Thoth: Lord of the Divine Writing

Let’s read some hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪!

Today 𓏇𓇋𓈖𓇳 we are going to be looking at the name 𓂋𓈖 of not only a very popular deity 𓊹, but also one of my favorite deities 𓊹𓊹𓊹 (besides Anubis 𓇋𓈖𓊪𓅱𓃣 of course)!! 

This is the name 𓂋𓈖 of the god 𓊹 Thoth 𓅝𓏏𓏭 in hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪! The name 𓂋𓈖 Thoth 𓅝𓏏𓏭 is actually the Greek version of his name 𓂋𓈖; the ancient Egyptians referred to him as Djehuty 𓅝𓏏𓏭!

Let’s break down the hieroglyphic symbols 𓊹𓌃𓏪 together 𓈖𓊗! 

The “ Ibis on Standard 𓅝” symbol is a variant of the “Ibis 𓅞” symbol and has the sound of “ḏḥwtj,” which we thing would sound like “Djehuty.” This symbol is an ideogram, so it represents the full sound of the word it is meant to represent. 

What’s interesting about the Middle Egyptian Language, is that even though ideograms like “𓅝” and “𓁟” would fully spell out Thoth’s name 𓂋𓈖, scribes would still add the phonograms to the end of the name 𓂋𓈖 if there was enough space on the monument/object to do so! This made inscriptions 𓏟𓏛𓏥 easier to read 𓎔𓂧𓀁 and also look nicer! The ancient Egyptians 𓆎𓏏𓀀𓁐𓏪 were all about the aesthetic!

The “flat loaf of bread 𓏏” is a uniliteral phonogram used to represent the sound “t.” It also functions as the ideogram for the word “bread 𓏏𓏺” and can be used to make words feminine! 

The “two strokes 𓏭” symbol represents the sound “j” which in English would have the same sound as a “y.” It is usually only used at the end of a word!

Here are some variants of Thoth’s name 𓂋𓈖:

𓅤𓀭 

𓁟 

𓅝𓏏𓏭𓀭 

𓅝𓏏𓏭

𓅝

Thoth 𓅤𓀭 was thought to have invented writing 𓏟𓏛𓏥, and was thus the god 𓊹 of all record keeping. Due to his vast knowledge, 𓂋𓐍𓏏𓏜 Thoth 𓁟 was thought to know magic and secrets that were unknown to the rest of the gods 𓊹𓊹𓊹 in the Egyptian pantheon. He was also the god 𓊹 of scribes 𓏟𓀀𓏪.

Let’s read the inscription 𓎘𓅱𓎖 in the picture above: 

𓅝𓏏𓏭 – Thoth (Djehuty)

𓎟 – Lord

𓊹𓌃𓂂𓂂𓂂𓏟 – Divine Words/Writing

“Lord of the Divine Words/Writing 𓎟𓊹𓌃𓂂𓂂𓂂𓏟” was one of Thoth’s 𓅝𓏏𓏭 many titles! This title makes perfect sense since he was thought to have invented writing 𓏟𓏛𓏥/hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪! Fun Fact: “writing” was usually written as “𓏟𓂂𓂂𓂂,” but on this coffin it is switched to “𓂂𓂂𓂂𓏟!”

Thoth 𓅝𓏏𓏭 was originally god 𓊹 of the moon 𓇋𓂝𓎛𓇹, but then later became associated with writing 𓏟𓏛𓏥 and knowledge 𓂋𓐍𓏏𓏜. The moon 𓇋𓂝𓎛𓇹 could be thought of as a “night sun,” which kind of places him as an opposite of the sun 𓇳𓏺 god 𓊹 Re 𓇳𓏺𓁛. 

Thoth 𓅤𓀭 is also credited with inventing the 365-day calendar which is one of the ancient Egyptians’ long lasting contributions to astronomy! As their math an astronomy got better, Egyptian astronomers even adjusted the year to be exactly 365.25 days, which is the exact time it takes the Earth 𓇾𓇾 to revolve around the Sun 𓇳𓏺! How amazing is that!?