Transcript THOTH

THOTH
by
Scott Milch
Appearance of Thoth
• A man with the
head of an ibis
holding a scribe's
palette and stylus.
He was also shown
as a full ibis, or
sometimes as
baboon.
What he did…
• Originally, Thoth was a god of
creation, but was later thought
to be the one who civilized men,
teaching them civic and religious
practices, writing, medicine, music
and magic.
• The god of learning was also
reputed to have been a god of
measuring the passage of time,
and thus the god of the
Egyptian calendar.
More of what he did…
• He was the one who made
calculations concerning the heavens,
the stars, and the earth
• He was the reckoner of times and of
seasons
• Measured out the heavens and
planned the Earth
• God of the equilibrium and master
of the balance
• Scribe of the company of the gods
• He was the voice of Ra
• Author of every work on every of
knowledge branch
Thoth’s Birth
• One legend says that he was born out
of the skull of Set.
• Another claims that he was born out
of the heart of Re.
• Still another story says that Thoth
created himself through the power of
the spoken word: he said his own name,
and he then came into existence.
Area of Worship
• Worshipped
widely
throughout all
of Egypt, his
cult center was
Hermopolis.
Thoth’s Acheivements
• Overcame the curse of Ra, allowing
Nut to give birth to her five children,
with his skill at games.
• It was he who helped Isis work the
ritual to bring Osiris back from the
dead, and who drove the magical
poison of Set from her son, Horus
with the power of his magic.
• He was Horus' supporter during the
young god's deadly battle with his
uncle Set, helping Horus with his
wisdom and magic.
Book of Thoth
• The magical powers of Thoth were so
great, that the Egyptians had tales of a
Book of Thoth, which would allow a person
who read the sacred book to become the
most powerful magician in the world.
• The Book which “the god of wisdom wrote
with his own hand” was, though, a deadly
book that brought nothing but pain and
tragedy to those that read it, despite
finding out about the “secrets of the gods
themselves” and “all that is hidden in the
stars
“The Weighing of the Heart”
• As the god of scribes, Thoth is also a divine record-keeper.
Before the soul of a dead person could join Osiris in the
afterlife, it had to pass a test called "The Weighing of the
Heart”. Anubis, the god of mummification, stands under a
scale and verifies that it's working correctly as Thoth waits to
record the results. The heart of the dead person is weighed
against "the feather of truth," a symbol of Ma'at (the goddess
of truth, justice, and order). If the heart weighs less, the spirit
is free to go on to meet Osiris in the afterlife. But if the heart
is heavy with sin, it is thrown to Ammut, "the devourer of the
dead," who gobbles it up, denying the spirit an afterlife and
causing it to cease to exist.
The End