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Thoth: The History of the Ancient Egyptian God of Wisdom
In The History of the Ancient Egyptian God of Wisdom , author and researcher Lesley Jackson presents a comprehensive and wide-ranging study of this unique god spanning six millennia. Drawing on the latest archaeological and textual research, from magical papyri and stelae to statues and wall carvings, the author investigates Thoth's diverse functions. These include Thoth’s well-known roles as a god of writing, magic and wisdom, as well as his status as a creator god, judge, healer, psychopomp, reckoner of time and lunar god. Developing from pre-dynastic origins, the worship of Thoth is explored through the different Egyptian social classes from peasant to Pharaoh, and placed in the context of ancient Egyptian rituals and festivals; as is the later syncretisation of Thoth with the Greco-Egyptian figure of Hermes Trismegistus. In so doing the author demonstrates the pivotal role that the ibis-headed god fulfilled in many of the Egyptian myths and his functions within the three main Egyptian theologies - i.e. Heliopolitan, Hermopolitan and Memphite. The names, animals and symbols of Thoth, lord of ritual and of words, are all considered, and further reveal his complex nature, which is also viewed through the web of connections between Thoth and the numerous other Egyptian gods. Particular attention is given to his consorts, the goddesses Maat, Seshat and Nehmataway, and the implications of their relationships. This extensive and detailed work is supplemented with ancient hymns to Thoth and a survey of temples associated with him. Long overdue, The History of the Ancient Egyptian God of Wisdom is an unmissable work on this most enduring of gods.
232 pages, Paperback
First published April 30, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
July 30, 2025
I'll be honest, this one was a DNF. It took me almost 2 months of putting it off to even pick it up, and then another several weeks to struggle through it. Jackson's other books are more interesting than this one to me, but it may just be because Thoth himself isn't particularly relevant to my thoughts as a pagan, especially now that I'm not practicing Kemeticism.
I will say that this is probably a "It's me, not you" issue with the book. I happened to pick it up at a time when I was transitioning away from Kemeticism to other things and my lack of interest in reading the book probably reflects that.
Jackson's books as a whole are fantastic and you should pick it up if you have interested in the god Thoth, don't let my bad feelings change your mind.
I will say that this is probably a "It's me, not you" issue with the book. I happened to pick it up at a time when I was transitioning away from Kemeticism to other things and my lack of interest in reading the book probably reflects that.
Jackson's books as a whole are fantastic and you should pick it up if you have interested in the god Thoth, don't let my bad feelings change your mind.
April 11, 2014
This is a delightfully comprehensive, well-researched, up-to-date text on the God Djehuty (Greek: Thoth) and Egyptian Theology on the whole. The author is not an Historian, but seems to be a practicing Egyptian Polytheist, as the book was published by Avalonia, a self-described "independent Esoteric publishing house" sourced in the UK. As a Medievalist and former Classical/Ancient Near Eastern Studies major, I can say with honesty and confidence that the quality of the research and citations are very good, though the tone of the writing is at times informal, and some important details omitted (which Dimitri Meeks and Christine Favard-Meeks thankfully cover in "Daily Life of the Egyptian Gods"). Nevertheless, it is a very accessible book, and I highly recommend it to both Egyptian Polytheists and those interested in Egyptian Theology in a secular fashion.
The tome primarily concerns Djehuty's place within Egyptian religion, and His background as an Egyptian deity, so Modern Hermetic Occultists and Hellenic and Roman Polytheists who gravitate toward Hermes Trismegistus will not derive much satisfaction from this book -- unless they happen to be exploring Djehuty's/Thoth's exclusive Egyptian origins.
The tome primarily concerns Djehuty's place within Egyptian religion, and His background as an Egyptian deity, so Modern Hermetic Occultists and Hellenic and Roman Polytheists who gravitate toward Hermes Trismegistus will not derive much satisfaction from this book -- unless they happen to be exploring Djehuty's/Thoth's exclusive Egyptian origins.
March 4, 2021
Informative.
March 6, 2013
The Egyptian God Thoth he is the Lord of the Scribes, a perfect embodiment of Maat and the Egyptian equivalent of the Greek god Hermes. Yet there is a whole lot more to this deity then just that. First off Egypt was around way before Greece and second Thoth is more complex. Maat was a concept and Goddess that stood for divine order and justice. Thoth always stood for that. Sometimes known as Djehuti he was depicted sometimes as a Baboon, or a long beaked, Ibis. In his hands was a pallet fro writing and a reed pen that was dipped in ink. Thoth was the God of wisdom and learning. He was also the messenger of Ra, telling him what happened on Earth and relaying Ra's message to other Gods.
Thoth was considered a moon god. His job was primarily to guard the moon and make sure it stayed on track. He has a mansion of the moon which may have served as his abode. Being a moon god, Thoth gave as a gift to humanity the gift of time. The moon is divided into four quarter. Remember that the moon was the ancient way of telling time. With a switch to the sloar calendar, thoth is credited with adding five more days. There is a reason for this though, Ra was jealous of Geb (Earth God) and Nuit (Sky goddess) and so he commanded Shu to come between them. Allowing five days gave them some time to be together this lead to the birth if Isis, Osiris, Seth, Horus the Elder, and Nephys.
Seth and Osiris two of the brothers had a conflict in which Osiris was killed by Seth. Horus the younger when he got older went to battle against Seth and it was a vicious battle where in Horus lost his eye and Seth had his testicle ripped off. Thoth was the one who intervene and brought peace between them. He also healed both of them. This established Thoth as not only the lord of the scribes but also as a peace maker and upholder of the law.
Thoth was oft portrayed with the visage of a baboon or an Ibis. The Ibis was a long beaked bird that was known for eating snakes and being clean. It was also usually hanging out at the borders of the wideness and civilization . The Ibis lived in marshes and stood above the water. It is said that the priests of Thoth would only drink water that was touched by an Ibis because the Egyptians valued cleanliness and purity and the Ibis only drank that which was clean. The baboon was the second animal. Now why this was so is more of a mystery. Baboon were not native to Egypt and they were expensive to import. They supposedly had a lunar quality as their behavior was effected by the lunar phases. Animals holy to the deities were not always so fortunate. Those that were sacred were bred and kept in the temple. They were killed mummified and then used for sacrifices. Many ibises died this way. Baboons were a bit more a rarity. In the depiction of the Ibis Thoth was known as a protector of boundaries and a protector. It was said that at night he fought against the serpent Apophis to protect Ra's solar barque.
Heka was the word for Egyptian magic. The Egyptian magic utilized spoken spells that employed the use of puns, rhyme schemes and poetry. Heka was used to combat chaos and keep the flow of Maat and order going. Egyptians tended to like things to stay the same as change meant chaos. Heka was usually depicted as the God of Magic but there were others. Thoth being among them for his mastery of language and writing. So was Isis . Magic was not deemed negative in fact it was seen as a tool for positiveness. Leaders would use magic to curse enemies of state. Magic was used to cure the sick.It was also used to guid the dead in the after life.
Thoth was the God who invented all the languages and often was the interpreter. He also wrote all the rituals dedicated to the different Gods and he wrote the magic spells that guided the dead in the afterlife. The Pyramid texts were written for kings so they could attain god hood upon death. The coffin texts made such a luxury available to the wealthy. The spell got you to the proper place in the after life.
Thoth also served in the role of psychopomp. A psycho pomp guides the dead to the proper place of the after life. He would would instruct the dead spirit in what to say and could always be relied upon to help. Sometimes he was the judge who decreed if the heart was sinful and hence had to be eaten by the crocodile ammut.
Lesley Jackson has done an awesome job explaining to the reader the multifaceted character of the God Thoth. She includes invocation to the God at the end and proffers a a very exact comparison of the Greek equivalent Hermes. The book is informative and easy to comprehend. Information is brought down brilliantly to the layman . To Avalonia Publications and Lesley Jackson all I can say is keep up the good work.
Thoth was considered a moon god. His job was primarily to guard the moon and make sure it stayed on track. He has a mansion of the moon which may have served as his abode. Being a moon god, Thoth gave as a gift to humanity the gift of time. The moon is divided into four quarter. Remember that the moon was the ancient way of telling time. With a switch to the sloar calendar, thoth is credited with adding five more days. There is a reason for this though, Ra was jealous of Geb (Earth God) and Nuit (Sky goddess) and so he commanded Shu to come between them. Allowing five days gave them some time to be together this lead to the birth if Isis, Osiris, Seth, Horus the Elder, and Nephys.
Seth and Osiris two of the brothers had a conflict in which Osiris was killed by Seth. Horus the younger when he got older went to battle against Seth and it was a vicious battle where in Horus lost his eye and Seth had his testicle ripped off. Thoth was the one who intervene and brought peace between them. He also healed both of them. This established Thoth as not only the lord of the scribes but also as a peace maker and upholder of the law.
Thoth was oft portrayed with the visage of a baboon or an Ibis. The Ibis was a long beaked bird that was known for eating snakes and being clean. It was also usually hanging out at the borders of the wideness and civilization . The Ibis lived in marshes and stood above the water. It is said that the priests of Thoth would only drink water that was touched by an Ibis because the Egyptians valued cleanliness and purity and the Ibis only drank that which was clean. The baboon was the second animal. Now why this was so is more of a mystery. Baboon were not native to Egypt and they were expensive to import. They supposedly had a lunar quality as their behavior was effected by the lunar phases. Animals holy to the deities were not always so fortunate. Those that were sacred were bred and kept in the temple. They were killed mummified and then used for sacrifices. Many ibises died this way. Baboons were a bit more a rarity. In the depiction of the Ibis Thoth was known as a protector of boundaries and a protector. It was said that at night he fought against the serpent Apophis to protect Ra's solar barque.
Heka was the word for Egyptian magic. The Egyptian magic utilized spoken spells that employed the use of puns, rhyme schemes and poetry. Heka was used to combat chaos and keep the flow of Maat and order going. Egyptians tended to like things to stay the same as change meant chaos. Heka was usually depicted as the God of Magic but there were others. Thoth being among them for his mastery of language and writing. So was Isis . Magic was not deemed negative in fact it was seen as a tool for positiveness. Leaders would use magic to curse enemies of state. Magic was used to cure the sick.It was also used to guid the dead in the after life.
Thoth was the God who invented all the languages and often was the interpreter. He also wrote all the rituals dedicated to the different Gods and he wrote the magic spells that guided the dead in the afterlife. The Pyramid texts were written for kings so they could attain god hood upon death. The coffin texts made such a luxury available to the wealthy. The spell got you to the proper place in the after life.
Thoth also served in the role of psychopomp. A psycho pomp guides the dead to the proper place of the after life. He would would instruct the dead spirit in what to say and could always be relied upon to help. Sometimes he was the judge who decreed if the heart was sinful and hence had to be eaten by the crocodile ammut.
Lesley Jackson has done an awesome job explaining to the reader the multifaceted character of the God Thoth. She includes invocation to the God at the end and proffers a a very exact comparison of the Greek equivalent Hermes. The book is informative and easy to comprehend. Information is brought down brilliantly to the layman . To Avalonia Publications and Lesley Jackson all I can say is keep up the good work.
November 15, 2023
This book is packed with information (I found very useful).
These books are paramount in my studies for my historical fiction. Lesley puts everything into great perspective while hitting a plethora of details along the way. Her writing style is very open to various opinions and occasionally she will throw in a concept of her own, but never tries to sell it, like a fool on the street corner.
If you have an interest in the gods of ancient Egypt, these books are a great place to dive.
These books are paramount in my studies for my historical fiction. Lesley puts everything into great perspective while hitting a plethora of details along the way. Her writing style is very open to various opinions and occasionally she will throw in a concept of her own, but never tries to sell it, like a fool on the street corner.
If you have an interest in the gods of ancient Egypt, these books are a great place to dive.
March 1, 2017
An enjoyable book for the academic and spiritual journeyer alike, the author takes heavy data and breaks it down in accessible language. It reads somewhat like a dissertation, but is worth reading for its copious references, external resources, and the range of research offered from the Pre-Dynastic period through the (de) evolution of Thoth in the Roman era.
July 29, 2023
The emerald tablets have so many ancient Egyptian-gems of wisdom from 36000 BC it takes annotations and research to get the full understanding but the extra steps are worth it for any occult or history nerd.
December 25, 2017
Highly recommended for those interested in Egyptian mythology and Thoth in particular.
February 13, 2021
Great book that helped my son with his 6th grade report
December 18, 2021
This is a great overview of Thoth’s key attributes and how he was worshipped.
November 27, 2022
Good
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews