Thoth's Role In Egyptian Mythology

There were cults dedicated to the god Thoth, known as the cult of the ibis and because of this, the Egyptians regarded the ibis highly, they were given as offerings to the god Thoth. An archaeological discovery in the catacombs at Tuna-el-Gebel, found over four million mummified Ibises, some of the mummified Ibis had food in their mouths and inside their bodies .

He is also the son of Cronus and Rhea, and is the second most powerful god. He is one of the three supreme gods of the Earth. (Gall.)

Unlike the Hebrew beliefs of the divine, ancient middle-eastern religion did not focus on one specific god. The epic Gilgamesh describes many gods, such as Shamash, the sun god whom endowed Gilgamesh with extreme beauty (18), Enlil, the god of wind and storm (18), and Anu, the god of Uruk (19). In the epic, these divine creators endowed Gilgamesh with "extraordinary strength, courage and beauty" (17). Along with these great characteristics, he was "more god than man" (17), "Two thirds they made him god and one third man" (19). The fact that Gilgamesh is part god and part human differs from the Hebrew beliefs as well; because Hebrews believe that no one can be part god.

Indeed, the monument served a particular religious function, according to the tenets of Ancient Egyptian theology and cosmology. The housing

As is common in Egyptian myth, the many versions of the same myth or mytheme could change heavily and even exist contemporaneously. According to different accounts, Thoth could have various consorts. In conjunction with his role as a writer, the archival goddess Seshat was known as Thoth’s female counterpart, either as his daughter or wife (Wilkinson 2003: 216). She was also a writing deity and was to maintain and preserve the archival records, supporting Thoth in the background. Another potential consort was Ma’at, who is Thoth’s female counterpart as a maintainer of justice, as he records the results of the weighing of the heart which involves her Feather. Though she was the personification of the cosmic force ma’at, she was described as

Attention Getter: Formatted as one long story, beginning with the creation of Ra, the Still god, and Thoth, the moon god, and ending with the story of how the Egyptians believed they arrived in heaven

Egyptian Mythology’s creation started with Nu, the dark and swirling chaos before time. Eventually, Atum rose from Nu and created a hill for himself to stand on. He had one eye that would see everything, but was very lonely. Soon after, Atum brought Shu, the god of air, and Tefnut, the goddess of mist and moisture into life. They gave birth to Geb, the earth, and Nut, the sky. Nut would give birth to the sun every night before sunset so the sun would shine through the day, and die at night.

Similar to Egyptians, Mesopotamians were polytheists and their gods created the natural phenomena. However, the temple in each city-state mainly worshipped a local god and was the central power in the city. The Mesopotamians ascribed human’s appearance and characteristics to represent their deities. The presence of the cult image in the temple indicated the presence of the deity in the city. Each cult image of the local god was placed in the city’s largest and most sophisticated sanctuary. For instance, the cult image of Marduk–Babylon’s city deity–resided in the Esagila temple. Mesopotamians believed the shrine of the Esagila temple was the heart of the universe. According to the inscriptions in the Steinplatten, the cult statue, the walls and the ceilings of the sanctuary were plated in gold. In practice of the daily ritual, the servants or priests of the temple cleansed and dressed the cult statue in new clothes. Since the priests directly served the patron city god, they were respected by common people. Additionally, the inscriptions from king Neriglissar’s cylinder revealed that he was submissive to the gods and thus the king’s power was shared to the priests and the local government. Local government governed the city and controlled the economy on behalf of the city’s god. Consequently, the cult’s control over the economy and society was limited inside the city-state.

     According to Egyptian and Sumerian mythology, there was a battle between two families of gods for supremacy and control over the ancient lands and the pyramids of Giza were strategic strongholds for the gods. (vi) The different shafts and chambers of the great pyramids are said to point to various constellations that represent several Egyptian gods. (vii) It is also thought by some that the pyramid may have been a place where Egyptians made a pilgrimage to honor the gods or their pharaoh who, according to legend was a descendent of the gods. (viii)

The Ancient Egyptian were polytheistic most of the time, which means that they believed in multiple gods. When Akhenaten was pharaoh, the Egyptians were monotheistic, meaning they worshiped only one god. He ended the worship of other gods and claimed that Aten, the lord of all was the only god in Egypt. The Egyptians didn't like this idea, so on their own,

Zeus, he was the king of the gods and the supreme ruler of people. He originally was a god of the sky. In time, the Greeks regarded him as the only god who concerned him-self with the whole universe. They also associated Zeus with justice and believed that he punished the wicked and rewarded the good. He belonged to the race of Titans, and was the son of Cronus and Rhea. After overthrowing Cronus, Zeus took his father's place and ruled from Mount Olympus. He headed a family of twelve major gods, called the Olympians.

At first glance, the idols of Egypt and the God of Israel appear utterly different, similarities bleed through as we investigate the history of the Egyptians and the Israelites. Some differences leap out. The Egyptians were polytheistic, and the Israelites were monotheistic. The Egyptian gods had human traits and could die, whereas God was fully God and could not die. To get to heaven, the Egyptians believed they needed to do good works, but the Israelites believed they needed faith. Looking deeper, we see some similarities. Both groups of people worshipped their gods. Also, the creators spoke through priests and prophets. The last major similarity is that each god had their own group of chosen people. The gods of the Egyptians had similar and different characteristics to the God of Israel.

The second god that I want to focus on is Bacchus. Bacchus was the Greek and roman god of vine and wine. He was the son of Zeus and Semele. The Romans identified him as Dionsysus. Myth has it that he was very ugly at birth. He was horned and was crowned with a crown of snakes. He was boiled in a cauldron and banished to Mt Nysa by his parents. It was here that he invented wine. He eventually returned to Greece where he organized drunken revelries. He married Andriadne, daughter of King Minos. Myth also has it that he died in the winter and was reborn in the spring.

Guarding the entrance to the 100 feet tall temple are four enormous statues of the Pharaoh, who ruled for roughly 66 years during the 19th dynasty. Each statue stands 67 feet high and depicts Ramses seated on his throne, wearing the double crown of Upper and Lower Egypt. Adorning the sides of the thrones is the symbolic unification of Egypt by the Nile Gods. The whole upper body of one of the figures is destroyed, damaged by an ancient earthquake. You can still see the remains of the torso and head at the base near the feet. Statues of Ramses mother Mut-Tuy, principal wife Nefertari, and son, Prince Amonherkhepshef, stand at his sides, almost as high as his knees, and smaller statues between his legs are thought to represent either his daughters or lesser wives. The frieze topping the temple facade shows 22 baboons worshipping the sun. The recessed statue above the entrance is that of the falcon-headed Ra-Harakhti (associated with Horus) and is flanked by two Bas-reliefs of Ramses, presumably worshipping him. Three connected halls inside the temple dig 185 feet deep into the mountain, where pictures of the King's "grand" accomplishments can be seen covering the walls. The temple was completed near the 24th year

The word temple from the Latin word templum means a dwelling place. One of the things Egyptian and Greek temples have together is that their temples serve as a worship places or dwelling place for their gods. The temples were built to house their gods. The sanctuaries where rituals are made to their gods on behave of the pharaohs (Egyptian rulers) and the kings (Greek rulers), and their people.