Egypt’s political martyrs have been imbued with various contradictory meanings, vices, virtues and intentions over the last few years. Ownership of the history of the revolution has been intertwined with stories about those who have died. Most Egyptians know the names and stories of some 10-15 popular heroes or victims, depending on their political affiliations. So, what makes iconic martyrs? Why do the memories of some martyrs work emotionally in the political realm better than others? And what about the thousands of unknown dead, or silenced martyrs?

Laura Gribbon completed her Masters degree in Middle East Politics at SOAS, London in 2012. She

arrived in Cairo on January 9, 2011 to take a semester at the American University, when she worked

with Professor Samia Mehrez and a number of fellow students on collective book project, ‘Translating

Egypt’s Revolution: The Language of Tahrir’ (2012, AUC Press). She has lived in downtown for

extended periods of time ever since, working at Ahram Online for four months last year, before joining

the Mada Masr team in December 2013.