God Thoth
The god Thoth: The God of Wisdom and Knowledge in Ancient Egypt
According to the ancient Egyptians, Thoth (or "Gehuti") was one of the most eminent and worshipped gods of Egyptian mythology: a deity connected with wisdom and writing, mathematics and law, language and magic, and even organizing time and calculating days and years. They regarded him essentially as the cosmic mind that organizes the chaos and structures meaning in this universe.
Thoth featured as the central divinity in ancient Egyptian religion and thought, and various manifestations of his worship existed in the land, particularly in Ashmunin (Hermopolis Magna).
Origin and Legend
Egyptian sources state Thoth was born from Ra, the sun-god, or Hathor, according to some accounts, while other sources sometimes assert that he was a self-generated product, meaning that he was considered to exist on his own. Thoth is sometimes said to have emerged from the mouth of Ra or, in some traditions, was created from his heart, somehow implying that wisdom comes from both thought and word.
Thoth's importance in Egyptology lies in the fact that he was seen as a mediator between good and evil and between the gods and humans, so he was the pen that recorded the vision of the gods and ordered human lives. Besides these qualities, Thoth was credited with a couple of famous myths, such as the myth of Isis and Osiris, where he helped Isis revive Osiris and taught her the right magical charms.
Symbolism and artistic imagery
The ibis and monkey served as vital sacred symbols holding meaning related to intelligence and insight for him.
His depiction writing on papyrus documents emphasizes his role as the deity of scripting and intellectual knowledge. Time guardianship and season organization were attributed to Thoth because he controlled lunar movement.
Thoth and his role in language and writing
Thoth established himself as the author of divine knowledge and the chronologer who documented complete earthly and spiritual events. Writers of ancient Egypt honoured him most deeply, so they began their written work by dedicating their first words to him as the creative force behind their ideas.
According to belief, he founded both scientific research and mathematical principles while teaching people their calendar system and religious practices and fulfilling the role of supreme expert in all fields of knowledge.
His role in the Court of Osiris
Thoth served as a central figure in the ancient Egyptian “Court of Osiris,” which required dead people to prove their worth through godly standards. During the heart-weighing process, Thoth inscribed the judgment results after the heart was balanced against the feather of Maat, which symbolized truth combined with justice. Denoting equal weight between heart and feather enables the deceased to reach eternal life, while unequal weight results in Ammamut's consumption of the deceased. During this stage, Thoth establishes his position as upholder of justice together with the moral standard.
His worship and religious sites
The main centre of worship of Thoth was in the city of Ashmunin (Hermopolis), where he was worshipped as the god of wisdom and the first legislator. There are also temples and shrines throughout Egypt, including temples in Luxor and Aswan.
Thoth was also worshipped alongside other gods such as Maat (goddess of justice) and Khonsu (moon god), reflecting his status as a multifunctional deity, capable of being both a mediator and a ruler.
Thoth in later cultures
As the Greek and Roman era entered Egypt, Thoth did not disappear but was merged with similar gods in Greek culture, such as Hermes, to appear as Thoth-Hermes or Hermes Trismegistus, who later became one of the pillars of what is known as Hermeticism, a Gnostic philosophy that merged Egyptian and Greek thought and considered Thoth a teacher of eternal wisdom and divine mystery.
Thoth, known in the dialect of ancient Egyptians as Djehuty, was the god of wisdom, writing, and knowledge. He had an incredibly important part in Egyptian mythology, as he was the god who acted as a mediator between the gods and a divine scribe who included all events in writing.
He was the minister standing next to Ra on the deck of his ship to recite to him the affairs of the state. He is the judge who decides disputes between the gods in heaven, and predicts to the gods and humans what will happen to them. In addition to building cities and setting their borders, he was the one who gave people words, writing, and correct arithmetic.
Thoth was usually portrayed as being one of the following:
A human male, having the head of an ibis, and holding a writing palette and a reed pen.
A baboon, an animal, connected with the moon and intelligence: the Egyptians.
He always takes pictures holding a pen and a tablet on which he writes.
Scribe of the Gods: He recorded the deeds of both gods and mortals and controlled the weighing of the heart in the afterlife.
Patron of Writing & Knowledge: He was said to have invented hieroglyphs and instructed mankind in writing.
God of the Moon: Connected with lunar cycles, it was supposed that Thoth would have authority regarding time and the upkeep of cosmic balance.
Arbiter Among the Gods: It played a role in settling disputes.
Thoth was worshipped as the final source of wisdom in Hermopolis (Khemenu), where he had his main cult center. His influence reached boundaries beyond Egypt, for to Greeks, he was Hermes Trismegistus, the legendary figure of Hermetic traditions.
Thoth remains perhaps the most revered deity in Egyptian mythology: intellect, learning, and divine ordination are those that he symbolizes.
God Thoth was among the most important gods of ancient Egypt and in particular, was the authority in the struggle between Horus and Seth for the successorship of Osiris. God Thoth, better known in ancient times as Theut, was the subject of a particular cult in the locality of Khomonou (in Greek Hermopolis ) in middle Egypt.
Thoth's name means 'He of Djehut', which was a province in Lower Egypt. He was the God of the moon, drawing, writing, geometry, wisdom, medicine, music, astronomy, and magic. Thoth was the patron of scribes as the creator of writing. According to a theory, he had made the creation of the world through word effectiveness.
By his own hands, the god Thoth noted in 42 books (the number of Egyptian nomes) all the wisdom of the world. He was also very attached to the goddess Maat as a representative of truth and justice. Thoth was also a god of laws. As a lawyer, legal supervisor, and defender of the dead, he participated in the weighing of the soul during the judgment, the judgment to which the deceased was subjected to know if he was worthy or not to enter the heaven of the afterlife, a traditional scene and drawing in many papyri rolls at the authorized bazaars that we usually visit during our tour to Giza Pyramids and the Egyptian Museum tour.
Thoth was considered a great inventor, having discovered numbers, mathematics, geometry, astronomy, various games (checkers and dice rolls), and especially writing. The priests of Thoth said of him that he created everything from sound and that through hieroglyphics, he also had control of magic and wizards. In fact, it is said that Thoth wrote books that contained the fabulous knowledge of magic and enchantment, books then sealed in a crypt. Another characteristic of Thoth was that of being a lunar deity. Since the moon was one of the foundations of the Egyptian calendar, he was the "gatherer of years" and the "lord of time". Egypt is still a great tourist destination because its history was at the origin of what the world is today.
Latest Articles
Admin
The Graeco-Roman Museum
The Greco-Roman Museum of Alexandria is Egypt's most important archaeological museum, displaying a wide and impressive array of antiquities of the Roman and Greek periods, a testament to Alexandria as a hub of culture and civilization in the ancient world.
Admin
Tuna El-Gabal Village
Tuna el-Gabal is not only a cemetery from ancient Egypt but also a place that displays Egypt’s long and rich history. From exploring Petosiris’ grave to seeing the rows of sacred jars, the site proves that gods, animals, and humans once lived together in harmony at Saqqara. Because it mixes Egyptian and Greco-Roman traditions, it draws scholars, historians, and travellers seeking to experience its charm. Discoveries are being made in Tuna el-Gabal, and it is still considered one of Egypt’s best-known and most fascinating excavations.
Admin
The Hawara Pyramid
The Hawara pyramid, which can be found near the modern town of Fayoum in Egypt, though less well-known, is one of the pyramids of ancient Egypt that has historical significance. The tomb, built in the reign of the Pharaoh Amenemhat III, offers a fascinating glimpse into the formation of Egyptian tomb architecture and the mysteries that were once puzzling ancient historians.
Admin
Temple of Khnum
The Temple of Khnum in Esna is a great religious monument that stands as a living record of the excellence of Egyptian artists and priests during the Ptolemaic and Roman eras and should attract every lover of Egyptian history and civilization.
Admin
Beni Hassan Tombs
The tombs of Beni Hassan are among the most prominent evidence of the greatness of ancient Egyptian civilization, as they reflect the Egyptians' mastery of architecture and sculpture, as well as the minute details documenting aspects of their daily life and religious beliefs. These tombs, which date back to the Middle Kingdom, are not just burial sites but archaeological treasures that reveal the nature of Egyptian society at the time as well as its political and economic relations.
Admin
Wadi El Rayan
Wadi El-Rayan is one of the most important natural tourist attractions in Egypt, especially in Fayoum, where there are many wonderful places such as waterfalls and springs for medical tourism, as well as mountains for safari and camping.
