Thoth

The tale of Thoth

Thoth is the Egyptian god of wisdom, writing, magic, the moon and the measuring of time. He is shown as a man with the head of an ibis, a long-beaked white wading bird of the Nile marshes, or sometimes as a baboon. Some say he created himself from nothing at the beginning of the world. Others say he was born from the head of the god Set, or spoken into being by Ra.

The inventor of writing

Thoth gave people hieroglyphs, the sacred writing of Egypt, and with them the arts of mathematics, astronomy, medicine and law. He was the scribe of the gods, keeping their records and writing down their decisions. Every Egyptian scribe began work by pouring a drop of ink as an offering to him. As the game's Thoth says: he invented writing so he would not have to repeat himself.

He was also the keeper of the hidden Book of Thoth, which held all the secrets of magic. In a famous Egyptian tale, the prince Setna searched for it in a tomb, stole it, and suffered a long string of terrible misfortunes until he returned it.

The five extra days

The old Egyptian calendar once had 360 days. When the sky goddess Nut became pregnant, Ra cursed her so that she could not give birth on any day of the year. Thoth helped her. He played a game of senet with the moon god Khonsu and won from him a portion of the moon's light, enough to make five extra days that were outside the old year. On those five days Nut gave birth to her children: Osiris, Horus the Elder, Set, Isis and Nephthys. Ever since, the year has 365 days, and the moon grows and shrinks because it lost some of its light.

The scribe of judgement

Thoth stood beside Anubis in the Hall of the Two Truths when the heart of a dead person was weighed against the feather of Ma'at. Anubis read the scale, and Thoth wrote down the verdict. He also served as the wise judge in the long contest between Horus and Set, and he healed the Eye of Horus after Set had torn it out.

Thoth in Battle of Myths

Thoth is a cost 3 Egyptian mage and mystic. His ability, Words of Power, speaks a single spoken word that strikes his target and every enemy beside it with magic damage, while giving mana to every ally around him. With every Egyptian hero he shares the Sun Cycle: by day the Egyptians strike faster, and at nightfall they are shielded.

Did you know?

• The Greeks linked him with their own Hermes, and later called him Hermes Trismegistus, "thrice-great Hermes", whose name is behind the word "hermetic".
• The city of Hermopolis was his great centre of worship, and thousands of mummified ibises were offered to him there.