Upcoming Classes and Webinars
I offer remote, live webinars and classes about ancient Egypt. Topics include religion and magic, history, animals, literature, art, and much more. Classes focused on how to read hieroglyphs and hieratic teach you step-by-step the language and writing systems of ancient Egypt.
Pets in Ancient Egypt—A Lecture to Benefit Animal Rescue Centers in Cairo
On May 17th from noon to 1:30PM US Eastern Time, Professor John Coleman Darnell and Dr. Colleen Darnell will deliver a special charity lecture: PETS IN ANCIENT EGYPT - A Lecture to Benefit Animal Rescue Centers in Cairo. This vividly illustrated, ninety minute lecture will describe the ancient Egyptians’ love for cats and dogs, the names they chose for their beloved pets, and how the afterlife would not be complete without their furry companions. You will meet basenjis who were desert patrol dogs (and liked to sleep in bed with their owners), cat and mouse antics illustrated on papyri and ostraca, and funerary monuments and inscriptions of cats and dogs that were lavishly provided for in the afterlife.
The entire $15 registration fee will be donated to five rescue centers in Cairo. You can use the link below to register via Paypal, or you can send the fee via Venmo to @vintage-egyptologist (please remember to include your email to receive the registration materials). Registration includes the Zoom link for lecture, a curated reading list of freely available resources, and access to the recording for two weeks.
In this live, remote 90 minute lecture, John and I will give a history of pets in ancient Egypt. Learn how the Egyptians loved cats and dogs, the names they gave their pets, and how they believed that they would spend eternity with their beloved companions. The entire class registration fee will be given to five animal rescue centers in Cairo (split evenly among them).
The lecture will be broadcast live from our expedition headquarters in Egypt on Sunday May 17th from 12:00 to 1:30PM US Eastern Time. We will set aside time for Q&A, and the registration includes a curated reading list and access to the recording for two weeks.
Gift Certificates
⋆
Gift Certificates ⋆
Give the gift of learning! This gift card can be redeemed for any Zoom Egyptology class at colleendarnell.com. New classes begin in mid-January 2026 and will include How to Read Hieroglyphs Unit 1 and Mummies and the Afterlife, with many more exciting offerings to come.
I began my Zoom Egyptology program in January 2021 with a single goal: to make learning about hieroglyphs and ancient Egypt more accessible. Since then, I have taught hundreds of people around the world the basics of the ancient Egyptian writing system--and dozens of those students have continued on to my advanced classes, where they read original texts directly from the walls of tombs, temples, and papyri! When you enroll in one of my live classes, you are not only getting a unique experience and opportunity to ask questions, but you are also joining a community of people around the world (20 countries and counting!) who share your interest in ancient Egypt.
In my lecture courses, you can explore topics as diverse as daily life, fashion and beauty to creation theology, solar religion, and the Valley of the Kings, to historical fiction, love poetry, and ancient Egypt in film (just to name a few). My teaching and research philosophy rests on one, simple principle: begin with the primary sources. In every class, I show you hieroglyphic and hieratic texts that are the basis of what we know about each topic. I combine this with artistic, architectural, and archaeological evidence to create new and exciting perspectives about ancient Egypt. Every class registration also comes with a curated list of freely available reading resources as well as recommendations for your Egyptological bookshelf, so that you can access the best secondary sources as well (including authors who present opposing viewpoints). Every registration also comes with access to a private Discord server, where you can chat with other students, share news stories, and access reading lists from previous classes.
I hope you can join me!
Past Hieroglyph Reading & Grammar Courses
Tomb of Nefertari
Hymn to Aten
Story of Sinuhe
Introduction to Coptic
Tomb of Nefertari
Tomb of Khnumhotep
Medical Texts
My hieroglyph program is structured around a grounding in grammar followed by courses where you read directly from temple or tomb walls; I also offer a wide-range of advanced courses that focus on different genres, including literary, religious, historical, and medical texts. Texts originally composed in hieratic are read in hieroglyphic transcriptions, with additional hieratic sections where students read the texts in the original script. The classes listed here are a small selection of previous courses, and additional classes grammar classes Non-verbal Sentences, Pseudo-verbal sentences, The Egyptian Verb. Tomb and temple classes have focused on the Tomb of Djehutyhotep II, Tomb of Paheri, Theban Tombs of the New Kingdom, Medinet Habu Temple (and more); advanced reading courses have included the Coffin Texts, Capture of Joppa, Papyrus Westcar, Rock Inscriptions of Elkab, the Story of Sinuhe, Medical Texts, the Annals of Thutmose III, Kadesh Battle Poem (and more!).
Introduction to Hieratic
The Book of the Hidden Chamber
Pseudo-verbal Sentences
Tomb of Sennedjem
Letters to the Dead
Past Lecture Classes
Secrets of the Valley of the Kings
How to Cast a Spell in Ancient Egypt
Deciphering Cartouches
Party Like an Ancient Egyptian
Historical Fiction in Ancient Egypt
Introduction to Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt in Creation Theology
Fashion and Beauty in the
Age of Cleopatra
Ancient Egypt in Film
A New Horizon: The Rise of Akhenaten and Nefertiti
The Life and Times of Hatshepsut
Egyptomania
Other past lecture classes include: The Ancient Egyptian Netherworld Books; Queens of Ancient Egypt and Nubia; Fundamentals of Ancient Egyptian Art; Magic, Alchemy and Hermeticism; Fashion and Beauty in the Age of Cleopatra; the Dawn of Egypt; Age of the Pyramids; The Goddess Isis; Tattooed Priestesses in Ancient Egypt; Animals in Ancient Egypt; Ancient Egyptian Military History; Fakes, Frauds, and Fantasies of Ancient Egypt (and more!).
Kind Words