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Difference between revisions of "Book of Thoth"
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The Egyptians stored many texts, on a wide range of subjects, in "Houses of Life," the libraries contained within temple complexes. As [[Thoth]] was the god of knowledge, many of these texts were said to be written by him. The Egyptian historian Manetho said that Thoth wrote 36,525 books. In reality, given the conception of scribes in the context of the ancient [[Egyptian religion]], any text written by a priest of Thoth would have been considered to have been written by Thoth himself. The Egyptians believed that Thoth spoke through his priests and the writing which emanated from their hands was sacred and holy. This is why the creation of formal hieroglyphics was a sacred art practiced only by a very limited number of people. | The Egyptians stored many texts, on a wide range of subjects, in "Houses of Life," the libraries contained within temple complexes. As [[Thoth]] was the god of knowledge, many of these texts were said to be written by him. The Egyptian historian Manetho said that Thoth wrote 36,525 books. In reality, given the conception of scribes in the context of the ancient [[Egyptian religion]], any text written by a priest of Thoth would have been considered to have been written by Thoth himself. The Egyptians believed that Thoth spoke through his priests and the writing which emanated from their hands was sacred and holy. This is why the creation of formal hieroglyphics was a sacred art practiced only by a very limited number of people. | ||
The church father Clement of Alexandria, in the sixth book of his work Stromata, mentions forty-two books used by Egyptian priests that he says contain "the whole philosophy of the Egyptians." All these books, according to Clement, were written by [[Hermes]]. Translation from Egyptian language and concepts to Greek language and concepts was not entirely accurate, and some Egyptian authenticity was lost. Among the subjects they cover are hymns, rituals, temple construction, [[astrology]], geography, and medicine. | The church father Clement of Alexandria, in the sixth book of his work Stromata, mentions forty-two books used by Egyptian priests that he says contain "the whole philosophy of the Egyptians." All these books, according to Clement, were written by [[Hermes Trismegistus]]. Translation from Egyptian language and concepts to Greek language and concepts was not entirely accurate, and some Egyptian authenticity was lost. Among the subjects they cover are hymns, rituals, temple construction, [[astrology]], geography, and medicine. | ||
The Egyptologists Richard Lewis Jasnow and Karl-Theodor Zauzich have dubbed a long Egyptian text from the Ptolemaic period "the Book of Thoth." This Demotic text, known from more than forty fragmentary copies, consists of a dialogue between a person called "The-one-who-loves-knowledge" and a figure that Jasnow and Zauzich identify as [[Thoth]]. The topics of their conversation include the work of scribes, various aspects of the gods and their sacred animals, and the Duat, the realm of the dead. | The Egyptologists Richard Lewis Jasnow and Karl-Theodor Zauzich have dubbed a long Egyptian text from the Ptolemaic period "the Book of Thoth." This Demotic text, known from more than forty fragmentary copies, consists of a dialogue between a person called "The-one-who-loves-knowledge" and a figure that Jasnow and Zauzich identify as [[Thoth]]. The topics of their conversation include the work of scribes, various aspects of the gods and their sacred animals, and the Duat, the realm of the dead. | ||