Thoth (fromKoine Greek:ΘώθThṓth, borrowed fromCoptic:ⲐⲱⲟⲩⲧThōout,Ancient Egyptian:Ḏḥwtj, the reflex ofḏḥwtj "[he] is like the ibis") is anancient Egyptian deity. In art, he was often depicted as a man with the head of anibis or ababoon, animals sacred to him. His feminine counterpart isSeshat, and his wife isMa'at.[2] He is the god of the Moon, wisdom, knowledge, writing, hieroglyphs, science, magic, art and judgment.
Thoth's chieftemple was located in the city ofHermopolis (Ancient Egyptian:ḫmnw/χaˈmaːnaw/,Egyptological pronunciation: Khemenu,Coptic:ϢⲙⲟⲩⲛShmun). Later known asel-Ashmunein inEgyptian Arabic, the Temple of Thoth was mostly destroyed before the beginning of the Christian era. Its very largepronaos was still standing in 1826, but was demolished and used as fill for the foundation of a sugar factory by the mid-19th century.[3][4]
Thoth played many vital and prominent roles inEgyptian mythology, such as maintaining the universe, and being one of the two deities (the other beingMa'at) who stood on either side ofRa'ssolar barque.[5] In the later history of ancient Egypt, Thoth became heavily associated with the arbitration of godly disputes,[6] the arts of magic, the system of writing, and the judgment of the dead.[7]
TheEgyptian pronunciation ofḏḥwty is not fully known, but may be reconstructed as *ḏiḥautī, perhaps pronounced *[t͡ʃʼi.ˈħau.tʰiː] or *[ci.ˈħau.tʰiː]. This reconstruction is based on theAncient Greek borrowingThōth ([tʰɔːtʰ]) orTheut and the fact that the name was transliterated intoSahidic Coptic variously asⲑⲟⲟⲩⲧThoout,ⲑⲱⲑThōth,ⲑⲟⲟⲧThoot,ⲑⲁⲩⲧThaut,Taautos (Τααυτος),Thoor (Θωωρ), as well asBohairic CopticⲑⲱⲟⲩⲧThōout. These spellings reflect known sound changes from earlier Egyptian such as the loss ofḏ palatalization and merger ofḥ withh i.e. initialḏḥ > th > tʰ.[8] The loss of pre-Coptic finaly/j is also common.[9] Following Egyptological convention, which eschews vowel reconstruction, the consonant skeletonḏḥwty 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 asḏḥwty originated fromḏḥw, claimed to be the oldest known name for theibis, normally written ashbj.[10] The addition of-ty denotes that he possessed the attributes of the ibis.[11] Hence Thoth's name would mean "He who is like the ibis", according to this interpretation.
Other forms of the nameḏḥwty using older transcriptions includeJehuti, Jehuty, Tahuti, Tehuti, Zehuti, Techu, orTetu. Multiple titles for Thoth, similar to thepharaonic titulary, are also known, includingA,Sheps,Lord of Khemennu,Asten,Khenti,Mehi,Hab, andA'an.[12]
In addition, Thoth was also known by specific aspects of himself, for instance theMoon godIah-Djehuty (j3ḥ-ḏḥw.ty),[b] representing the Moon for the entire month.[13][14] The Greeks related Thoth to their godHermes due to his similar attributes and functions.[11] One of Thoth's titles, "Thrice great", was translated to the Greekτρισμέγιστος (trismégistos), makingHermes Trismegistus.[15][c]
Relief in theTemple of Seti I (Abydos) of Thoth giving theankh to pharaohSeti I.Faience statue of Thoth as baboon depicted with the moon-disk on his head.
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 a greenibis.[16] In this form, he can be represented as the reckoner of times and seasons by aheaddress of the lunar disk sitting on top of a crescent moon resting on his head. When depicted as a form ofShu or Ankher, he was depicted to be wearing the respective god's headdress. Sometimes he was also seen in art to be wearing theAtef crown or thedouble crown of Upper and Lower Egypt.[11] When not depicted in this common form, he sometimes takes the form of the ibis directly.[16]
He also appears as a dog-facedbaboon or a man with the head of a baboon when he is A'an, the god ofequilibrium.[7] In the form of A'ah-Djehuty, he took a more human-looking form.[17] These forms are allsymbolic and aremetaphors for Thoth's attributes. Thoth is often depicted holding anankh, the Egyptian symbol for life.
Thoth's roles in Egyptian mythology were many. He served as scribe of the gods,[18] credited with the invention of writing andEgyptian hieroglyphs.[19] In theunderworld,Duat, he appeared as an ape,Aani, 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.[7]
The ancient Egyptians regarded Thoth as One, self-begotten, and self-produced.[16] He is the master of both physical andmoral (i.e.divine law),[16] making proper use of Ma'at.[20] He is credited with making the calculations for the establishment of the heavens, stars, Earth,[16] and everything in them.[20]
The Egyptians credited him as the author of all works of science, religion, philosophy, and magic.[21] The Greeks further declared him the inventor ofastronomy,astrology,the science of numbers,mathematics,geometry,surveying,medicine,botany,theology, civilized government, the alphabet, reading, writing, andoratory. They further claimed he is the true author of every work of every branch of knowledge, human and divine.[19]
The Greek philosopherPlutarch credits Thoth with the creation of the 365-day calendar. Originally, according to the myth, the year was only 360 days long andNut was sterile during these days, unable to bear children. Thoth gambled with theMoon for1/72nd of its light (360/72 = 5), or 5 days, and won. During these 5 days, Nut andGeb gave birth toOsiris,Set,Isis, andNephthys.[22][23][24]
In the centralOsiris myth, Thoth gives Isis the words to restore her husband, allowing the pair to conceiveHorus. Following a battle between Horus and Set, Thoth offers counsel and provides wisdom.
Details based from thePapyrus of Ani depicts the jackal-headedAnubis weighing a heart against the feather of truth on the scale ofMaat, while ibis-headed Thoth records the result. Having a heart equal to the weight of the feather allows passage to the afterlife, whereas an imbalance results in a meal forAmmit, the chimera of crocodile, lion, and hippopotamus.
Thoth is 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 agod of wisdom,magic, and the measurement and regulation of events and of time.[25] He was thus said to be the secretary and counselor of theSun god 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),[26] 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.[27] Sometimes, he was depicted as a baboon holding up a crescent moon.
Worshipper before two ibises of Thoth. (early19th Dynasty)
During theLate 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.[28]
Thoth was inserted in many tales as the wise counselor and persuader, and his association with learning and measurement led him to be connected withSeshat, 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 asHermes Trismegistus,[c] leading to the Greeks' naming Thoth's cult center as Hermopolis, meaningcity of Hermes.
In thePapyrus of Ani copy of theEgyptian Book of the Dead the scribe proclaims "I am thywriting 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."[29] Plate XXIX Chapter CLXXV (Budge) of the Book of the Dead is the oldest tradition said to be the work of Thoth himself.[30]
There was also an Egyptian pharaoh of theSixteenth dynasty namedDjehuty (Thoth) after him, and who reigned for three years.
Plato mentions Thoth (as Θεὺθ, "Theuth")[32] in his dialoguePhaedrus. He uses the myth of Thoth to demonstrate that writing leads to laziness and forgetfulness. In the story, Thoth remarks to KingThamus 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.[33]
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 asMoses, 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.[34] Many later authors, fromlate antiquity to theRenaissance, either identified Hermes Trismegistus with Moses or regarded them as contemporaries who expounded similar beliefs.[35]
Egypt's Minister of Tourism and Antiquities announced the discovery of the collective graves of senior officials and high clergies of the god Thoth inTuna el-Gebel inMinya in January 2020. An archaeological mission headed byMostafa Waziri reported that 20sarcophagi andcoffins of various shapes and sizes, including fiveanthropoid sarcophagi made oflimestone and carved withhieroglyphic texts, as well as 16 tombs and five well-preserved wooden coffins were unearthed by their team.[36][37]
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 the 1932 filmThe Mummy the "scroll of Thoth" is a life-giving scroll. Reading its symbols out loud causesImhotep to rise from the dead.
InCroyd byIan Wallace (Berkeley Medallion, 1968), Thoth is the father of the Galactic Agent hero, Croyd.
Aleister Crowley's Egyptian styleThoth Tarot deck, and its written description in his 1944 bookThe Book of Thoth, were named in reference to the theory that Tarot cards were the Egyptian book of Thoth.[38]
H. P. Lovecraft also used the word "Thoth" as the basis for his alien god, "Yog-Sothoth", an entity associated with sorcery and esoteric knowledge.[39]
Thoth's other name Jehuty was the name of the playable Orbital Frame mecha in theZone of the Enders franchise.
In the manga seriesJoJo's Bizarre Adventure, Thoth lends his name to the character Boingo's Stand, which manifests as a comic book with premonitory stories.
Appears in 2023'sTotal War: Pharaoh as one of the gods the player can pray to. Thoth decreases construction times and costs, as well as fortifying armor for soldiers.[45]
^Also transliterated "Aah Te-Huti" or "Aah-Tehuti".
^abA survey of the literary and archaeological evidence for the background of Hermes Trismegistus in the Greek Hermes and the Egyptian Thoth may be found inBull (2018), pp. 33–96.
^Hopfner, Theodor, b. 1886. Der tierkult der alten Agypter nach den griechisch-romischen berichten und den wichtigeren denkmalern. Wien, In kommission bei A. Holder, 1913. Call#= 060 VPD v.57
^Coulter, Charles Russell; Turner, Patricia (4 July 2013).Encyclopedia of Ancient Deities. Routledge. p. 3.ISBN978-1-135-96397-2.Aah Te-Huti Aah-Tehuti [...] (Egypt): A manifestation of Thoth, this moon god is represented by an ibis head surmounted by a crescent and a disk.
Hall, Manly P. (1925).The Hermetic Marriage: Being a Study in the Philosophy of the Thrice Greatest Hermes. Hall Publishing Company.
Mussies, Gerald (1982). "The Interpretatio Judaica of Thot-Hermes". In van Voss, Heerma; et al. (eds.).Studies in Egyptian Religion Dedicated to Professor Jan Zandee.[full citation needed]
Bleeker, Claas Jouco (1973).Hathor and Thoth: Two Key Figures of the Ancient Egyptian Religion. Studies in the History of Religions. Vol. 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, 1979).
Budge, E. A. Wallis (1900).Egyptian Religion. Kessinger Publishing.
Fowden, Garth (1993) [1986].The Egyptian Hermes: A Historical Approach to the Late Pagan Mind. Princeton: Princeton University Press.ISBN0-691-02498-7.
Stadler, Martin (2012)."Thoth". In Dieleman, Jacco; Wendrich, Willeke (eds.).UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology. Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures, UC Los Angeles.
