ?
    And second why is the aunk upside down to the right of the god?
    Just curious.

14. John Cabrera on 07 May 2009 at 10:00 pm #

    

    Leah, ‘Teh’ is well explained here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teh

    As for the upside down ankh… that’s a question for Ed.

    Sandy, there are glyphs on the door. I haven’t tried to figure them out, but I’m pretty sure others on the web have.

15. Ed R on 08 May 2009 at 4:23 am #

    

    John, have I seen the glyphs on Ben’s door?
    The upside-down ankh is sort of a symbol for everlasting afterlife. Usually it’s not represented as a glyph but rather as a totem being held by the loop end in a picture of the dead person.

16. Dominy on 08 May 2009 at 6:34 am #

    

    I assumed the pose was Henu because of the arms which seemed to make it more of a praise and glorification pose but I bow to Ed’s knowledge of Egyptology and his use of the word “teh.”

    Although the other Henu pose he mentioned was interesting as well.

17. Dominy on 08 May 2009 at 9:18 am #

    

    The ankh was sometimes held upside down by the loop – especially in funeral rites when it suggested the shape of a key and in reality was the key which opened the gateway of the tomb into the Fields of Aalu, the realm of eternity.

18. itzel on 08 May 2009 at 9:43 am #

    

    Finally saw the new episode and OMG yes! John please squeeze more info from Ed about the S4 hieroglyph part we saw in this episode. It’d be great! Mmmm tell Ed we all Lost obsessed people will send him virtual gifts or something :p anything for more posts like this, I love them!

19. Ed R on 08 May 2009 at 3:52 pm #

    

    Sounds like Dominy’s got it goin on

20. Pauline on 09 May 2009 at 8:29 am #

    

    Is it me? Am I matrixing? Because when I look at the roll call of gods my eyes spy what looks to be the cartoon head of Vincent the dog.

    Can you see that?

    (so you know… I can also see the head of a miniature poodle on my bathroom floor… so it could just be me.)

21. Pamela on 11 May 2009 at 11:40 pm #

    

    Hi
    I love your LOST theories and discussions. I was searching for some heiroglypic images from the Dead is Dead episodes and stumbled upon your blog. Your theories are so close to mine I wondered if you wanted to discuss my theory.

    It is verbose–so here is the short version.

    Anubis is Smokey. He was brought to the island on the Black Rock as part of the cargo shipment which was likely to contain Egyptian Artifacts. After all, it sailed out of Africa. (Think Raiders of the Lost Ark and the Arc of the Covenant or Night at the Museum with Ben Stiller).

    Anubis came to the island because he was in search of the portal to Paradise. In order to leave the underworld (Book of the Dead references), the final step is to be escorted by Horus (Giant Bird with Head of Phoenix) to a stairway up into Paradise.

    Jacob is a reference to Jacob’s Ladder. Jacob, son of Isac, brother of Esau, was given a vision of the stairway or portal into heaven. Jacob’s Ladder is the stairway to heaven used by the angels to enter/exit the heavens. God sent this vision of the stairway shortly after Jacob tricked his father into giving him his brother Esau’s blessing.

    It is said that the entrance to Jacob’s Ladder exists where Jacob slept. Originally, this was Mount Moriah, the future home of the Temple in Jerusalem. That temple has been destroyed and restored several times. I think that Jacob’s Ladder moved to the Island at some point in time, and the Ladder is the reason for the Island’s special electromagnetic characteristics. Which is why Anubis sought it out. By controlling Jacob’s Ladder, Anubis can manipulate people and time.

    Jacob must be the keeper of the gate. The coming war is between Jacob and Anubis, God and the Devil, Good Vs Evil, etc. In other words, it is Armegedon.

    The story of the Survivors is basically how they will prevent or postpone Armegeddon. Thus all of the references to the Valenzetti Equation, Hanso, etc.

22. John Cabrera on 12 May 2009 at 1:49 pm #

    

    Pamela, I think your theory is dynamite actually. And I have a Part 3 of this ridiculous post coming very soon. There’s a hieroglyph translation in it that may strengthen your theory.

23. Pamela on 12 May 2009 at 1:54 pm #

    

    I think he is not Anubis now. Did some research–Anubis is just the Undertaker (dog headed undertaker, that is). Osiris or Ametep is the real god of the Dead/Underworld. Goes by several names.

24. John Cabrera on 12 May 2009 at 1:59 pm #

    

    Ametep is another name for Apep, which we mentioned in this post as a possibility.

25. Pamela on 12 May 2009 at 2:11 pm #

    

    I was looking at the screencap of the Mural in the Hatch, and it totally supports my theory.

    I analyzed it, and can send it to you if you like (very verbose). Here is the edited version:

    Bascially, there is a scared girl being chased by a bald priest with a slash on his head that runs through his left eye. He has one white eye and one black eye.

    There is a ship with a big hole in the front of it, and a vortex with a snout, one eye, and a yellow center is coming out of the boat like a wirlwind snake, and it is moving towards a giant arrow pointing towards the sky. The arrow has horizontal lines, and it looks like a ladder. Someone is climbing up the ladder encased in a yellow.

    Under the waves there appears to be an underworld with three cabins, a Sun (with #108) some numbers, and the Vortex (smoke monster) moving towards the ladder.

    This is EXACTLY my theory.

    The only thing my theory does not really address is the children–what IS the problem with the children on the island?

    I think if you tie in the “Forbidden Planet Theory” it all works. Forbidden Planet Theory says that the children of the island are born strong psychics, and could project their fears (and nightmares) into reality. So, basically, a kid dreamt this all up, the boat became real, Egyptian Gods came to life, and the smoke monster warped time and caused a plane to crash on the island. This could be the “infection” that they always talk about.

    What do you think?

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