Throughout history, there has been a god who has appeared at different times – Thoth, the god of wisdom appeared in ancient Greece and the Greeks called him Hermes. The winged god has many attributions and even has been termed the originator of the wisdom in all religions. In this article we will look at Thoth further.
In ancient Egypt stood a god called Thoth. He is attributed as the thrice greatest or the great – great. Further attributes to this Egyptian god include the god of writing, oratory and magic.
A lot of ancient Egyptian hieroglyphic writing that made up the Egyptian papyrus and stone carvings have the wisdom of Thoth embedded into the tapestry of the carved images. It is interesting to note that hermeticism has its roots in Thoth and his books.
It does not stop there, when the Greeks heard about Thoth from the Egyptians, they attributed him as Hermes – the mercury winged messenger and the route of commerce.
Gnostic thinking has its roots in hermeticism and the teachings show us that.
The impact of Thoth on civilisation is an immense one at that. Many teachings of Thoth are found in all major religions which makes us wonder how much does the world today rely on what Thoth brought to humanity.
Though reading Thoth’s writings you would perceive that gnostic and hermetic philosophies are exactly that – philosophies and not a religion as the world knows today, it is one of intrigue. A lot of the writing it has to be noted at least in the western world today is not from the thousands of years old books and writings left on stone, but rather made in the middle ages.
It could be questioned whether those writings have any basis in actual Thoth’s teachings as such teachings in ancient Egypt would only be accessible to the princely cast and the priestly cast.
In history, Alexander the Great had a library which burned down and in it lots of the ancient books recorded from those essential years previously are lost forever. However, in spite of these problems, today the world looks upon the remaining books and intrigue at the hidden veil of mystery those books provide.
Those mysteries lost are the mysteries that Moses learned while in Egypt before he set upon the Exodus journey we all know of. Those mysteries also formed a lot of ancient Egyptian beliefs.
The origin of the word thought may have even originated from Thoth’s name.