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Thoth (; from grc-koi, Θώθ ''Thṓth'', borrowed from cop, Ⲑⲱⲟⲩⲧ ''Thōout'',
Egyptian Egyptian describes something of, from, or related to Egypt. Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to: Nations and ethnic groups * Egyptians, a national group in North Africa ** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of years of ...
: ', the reflex of " eis like the Ibis") is an
ancient Egyptian deity Ancient Egyptian deities are the gods and goddesses worshipped in ancient Egypt. The beliefs and rituals surrounding these gods formed the core of ancient Egyptian religion, which emerged sometime in prehistory. Deities represented natural fo ...
. In art, he was often depicted as a man with the head of an ibis or a baboon, animals sacred to him. His feminine counterpart was
Seshat Seshat ( egy, sš3t, under various spellings) was the ancient Egyptian goddess of writing, wisdom, and knowledge. She was seen as a scribe and record keeper; her name means "female scribe". She is credited with inventing writing. She also bec ...
, and his wife was Ma'at. He was the god of the moon, wisdom, writing, hieroglyphs, science, magic, art, and judgment. His Greek equivalent is Hermes. Thoth's chief temple was located in the city of Hermopolis ( egy, ḫmnw , Egyptological pronunciation: "Khemenu", cop, Ϣⲙⲟⲩⲛ ''Shmun''). Later known as ''el-Ashmunein'' in Egyptian Arabic, the Temple of Thoth was mostly destroyed before the beginning of the Christian era, but its very large pronaos was still standing in 1826. In Hermopolis, Thoth led "the Ogdoad", a
pantheon Pantheon may refer to: * Pantheon (religion), a set of gods belonging to a particular religion or tradition, and a temple or sacred building Arts and entertainment Comics *Pantheon (Marvel Comics), a fictional organization * ''Pantheon'' (Lone St ...
of eight principal deities, and his spouse was
Nehmetawy Nehmetawy ''(nḥm.t-ˁw3ỉ;'' "she who embraces those in need") is a goddess in the ancient Egyptian religion. She is not very widely known. Nehmetawy was the wife of snake god Nehebu-kau, or in other places of worship, like in Hermopolis, the ...
. He also had numerous shrines in other cities. Thoth played many vital and prominent roles in Egyptian mythology, such as maintaining the universe, and being one of the two deities (the other being Ma'at) who stood on either side of Ra's solar barque. In the later history of ancient Egypt, Thoth became heavily associated with the arbitration of godly disputes, the arts of magic, the system of writing, and the judgment of the dead.


Name

The
Egyptian Egyptian describes something of, from, or related to Egypt. Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to: Nations and ethnic groups * Egyptians, a national group in North Africa ** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of years of ...
pronunciation of ''ḏḥwty'' is not fully known, but may be reconstructed as *''ḏiḥautī,'' perhaps pronounced * or *. This reconstruction is based on the Ancient Greek borrowing ' () or ' and the fact that the name was transliterated into
Sahidic Coptic Coptic (Bohairic Coptic: , ) is a language family of closely related dialects, representing the most recent developments of the Ancient Egyptian language, Egyptian language, and historically spoken by the Copts, starting from the third-century ...
variously as ''Thoout'', ''Thōth'', ''Thoot'', ''Thaut'', ''Taauto''s (''Τααυτος''), ''Thoor'' (''Θωωρ''), as well as Bohairic Coptic ''Thōout''. These spellings reflect known sound changes from earlier Egyptian such as the loss of ''ḏ'' palatalization and merger of ''ḥ'' with ''h'' i.e. initial ''ḏḥ > th > tʰ.'' The loss of pre-Coptic final ''y/j'' is also common. Following Egyptological convention, which eschews vowel reconstruction, the consonant skeleton ''ḏḥwty'' would be rendered "Djehuti" and the god is sometimes found under this name. However, the Greek form "Thoth" is more common. According to Theodor Hopfner, Thoth's Egyptian name written as ''ḏḥwty'' originated from ''ḏḥw'', claimed to be the oldest known name for the ibis, normally written as ''hbj''. The addition of ''-ty'' denotes that he possessed the attributes of the ibis.(Budge ''The Gods of the Egyptians'' Vol. 1 p. 402) Hence Thoth's name would mean "He who is like the ibis", according to this interpretation.


Further names and spellings

Other forms of the name ''ḏḥwty'' using older transcriptions include ''Jehuti, Jehuty, Tahuti, Tehuti, Zehuti, Techu,'' or ''Tetu''. Multiple titles for Thoth, similar to the pharaonic titulary, are also known, including ''A'', ''Sheps'', ''Lord of Khemennu'', ''Asten'', ''Khenti'', ''Mehi'', ''Hab'', and ''A'an''. In addition, Thoth was also known by specific aspects of himself, for instance the Moon god
Iah Iah (Egyptian: ''jꜥḥ'', Coptic ) is a lunar deity in ancient Egyptian religion. The word ''jꜥḥ'' simply means "Moon". It is also transcribed as ''Yah'', ''Jah'', or ''Aah''. Worship By the New Kingdom (16th century to 11th century BC) ...
-Djehuty (''j3ḥ-ḏḥw.ty)'', representing the Moon for the entire month. The Greeks related Thoth to their god Hermes due to his similar attributes and functions. One of Thoth's titles, "Thrice great", was translated to the Greek ('), making Hermes Trismegistus.


Depictions

Thoth has been depicted in many ways depending on the era and on the aspect the artist wished to convey. Usually, he is depicted in his human form with the head of an ibis.(Budge ''The Gods of the Egyptians'' Vol. 1 p. 401) In this form, he can be represented as the reckoner of times and seasons by a headdress of the lunar disk sitting on top of a crescent moon resting on his head. When depicted as a form of Shu or Ankher, he was depicted to be wearing the respective god's headdress. Sometimes he was also seen in art to be wearing the
Atef Atef is the specific feathered white crown of the ancient Egyptian deity Osiris. It combines the Hedjet, the white crown of Upper Egypt, with curly ostrich feathers on each side of the crown for the Osiris cult. The feathers are identified as os ...
crown or the double crown of Upper and Lower Egypt. When not depicted in this common form, he sometimes takes the form of the ibis directly. He also appears as a dog-faced baboon or a man with the head of a baboon when he is A'an, the god of equilibrium. In the form of A'ah-Djehuty he took a more human-looking form. These forms are all
symbol A symbol is a mark, sign, or word that indicates, signifies, or is understood as representing an idea, object, or relationship. Symbols allow people to go beyond what is known or seen by creating linkages between otherwise very different conc ...
ic and are metaphors for Thoth's attributes. Thoth is often depicted holding an ankh, the Egyptian symbol for life.


Attributes

Thoth's roles in Egyptian mythology were many. He served as scribe of the gods,(Budge ''Gods of the Egyptians'' Vol. 1 p. 408) credited with the invention of writing and Egyptian hieroglyphs.(Budge ''Gods of the Egyptians'' Vol. 1 p. 414) In the underworld,
Duat The Duat ( egy, dwꜣt, Egyptological pronunciation "do-aht", cop, ⲧⲏ, also appearing as ''Tuat'', ''Tuaut'' or ''Akert'', ''Amenthes'', ''Amenti'', or ''Neter-khertet'') is the realm of the dead in ancient Egyptian mythology. It has been ...
, he appeared as an ape,
Aani In ancient Egyptian religion, Aani is the dog-headed ape sacred to the Egyptian god Thoth. "One of the Egyptian names of the Cynocephalus Baboon, which was sacred to the god Thoth." The Egyptian hieroglyphic word for "baboon" is '' jꜥnꜥ'' i ...
, the god of equilibrium, who reported when the scales weighing the deceased's heart against the feather, representing the principle of Maat, was exactly even. The ancient Egyptians regarded Thoth as One, self-begotten, and self-produced. He was the master of both physical and
moral A moral (from Latin ''morālis'') is a message that is conveyed or a lesson to be learned from a story or event. The moral may be left to the hearer, reader, or viewer to determine for themselves, or may be explicitly encapsulated in a maxim. A ...
(i.e. divine) law, making proper use of Ma'at.(Budge ''The Gods of the Egyptians'' Vol. 1 p. 407) He is credited with making the calculations for the establishment of the heavens, stars, Earth,(Budge ''Gods of the Egyptians'' Vol. 1 p. 401) and everything in them. The Egyptians credited him as the author of all works of science, religion, philosophy, and magic. The Greeks further declared him the inventor of astronomy, astrology, the science of numbers,
mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...
, geometry,
surveying Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, art, and science of determining the terrestrial two-dimensional or three-dimensional positions of points and the distances and angles between them. A land surveying professional is ca ...
, medicine, botany, theology, civilized government, the alphabet, reading, writing, and oratory. They further claimed he was the true author of every work of every branch of knowledge, human and divine.


Mythology

Egyptian mythology credits Thoth with the creation of the 365-day calendar. Originally, according to the myth, the year was only 360 days long and
Nut Nut often refers to: * Nut (fruit), fruit composed of a hard shell and a seed, or a collective noun for dry and edible fruits or seeds * Nut (hardware), fastener used with a bolt Nut or Nuts may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Com ...
was sterile during these days, unable to bear children. Thoth gambled with the Moon for 1/72nd of its light (360/72 = 5), or 5 days, and won. During these 5 days, Nut and Geb gave birth to Osiris,
Set Set, The Set, SET or SETS may refer to: Science, technology, and mathematics Mathematics *Set (mathematics), a collection of elements *Category of sets, the category whose objects and morphisms are sets and total functions, respectively Electro ...
, Isis, and
Nephthys Nephthys or Nebet-Het in ancient Egyptian ( grc-gre, Νέφθυς) was a goddess in ancient Egyptian religion. A member of the Great Ennead of Heliopolis in Egyptian mythology, she was a daughter of Nut and Geb. Nephthys was typically paired wi ...
. In the central
Osiris myth The Osiris myth is the most elaborate and influential story in ancient Egyptian mythology. It concerns the murder of the god Osiris, a primeval king of Egypt, and its consequences. Osiris's murderer, his brother Set, usurps his throne. Meanwhile, ...
, Thoth gives Isis the words to restore her husband, allowing the pair to conceive
Horus Horus or Heru, Hor, Har in Ancient Egyptian, is one of the most significant ancient Egyptian deities who served many functions, most notably as god of kingship and the sky. He was worshipped from at least the late prehistoric Egypt until the P ...
. Following a battle between Horus and Set, Thoth offers counsel and provides wisdom.


History

Thoth was a Moon god. The Moon not only provides light at night, allowing time to still be measured without the sun, but its phases and prominence gave it a significant importance in early astrology/astronomy. The perceived cycles of the Moon also organized much of Egyptian society's rituals and events, both civil and religious. Consequently, Thoth gradually became seen as a god of wisdom,
magic Magic or Magick most commonly refers to: * Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces * Ceremonial magic, encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic * Magical thinking, the belief that unrela ...
, and the measurement and regulation of events and of time. He was thus said to be the secretary and counselor of the
sun god A solar deity or sun deity is a deity who represents the Sun, or an aspect of it. Such deities are usually associated with power and strength. Solar deities and Sun worship can be found throughout most of recorded history in various forms. The ...
Ra, and with Ma'at (truth/order) stood next to Ra on the nightly voyage across the sky. Thoth became credited by the ancient Egyptians as the inventor of writing ( hieroglyphs), and was also considered to have been the scribe of the underworld. For this reason, Thoth was universally worshipped by ancient Egyptian scribes. Many scribes had a painting or a picture of Thoth in their "office". Likewise, one of the symbols for scribes was that of the ibis. In art, Thoth was usually depicted with the head of an ibis, possibly because the Egyptians saw the curve of the ibis' beak as a symbol of the crescent moon. Sometimes, he was depicted as a baboon holding up a crescent moon. During the Late Period of ancient Egypt, a cult of Thoth gained prominence due to its main center, Khmun ( Hermopolis Magna), also becoming the capital. Millions of dead ibis were mummified and buried in his honor. Thoth was inserted in many tales as the wise counselor and persuader, and his association with learning and measurement led him to be connected with
Seshat Seshat ( egy, sš3t, under various spellings) was the ancient Egyptian goddess of writing, wisdom, and knowledge. She was seen as a scribe and record keeper; her name means "female scribe". She is credited with inventing writing. She also bec ...
, the earlier deification of wisdom, who was said to be his daughter, or variably his wife. Thoth's qualities also led to him being identified by the Greeks with their closest matching god Hermes, with whom Thoth was eventually combined as Hermes Trismegistus, leading to the Greeks' naming Thoth's cult center as Hermopolis, meaning ''city of Hermes''. In the Papyrus of Ani copy of the Egyptian Book of the Dead the scribe proclaims "I am thy writing palette, O Thoth, and I have brought unto thee thine ink-jar. I am not of those who work iniquity in their secret places; let not evil happen unto me." Plate XXIX Chapter CLXXV (Budge) of the Book of the Dead is the oldest tradition said to be the work of Thoth himself. There was also an Egyptian pharaoh of the Sixteenth dynasty named Djehuty (Thoth) after him, and who reigned for three years. Plato mentions Thoth in his dialogue, Phaedrus. He uses the myth of Thoth to demonstrate that writing leads to laziness and forgetfulness. In the story, Thoth remarks to King Thamus of Egypt that writing is a wonderful substitute for memory. Thamus remarks that it is a remedy for reminding, not remembering, with the appearance but not the reality of wisdom. Future generations will hear much without being properly taught and will appear wise but not be so. Artapanus of Alexandria, an Egyptian Jew who lived in the third or second century BC, euhemerized Thoth-Hermes as a historical human being and claimed he was the same person as
Moses Moses hbo, מֹשֶׁה, Mōše; also known as Moshe or Moshe Rabbeinu (Mishnaic Hebrew: מֹשֶׁה רַבֵּינוּ, ); syr, ܡܘܫܐ, Mūše; ar, موسى, Mūsā; grc, Mωϋσῆς, Mōÿsēs () is considered the most important pro ...
, based primarily on their shared roles as authors of texts and creators of laws. Artapanus's biography of Moses conflates traditions about Moses and Thoth and invents many details. Many later authors, from late antiquity to the Renaissance, either identified Hermes Trismegistus with Moses or regarded them as contemporaries who expounded similar beliefs.


Archaeology

Egypt’s Minister of Tourism and Antiquities announced the discovery of the collective graves of senior officials and high clergies of the god Thoth in Tuna el-Gebel in Minya in January 2020. An archaeological mission headed by
Mostafa Waziri Mostafa Waziri ( ar, مصطفى وزيري) is the secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities The Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) was a department of the Egyptian Ministry of Culture from 1994 to 2011. It was the government bod ...
reported that 20 sarcophagi and
coffin A coffin is a funerary box used for viewing or keeping a corpse, either for burial or cremation. Sometimes referred to as a casket, any box in which the dead are buried is a coffin, and while a casket was originally regarded as a box for jewel ...
s of various shapes and sizes, including five
anthropoid Anthropoid means 'ape/human feature' and may refer to: * Simian, monkeys and apes (anthropoids, or suborder Anthropoidea, in earlier classifications) *Anthropoid apes - apes that are closely related to humans (e.g., former family Pongidae and some ...
sarcophagi made of limestone and carved with hieroglyphic texts, as well as 16 tombs and five well-preserved wooden coffins were unearthed by their team.


Modern cultural references

Thoth has been seen as a god of wisdom and has been used in modern literature, especially since the early 20th century when ancient Egyptian ideas were quite popular. *In Croyd by Ian Wallace (Berkeley Medallion, 1968), Thoth is the father of the Galactic Agent hero, Croyd. * Aleister Crowley's Egyptian style
Thoth tarot deck The Thoth Tarot is an divinatory tarot, esoteric tarot deck painted by Lady Frieda Harris according to instructions from Aleister Crowley. Crowley referred to this deck as The Book of Thoth, and also wrote The Book of Thoth (Crowley), a 1944 bo ...
and its written description in his 1944 book ''
The Book of Thoth '' Book of Thoth'' is a name given to many ancient Egyptian texts supposed to have been written by Thoth, the Egyptian god of writing and knowledge. They include many texts that were claimed to exist by ancient authors and a magical book that ap ...
'' were named in reference to the theory that Tarot cards were the Egyptian book of Thoth. * H. P. Lovecraft also used the word "Thoth" as the basis for his alien god, "
Yog-Sothoth American author H. P. Lovecraft (1890–1937) created a number of fictional deities throughout the course of his literary career. These entities are usually depicted as immensely powerful and utterly indifferent to humans who can barely begin to c ...
", an entity associated with sorcery and esoteric knowledge. * Thoth is mentioned as one of the pantheon in the 1831 issue of ''
The Wicked + The Divine ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...
''. * In the 2016 film '' Gods of Egypt'', Thoth is played by Chadwick Boseman. * Thoth is also a recurring character in ''
The Kane Chronicles ''The Kane Chronicles'' is a trilogy of Adventure novel, adventure and Egyptian mythology, Egyptian Mythic fiction, mythological fiction books written by American author Rick Riordan. The series is set in the same universe as Riordan's other fra ...
'' book series. * Thoth's papyrus plays a central part in the book ''Scroll of Saqqara''. * Thoth appears in the 2021 comic book series ''God of War: Fallen God'', which is based on the ''
God of War A war god in mythology associated with war, combat, or bloodshed. They occur commonly in both monotheistic and polytheistic religions. Unlike most gods and goddesses in polytheistic religions, monotheistic deities have traditionally been po ...
'' video game franchise. * In the 2002 Ensemble Studios game ''
Age of Mythology ''Age of Mythology'' (''AoM'') is a real-time strategy video game developed by Ensemble Studios and published by Microsoft Game Studios. It was released on October 30, 2002, in North America and a week later in Europe. A spin-off from the '' ...
'', Thoth is one of 9 minor gods that can be worshipped by Egyptian players. *Thoth is one of many playable gods in Hi-Rez Studios' third-person multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) video game '' Smite''. *In the third part of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure:
Stardust Crusaders is the third story arc of the manga series ''JoJo's Bizarre Adventure'' written and illustrated by Hirohiko Araki. The arc was serialized for a little over 3 years. It was serialized in Shueisha's ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' from April 3, 1989, ...
, Thoth is a stand in a form of a manga, able to predict the future whose user is Boingo, member of Egypt 9 Glory Gods.


See also

*
Eye of Horus The Eye of Horus, ''wedjat'' eye or ''udjat'' eye is a concept and symbol in ancient Egyptian religion that represents well-being, healing, and protection. It derives from the mythical conflict between the god Horus with his rival Set, in wh ...
* ''
The Book of Thoth '' Book of Thoth'' is a name given to many ancient Egyptian texts supposed to have been written by Thoth, the Egyptian god of writing and knowledge. They include many texts that were claimed to exist by ancient authors and a magical book that ap ...
'' * ''The Book of Thoth'' (Crowley) **
Thoth tarot deck The Thoth Tarot is an divinatory tarot, esoteric tarot deck painted by Lady Frieda Harris according to instructions from Aleister Crowley. Crowley referred to this deck as The Book of Thoth, and also wrote The Book of Thoth (Crowley), a 1944 bo ...
* Thout, the first month of the Coptic calendar *
List of lunar deities A lunar deity is a deity who represents the Moon, or an aspect of it. Lunar deities and Moon worship can be found throughout most of recorded history in various forms. The following is a list of lunar deities: African American Aztec mythology * ...
* Phaedrus (dialogue)


Notes


References


Bibliography

* Bleeker, Claas Jouco. 1973. ''Hathor and Thoth: Two Key Figures of the Ancient Egyptian Religion''. Studies in the History of Religions 26. Leiden: E. J. Brill. * Boylan, Patrick. 1922. ''Thoth, the Hermes of Egypt: A Study of Some Aspects of Theological Thought in Ancient Egypt''. London: Oxford University Press. (Reprinted Chicago: Ares Publishers inc., 1979). * Budge, E. A. Wallis. ''Egyptian Religion''. Kessinger Publishing, 1900. * Budge, E. A. Wallis. ''The Gods of the Egyptians'' Volume 1 of 2. New York: Dover Publications, 1969 (original in 1904). * Jaroslav Černý. 1948. "Thoth as Creator of Languages." ''Journal of Egyptian Archæology'' 34:121–122. * Collier, Mark and Manley, Bill. ''
How to Read Egyptian Hieroglyphs ''How to Read Egyptian Hieroglyphs'' is a primer on understanding Egyptian hieroglyphs. The text was written by Mark Collier (Egyptologist), and Bill Manley, c. 1998. The standard version of analytic Egyptian hieroglyphs is based upon the 26 cat ...
: Revised Edition''. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1998. * Fowden, Garth. 1986. ''The Egyptian Hermes: A Historical Approach to the Late Mind''. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press. (Reprinted Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1993). . * ''The Book of Thoth'', by Aleister Crowley. (200 signed copies, 1944) Reprinted by Samuel Wiser, Inc 1969, first paperback edition, 1974 (accompanied by The Thoth Tarot Deck, by Aleister Crowley & Lady Fred Harris)


External links

* {{Authority control Creators of writing systems Egyptian gods Hermeticism Knowledge gods Legendary birds Lunar gods Mercurian deities Magic gods Mythological monkeys Primordial teachers Time and fate gods Underworld gods Wisdom gods Scribes Writing Avian humanoids