Thoth is the ancient Egyptian God of writing and wisdom. He is portrayed as a human with the head of an ibis and a lunar disc above his head. He is shown to hold a palette and stylus or at times a reed pen and a papyrus scroll, which are the main symbols of the scribes of Egypt. They would pour a drop of ink in Thoth’s honor before they began the daily writing.

The roles of Thoth include the development of science, the judgement of the dead and the system of writing. Hence, he is most popularly worshipped by the Pharaohs, scribes and priest of Egypt. He is the secretary or messenger of Ra and is also known as the scribe of the Gods and is known to record all the events of the Universe.

Legend says that Thoth was self-created from the seed of Horus and the forehead of Seth. There is another myth which again believes that Thoth was self-created and was born from the lips of Amun- Ra when he was creating the Universe and hence he does not have any mother.

There are myths about Thoth’s role in the afterlife, where he would weigh the hearts of the dead against the feather of Ma’at, who is the Goddess of justice. If the Ma’at was lighter than the heart, the person could enter the afterlife, else the dead person would be devoured by Ammit, the killer of the dead.

Thoth was the reason Isis could bring back Osiris back to life as he helped her with the power words which restored Osiris’ life. Because of the revival of Osiris life, Isis and Osiris could give birth to Horus who then avenged the death of his father and killed Seth. When Horus was born, it was Thoth who suggested to Isis to keep Horus in hiding and bring him out only after he was strong enough to fight Seth. During Horus’ childhood, he was once bitten by a scorpion. Despite all magic and spells, Isis could not cure Horus. Thot came to the aid and recited a long spell which helped recover Horus to his full health. Even in the battle between Horus and Seth, Thoth helped Horus with guidance on how to win.