The Ancient Egyptian God of Writing and Wisdom, Thoth

Video

Kelly Macquire
by
published on 08 August 2022

Thoth is the ancient Egyptian god of wisdom, magic, writing and the moon and was one of the most important gods of the Egyptian pantheon. As the son of gods representing order and chaos, he was also considered the god of equilibrium which in turn means he was often associated with Ma’at, the concept of harmony and balance, and the goddess of the same name who personified these principles (and was sometimes depicted as his wife).

Thoth’s Egyptian name was Djehuty which means He Who is Like the Ibis, and the Ibis bird was sacred in ancient Egypt as well as a popular pet and associated with wisdom. Thoth is often depicted with the head of an ibis and the body of a man, or as a seated baboon sometimes with, and sometimes without, the lunar disk over his head, since he was a lunar deity. As the god of wisdom, he is also credited with being the creator of many different branches of knowledge including law, philosophy, religion, science, magic and writing. As the creator of the written language, Thoth was also linked with the concept of fate and, like Seshat, knew the present, as well as the future and they both, wrote down the fate of humans, and of kings.

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— CHAPTERS —
0:00​ Introduction
1:03 The Ancient Egyptian God Thoth
3:30 Thoth in Ancient Egyptian Myths
6:12 The Worship of Thoth
8:01 Outro

— WANT TO KNOW MORE? —
Thoth https://www.worldhistory.org/Thoth/
Prayer to Thoth for Skill in Writing https://www.worldhistory.org/article/976/prayer-to-thoth-for-skill-in-writing/
Egyptian Gods - The Complete List https://www.worldhistory.org/article/885/egyptian-gods—the-complete-list/
Seshat https://www.worldhistory.org/Seshat/
Ancient Egyptian Religion https://www.worldhistory.org/Egyptian_Religion/
Egyptian Book of the Dead https://www.worldhistory.org/Egyptian_Book_of_the_Dead/
Ancient Egyptian Writing https://www.worldhistory.org/Egyptian_Writing/

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— ATTRIBUTIONS —
You can find all attribution and credits for images, animations, graphics and music here - https://worldhistory.typehut.com/the-ancient-egyptian-god-of-writing-and-wisdom-thoth-images-and-attributions-10574

The music used in this recording is the intellectual copyright of Michael Levy, a prolific composer for the recreated lyres of antiquity, and used with the creator's permission. Michael Levy's music is available to stream at all the major digital music platforms. Find out more on:
https://www.ancientlyre.com
https://open.spotify.com/artist/7Dx2vFEg8DmOJ5YCRm4A5v?si=emacIH9CRieFNGXRUyJ9
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJ1X6F7lGMEadnNETSzTv8A

— THUMBNAIL IMAGE —
https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/544093?deptids=10&ao=on&showOnly=openAccess&ft=thoth&offset=0&rpp=40&pos=14
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Open Access https://www.metmuseum.org/about-the-met/policies-and-documents/open-access
CC0 https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/deed.en

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ramesseum_2016-03-23l.jpg
Djehouty - own work
CC BY SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

World History Encyclopedia
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#thoth #egyptiangodthoth #ancientegypt #egyptiangods

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About the Author

Kelly Macquire
Kelly is a graduate from Monash University who has completed her BA (Honours) in Ancient History and Archaeology, focussing on iconography and status in Pylos burials. She has a passion for mythology and the Aegean Bronze Age.

Cite This Work

APA Style

Macquire, K. (2022, August 08). The Ancient Egyptian God of Writing and Wisdom, Thoth. World History Encyclopedia. Retrieved from https://www.worldhistory.org/video/2810/the-ancient-egyptian-god-of-writing-and-wisdom-tho/

Chicago Style

Macquire, Kelly. "The Ancient Egyptian God of Writing and Wisdom, Thoth." World History Encyclopedia. Last modified August 08, 2022. https://www.worldhistory.org/video/2810/the-ancient-egyptian-god-of-writing-and-wisdom-tho/.

MLA Style

Macquire, Kelly. "The Ancient Egyptian God of Writing and Wisdom, Thoth." World History Encyclopedia. World History Encyclopedia, 08 Aug 2022. Web. 31 Oct 2024.

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