Voices of Ancient Egypt
Welcome to Voices of Ancient Egypt — the podcast for people who don’t just want to learn about ancient Egypt, but want to understand it at a deeper, more meaningful level.
Your podcast host, Melinda Nelson-Hurst, Ph.D., is an Egyptologist with years of experience teaching at the university level, working in Egypt, and training students around the world to read real ancient Egyptian texts. She’s spent decades studying this civilization in a traditional academic setting so you don’t have to — and so you can access knowledge that’s usually locked behind academic walls.
With a blend of solo deep-dives and conversations with experts and everyday Egyptophiles, this podcast brings ancient Egyptian history, beliefs, and language to life — and shows you how learning hieroglyphs is possible, no matter your age, background, or schedule.
Whether you want to read hieroglyphs in museums, on social media, or on your next trip to Egypt, you’ll find the tools, stories, and encouragement to make it real.
Let’s hear the voices of the ancient world — together.
Voices of Ancient Egypt
012: From Hesitant Beginner to Confident Translator of Hieroglyphs with Marysa Alexander
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
Many people dream of reading hieroglyphs but are paralyzed by the fear that it's too hard or that they aren't ready to take the next step. In this episode, student Marysa Alexander reveals how she overcame years of procrastination, a debilitating illness, and the "perfectionism trap" to go from a hesitant beginner to a confident translator of next-level texts (even literature, such as the Shipwrecked Sailor).
Marysa shares the specific psychological shifts and study strategies that allowed her to push past self-doubt and find a deep sense of purpose in the ancient Egyptian language.
In this episode, you will learn:
• The Ready Myth: Why waiting until you feel 100% prepared is a trap, and how Marysa used a leap of faith to break through her initial fear that hieroglyphs were too difficult.
• Beating the Perfectionism Trap: How Marysa used science-backed shifts to switch her mindset from perfection to progress, allowing her to move through difficult material without getting stuck
• The "A to B to C" Momentum: A breakdown of the method Marysa uses to navigate complex grammar: move forward when you're frustrated, and watch how the "impossible" suddenly snaps into place when you circle back later.
• Finding Purpose in Hardship: A moving account of how ancient Egyptian became a source of motivation and goals for Marysa during a period of serious illness and physical paralysis.
• The Power of "Silly" Questions: How Marysa overcoming the fear of sounding silly during calls with an expert Egyptologist actually led to the most fascinating cultural discussions and rapid growth.
• Maintaining Momentum Through Life’s Chaos: Practical advice on how to "inch forward" even when life gets in the way—whether it's a busy work schedule or a multi-week retreat.
• Carving Your Own Present: Why there is no "perfect time" to start your journey, and how to stop listening to the inner voice that tells you to procrastinate
_________________________________________
I’m hosting a FREE class called Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphs Fast-Track!
In this class, you’ll learn the 4 steps you need to take to learn to read the most common hieroglyphs you'll see in museums and on trips to Egypt!
We meet on Zoom on Tuesday, May 12 at 1:00pm EDT | 10:00am CDT.
(If you can't make it live, a replay will be available.)
Save your spot in the free class right here: https://voicesofancientegypt.com/freeclass