Through the Eras

Philosophyartist who created the famous bust of Nefertiti also foundat Amarna was named Thutmose, “Thoth is born.” Thisname had been common earlier in the Eighteenth Dynasty,but it is striking that the name was tolerated at Amarna.Perhaps this indicates that even in Amarna, Thoth’s connectionto wisdom and philosophy was recognized.THOTH AFTER AMARNA. Immediately after theAmarna Period with the restoration of the old gods,Thoth assumed an important place. King Horemheb(1319–1292 B.C.E.) recorded a Hymn to Thoth thatcalled the god “one who knows the mysteries” and gavehim responsibility for informing the sun god of all thatoccurred on earth. King Ramesses IV spoke in an inscriptionof his ability to read the writings of Thoth andthat he learned about Osiris from Thoth’s books locatedin the temple library. Thoth thus continued to grow inhis role as the source of knowledge and philosophy.THOTH IN THE LATE PERIOD. In the Late Period(664–332 B.C.E.), Thoth became the god responsible formagic. Thoth helped deceased people enter the nextworld by writing letters of recommendation for them.According to Late Period belief, Thoth also wrote a newguide to the land of the dead called The Book of Breathingswith the help of the goddess Isis. Thoth’s staturecontinued to grow with a new epithet, “twice great,” firstknown from the reign of King Apries (589–570 B.C.E.).By the time of Darius I (521–486 B.C.E.), Thoth’s epithetincreased his greatness to “very, very, very great.”The Greeks later identified Thoth with their own god,Hermes, whom they gave the epithet “Trismegistus” or“thrice great.” In Greek belief, Hermes Trismegistus wasa major source of ancient Egyptian secret knowledge. Itseems likely that at least the tradition of Thoth as thekeeper of secret knowledge had Egyptian roots in theLate Period.HIEROGLYPHS. The Egyptians believed that Thothinvented hieroglyphic writing. The nature of Egyptianpicture writing also played a role in Greek beliefs aboutthe supposed secret knowledge and philosophy containedin these writings. Hieroglyphic writing was basicallyphonetic with each picture standing for a sound or groupof sounds. Yet the final picture in each word had nosound but rather stood for a category. For example, thepicture of walking legs at the end of the phonetic writingfor the verb “to go” placed it in the category “verbsof motion.” Thus on one level these signs, called determinatives,could bear a symbolic meaning. Some signssuch as a billowing sail for “breath” or “air,” a flamingofor “red,” a taut bow string for “strong,” and an egg for“within” thus leant themselves to extended symbolicmeanings.HERMESTrismegistusThe Greek historian Herodotus first identified theGreek god Hermes with the Egyptian god Thoth.Thoth was the god responsible for writing, knowledge,and the calendar. By the Egyptian Late Period(664–332 B.C.E.), Thoth was already called “very, very,very great.” In Greek he therefore came to be knownas Hermes Trismegistus—Thrice Great Hermes.A large group of texts were attributed to HermesTrismegistus. These writings came to be known asHermeticism. There remains much debate about howmany of these texts are actually ancient. Many of themmay well be fifteenth-century forgeries. Others maydate to the fifth century C.E. They include descriptionsof astrology, magic, and various myths of the originsof the world. Hermeticism is a major source for variousspiritual interpretations of ancient Egyptian philosophy.Hermeticism is based on the writings of the Greekphilosopher Plato. Hermeticism develops argumentsabout the beginnings of the world based on allegoryrather than on direct observation of the world. Explanationsare based on spiritual similarities rather thanphysical characteristics.SCRIBE’S PUZZLES. Beginning in the New Kingdom,scribes invented scholarly puzzles with hieroglyphsas a form of intellectual entertainment. They usedwhole pictures with new phonetic values that wouldamaze other scribes by their creativity. A picture of jackalstowing the god’s boat in the tomb of Ramesses IX(1126–1108 B.C.E.) substitutes for the old and simplephonetic writing of the verb “to tow.” Or the verb “tovanquish” which could easily be written and recognizedwith a phonetic writing, instead was written with a kingsmiting the heads of foreign enemies. These intellectualgames became increasingly popular in the Ptolemaic Period(332–30 B.C.E.) when Greek-speaking kings ruledEgypt. At the temple in the town of Esna in Upper(southern) Egypt, a scribe wrote a hymn to Khnum, aram god, writing only ram signs that could each be readwith a different phonetic value and thus could representdifferent words. Another hymn was written entirelywith crocodile signs that had seven different phonetic values.At this temple, there were 143 different ways of writingthe god Khnum’s name. The name of the god Osiriscould be written 73 different ways. These games then ledArts and Humanities Through the Eras: Ancient Egypt (2675 B.C.E.–332 B.C.E.) 195