Thoth is among the most ancient of Egyptian deities. God of wisdom, knowledge, scribes, magic and the moon, he's considered the inventor of hieroglyphs. Later he teaches hieratic script to humans. As a Moon God he's worshipped by c. 6000 BCE.
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He becomes a scribe god after the invention of hieroglyphic script in Egypt c. 3100 BCE. Thoth is often shown as a man with head of an ibis. The bird associated with Thoth is the African sacred ibis (Threskiornis aethiopicus).
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Thoth might also appear as a baboon with a crescent on its head, or a man with head of a baboon. The crescent represents the lunar barque symbol. In this form he's A'an or A'ah-Djehuty, the god of equilibrium.
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Fundamentally, Thoth is the God of All Things. Ancient people view him as a self-created entity formed at the beginning of time, much like heron god Benu whose call determines the form of creation.
Thoth is master of both physical and moral or divine law. He makes the calculations for the placement of the heavens, stars and Earth.
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He has credit as author of all works of science, religion, philosophy and magic. Later Greeks declare him the inventor of astronomy, astrology, numerical science, mathematics and geometry.
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He also invents surveying, medicine, botany, theology, civilized government, the alphabet, reading, writing, and oratory. Thoth is the true author of every work of every branch of knowledge, human and divine.
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With Ma'at as spouse, Thoth is considered the father of scribe goddess Seshat, whose worship dates back to c. 2800 BCE. Seshat is the inventor of hieratic writing in Egypt, and Thoth teaches it to humans.
His wife Ma'at (Maat) is the supreme Goddess of Justice. She might appear as a winged woman or a set of scales. She and Thoth play a significant role in the weighing of the heart ritual, which takes place in duat, the part of the Afterlife before the paradise Aaru.
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In the ritual, the heart of the deceased is weighed against a feather of Ma'at. If the heart is heavier than the feather, the demon Ammit devours it and the deceased is stuck in duat. If the deceased passes the test, the person moves on to more challenges before Aaru.
At the weighing, Thoth the divine scribe notes the results. The inscription may be given to the deceased as proof of a light heart. After several tasks the deceased shows credentials to Benu, the Heron God, who will take him in a boat to the reed island of Osiris.
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In lore, Thoth is responsible for the creation of the 365-day calendar. According to the myth, the year is only 360 days long and Nut, the Sky Goddess, is sterile during these days, unable to bear children.
In a game of senet, Thoth gambles with the Moon God Khonsu for 1/72nd of the moon's light (360/72 = 5), or 5 days, and wins. During the five days Nut and consort Geb give birth to primary Gods Osiris, Set, Isis and Nephthys.
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The earliest mentions of Khonsu come from the Egyptian Pyramid Texts in c. 2400 BCE. The writings describe his violence, claiming his diet consists of the hearts and heads of men. He kills lords and eats their flesh. Fortunately for men, he later shows no sign of this.
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Khonsu enters the major part of Egyptian mythology during the New Kingdom (after c. 1550 BCE). When he does, he's often equated with Thoth. Both moon gods can be represented as baboons or with baboon traits.
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To the ancient Egyptians baboons seem to have secret or hidden knowledge, expressed in their dawn chatter. They're considered to communicate with the gods, even seen as superior to humans.
In one afterlife spell the deceased appeals:
"I have sung and praised the Sun-disc
I have joined the baboons
And I am one of them!"
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Also from the Pyramid texts, the Osiris resurrection myth comes into being. The story achieves popularity around c. 1550 BCE.
In the central Osiris resurrection myth, Osiris is murdered by Chaos God Set, who first imprisons him in a lead chest to drown in the Nile. When the deed is discovered, Set cuts Osiris into pieces. After much searching, Isis finds most of his body parts.
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Thoth gives Isis the words to restore her husband, allowing the divine couple to conceive Horus. It must be done by divine copulation, for the only body part of Osiris not found by Isis is his penis.
After that, Osiris becomes Lord of the Afterlife and dwells in the land of the dead. Isis hides in the reed marshes to raise their son. When Horus comes to adulthood, he battles Set to avenge Osiris. The fighting is hard but won by Horus, with Thoth as adviser.
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Creator of hieroglyphs, Thoth the divine scribe of the underworld is patron of all scribes. As a scribe god Thoth is worshipped throughout ancient Egypt and admired in other lands, for hieroglyphs aren't just beautiful art pictures. They have spoken sound equivalents.
Speech and writing are the creators of each other. A symbol for scribe is the ibis. An ancient scribe might wear an amulet or charm of Thoth as a necklace or brooch, or have a figurine or picture of Thoth in the place of work.
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Symbols of Thoth include ibis, especially African sacred ibis; moon disk, papyrus scroll, reed pens, writing palette, stylus, baboon, scales. His planet is Mercury, known to Egyptians as Sebeg. This is a later association, made by the Greeks. Mercury is also the 'star' of Set.
As a Moon god, Thoth relates to measurements and cycles of the moon. Phases of the moon give insight to early astrology and astronomy. Astronomy comes into practice c. 1000 BCE.
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By then astrology is already an ancient art. It originates in Mesopotamia in the 3rd millennium BCE and spreads to India. In the west, Greek civilization develops the concepts further during the Hellenistic period, after c. 323 BCE.
Cycles of the Moon determine festivals, rituals, religious and civil events. Thoth is gradually seen as a god of wisdom and magic. He determines the measurement and regulation of events and of time. In this capacity he's known as secretary and advisor of Ra.
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Thoth is longest worshipped Egyptian God, from his cosmic beginnings as a moon god in the Neolithic age to the patron of scribes and inventor of (almost) everything. More recent appearances in popular culture ensure the god goes on.
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