Thot

Thot depicted as a baboon.

Thot was an important member of the Egyptian pantheon. He was regarded as One, self begotten and self-produced. He was in some respects a creator god, and served to maintain the existence of the other gods and the universe itself.

In the Egyptian belief system, Thot was regarded as a mediator between good and evil, ensuring that neither side gained an advantage. Thot was an arbitartor between the gods and he ensured that both the moral and physical laws were followed. He was the patron god of the sciences; his calculations were said to have been used to create the heavens and earth. Compare Thot to the goddess Ma'at, whose power maintained the universe.

Thot was responsible for ensuring the orderly movement of the heavenly bodies, and his words maintained the other gods, without whom they would cease to exist though Thot was not the supreme god. Thot was also considered to be the heart (seat of intelligence according to the Ancient Egyptians) of Ra as well as the toungue of Ra, and thus charged with translating Ra's will into speech.

Thot depicted as a man with the head of an Ibis bird.

Thot was credited with inventing all branches of knowledge, from mathematics, to magic. The ancient Greeks identified him with Hermes, their god of learning. Thot was the scribe of the gods. Because of his position as a god of learning, there is a sculpture of the god Thot on east entrance of the American Library of Congress. The sculpture was made by Lee Lawrie

There is some debate whether Thot was merely an aspect of Ra, and therefore essentially the same god, or whether he was in fact a separate distrinct entity. Most Egyptologists today regard Thot as a god unto himself rather than a facet of the sun god.

Thot was sometimes depicted as having a human body and the head of an ibis bird, and sometimes entirely as a baboon. The baboon was sacred to the priests of this deity.