Thoth: God of wisdom, justice, and writing, patron of the sciences and scribes
Thoth is shown as a man with the head of an ibis, and he holds the sceptre that all gods use. The ancient Greeks thought that the Egyptian god Thoth (also known as Theuth, Toth, Jehuti, and Djehuti) was the same as their god Hermes and the Roman equivalent, Mercury (Mercurius). In Egyptian mythology, Thoth was a moon god whose cosmic powers weren’t very important. He was also the god of wisdom, justice, and writing (writing was also the job of the goddess Seshat), the patron of the sciences, scribes, and Ra’s messenger. He was also the god who told the people that the king had died and made sure that everyone knew who the new king was – in effect he was the divine herald, scribe and accountant.
The 365-day calendar was made by Thoth, according to Egyptian myth. Other myths say that Thoth made himself with the power of words. This was closely connected to the idea that words and hieroglyphs were alive and had power.
Thoth was thought to be a perfect judge because he was credited with creating many areas of knowledge, including law, magic, philosophy, religion, science, writing, and astronomy.
One myth says that the god was born in a strange way because he grew out of the head of SETH. In other places, a scribe in the Book of Thoth is called Ra’s son. One text says that the “peace of the gods” is in Thoth, which makes it clear that he is a peacemaker among the gods. The skill of his words brings peace to Egypt’s warring groups. But even in the Pyramid Texts, where he first shows up, there are hints that Thoth could be cruel to people who were against the truth, cutting off their heads and ripping out their hearts. He is a strong supporter of HORUS and can be seen on temple walls next to him as they pour signs of life over the king in the middle.
He was married to the goddess Ma’at. Ma’at Ma’at was the daughter of Ra. She was the goddess of truth, justice, and morals. Ma’at was seen as the daughter of the creator and was worshipped as a goddess in her own right. This relationship brought order, justice, knowledge and philosophy all within the same sphere. He was also connected to the Ogdoad the eight god paired into male female pairs. It was said that he was their souls.
In the underworld, called Duat, where the spirits and souls of the dead lived, he showed up as an ape named Aani. He was the god of balance, and he told the spirits when the scales weighing the heart of the dead against a feather representing the principle of Maat were exactly balanced. This is also connected to the idea that when a witness appeared in court they believed that Thoth was keeping an account of what they said.
References
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