Ancient Egyptian Gods Gallery
By Barbara Waterson
Last updated 2011-02-17
Thoth
Thoth was a moon god, depicted as an ibis-headed man. Both the ibis and the ape were sacred to him.
He was the inventor of writing and acted as scribe to the gods, his chief activities being to record the verdict on the dead who were tried in the Hall of Judgement; and to inscribe on the sacred mimusops (persea-tree) the number of years a king had allotted to him for his reign.
Thoth was believed to have a book containing all the wisdom of the world within it. His chief place of worship was Hermopolis Magna (the modern el-Ashmunein), so called by the Greeks who equated him with Hermes, their messenger of the gods.
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