Thoth and Hermes Trismegistos

Discussion in 'Ancient Coins' started by Jochen1, Feb 16, 2019.

  1. Jochen1

    Jochen1 Well-Known Member

    I hope here is something of interest for you:

    The coin:
    Phoenicia, Tyre, Valerian I., AD 253-260
    AE 30, 15.54g, 29.87mm, 180°
    obv.: IMP C P LIC VALERIANVS AVG
    Bust, draped and cuirassed, radiate, r.
    rev.: COL TV - RO METRo
    Hermes-Thoth in himation stg. l., holding kerykeion in l. arm and in outstretched r. hand papyros roll, at his feet l. Ibis stg. l., r. beside him date palm, above Murex shell.
    ref.: BMC 458
    scarce, about VF
    tyros_valerian_BMC458.jpg
    This coin has catched my eyes because of the unusual roll in the r. hand of Hermes.Then the deciding hint was the Ibis: It is the ibis-headed god Thoth!

    Thoth:
    Thoth is the Greek name of the Egyptian god Djehuty, Tahuti or Tehuti. His centre of worshipping was Khemnu (Khnum) in the Nord-East marsh of the Nile delta. In Greek-Roman times Khnum got the name Hermopolis because of his connection to Hermes. Thoth was one of the most important deities and presides in the Ogdoad Pantheon of Khnum the eight main gods. He was suggested as heart (mind) and tongue of the sun-god Ra. Höpfner claims that his name is the oldest name for the Ibis, but really convincing his name could not be explained until now. Usually he is depicted as a human being with the head of an Ibis, but directly as Ibis too. In the underworld he played a major role as judge, who weighs the hearts of the deads and decides about Good and Evil. Because of his role as Psychopompos the Greeks equated him with Hermes. He existed from the beginning of the world, self created and generated by himself. He was the writer of the gods and the invention of writing and the alphabet (here the Hieroglyphs) were ascribed to him. He was responsible for the movement of the stars and planets, he was the power which holds together the universe. Because of his power he was a rival to Ra and Osiris. On the sun-boat of Ra we find Thoth as vizier.

    As god of wisdom the Egyptians suggested him to be the author of all scientific, philisophical and religious books. And so the Greeks too: For them he was the inventor of astronomy, mathematics and geometry, of medicin, botanics and much more. Thoth was not a messsenger like Hermes (that rather was Hermanubis). He was the registrar and was highly venerated by the writers, here often in the shape of a baboon.

    In mythology he played an important role. So in several battles between Good and Evil, especially in the struggle between Horus and Seth, where he was a great help for Isis (look at the referring article in this thread). He assembled the parts of Osiris and reanimated Horus after the murder by Seth. He stood for order against chaos, represented by Seth.

    He was regarded as inventor of the 365 day calendrier. Later he became the moon god and with it an aspect of the sun-god Ra. Because the moon played such an important role in the life of the Egyptians he was seen as god of order, measurement and regulation of the time.

    He was closely connected to Seshat, the old goddess of wisdom, his daughter, later his wife.

    The Book of Thoth from the time of the Ptolemies I mention here without discussing it. It is still used today in esoterism.

    The Ibis:
    We know that the Egyptians have depicted many gods as animals. We know the hawk, the jackal, the fox and much more. But naturally the Egyptians don't have worshipped animals, at least not the educated. It was the characteristic and the power of the animals which were venerated. The animals were the symbols for the divine powers behind them. The centre of the Ibis veneration was of course Khnum, where Millions of mummified Ibisses have been found which were buried in honour of Thoth. There were real Ibis farms. An opinion is that the Ibis was important for the Egyptians because he killed poison snakes. A bit rationalistic, eh? More probably the characteristic stoking of 'searching' and 'finding' of the Ibis in the mud of the marsh could be the origin (Der Kleine Pauly). Later the bending of the Ibis neck could be important for identifying him with the moon god.

    Hermes Trismegistos:
    This title originally occurs from Thoth's title 'Three times great, great'. It is a typical syncretistic melting of Hermes and Thoth. He is known since the time of Ptolemaios IV. Until modern age it was suggested that Hermes Trismegistos has been a real person and the author of the works named after him 'hermetic', especially the Corpus Hermeticum. This work was rediscovered in Renaissance and came in the hands of Cosimo de Medici. These writings were held for age-old secret knowledge of the Egyptians and were dated to the time of Moses. It was 1614 that Isaac Casaubon based on textcritical analysis could show that they can't be written before the 2nd century BC. This melting of Thoth and Hermes doesn't become accepted in Greeks and Romans in contrast to Hermanubis. But he played an important role in gnosticism.

    I have attached a pic of Thoth with head of Ibis, from a wallpainting of a burial chamber of the New Kingdom (Wikipedia).
    311px-Thoth_svg.JPG

    Excursion: The Orphics
    The Orphic is a mystery cult of the Greek religion, which is originated with songs and poems in the 6th century BC under influence of the fictititous singer Orpheus in Thrace and spread to Attica and South Italy. It was propagated by itinerant preachers. But even in those days the Orphic was fictititous and hardly concrete. For the Greeks, known for its here and now, it was a very unusual movement. Not so for the Thracians with their belief in the afterworld as we have seen several time in this thread. It is a kind of impact of 'dark' elements on the Greek religion.

    Dionysos:
    The Orphic has developed a global world explanation, testified especially by the Neoplatonists. In the centre of the Orphic stands Dionysos, son of Zeus and Persephone, as god of the Underworld named Zagreus. This so-called 1st Dionysos has been disrupted by the Titans during the struggle against Zeus. But Atheno could rescue his heart, brought it to Zeus who devoured it. From this heart originated the 2nd Dionysos, son of Zeus and Semele. The Titans were burnt by Zeus and his thunderbold to ashes. From this ashes Zeus built the human beings.

    Referring to this conception man stands between the divine Dionysos and the Titans. Human has parts of both. The body was seen by the Orphics as prison of the immortal soul. Here we find the origin of the Body-Soul-Dualism, which however was disclaimed by Christianism. Augustinus rather said 'House of the Soul'. It's now the challenge of the human to free himself from the Titanic parts. This can be done by asceticism, consecrations, purification rituals, avoiding of meat and so on. We all know that. Only so the eternal reincarnation (metempsychosis) can be avoided. After death the vengeance for his deeds occurs.

    The Pythagoreans have much adopted from the Orphics, f.e. the reincarnation (so Philolaos of Kroton). And equally the Platonismus seems influenced. The famous word 'Soma Sema', the body a grave, f.e. is from Plato himself. But naturally a important role has played the ethical component we find in the Orphic. And we see parallels to Buddhism and to Christianism (f.e. its eschatology). Orpheus was seen as pre-christian wise man, yes as forerunner of Jesus. The famous picture where Orpheus has gathered the wild animals and calmed them down by his musique was widely spread in middle-ages.

    I have attached a detail from the Orpheus mosaic, 2nd century AD, unearthed in 1834, from Rottweil (Arae Flaviae), the oldest town in Baden-Württemberg/Germany.
    Orpheus Rottweil.jpg

    Sources:
    (1) Der Kleine Pauly
    (2) Benjamin Hederich, Gründliches mythologisches Lexikon (online too)
    (3) Karl Kerenyi, Humanistische Seelenforschung (online at books.google.de)
    (4) A. Hönle, Orpheus in Arae Flaviae, Kleine Schriften des Stadtarchivs Rottweil 13, 2005

    Online Sources:
    (1) Wikipedia
    (2) Zeno: Orphiker
    (3) Freimaurer-Wiki: Orphiker

    Best regards
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Feb 16, 2019
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  3. TheGambler88

    TheGambler88 New Member

    Very interesting subject. Some believe Thoth is still alive and guiding world governments today. Lots of mysticism behind the figure.
     
  4. ancient coin hunter

    ancient coin hunter 3rd Century Usurper

    I have a couple pf Hermetic texts in translation, or, thrice holy Hermes. They mainly are concerned with education in the manner of father to son. The Thoth connection is interesting. There also was a major center of Thoth's worship in what is today called El-Ashmunein, known in Greco Roman times as Hermopolis Magna, located in Upper Egypt. The temple gateway, flanked by two giant statues of baboons, is all that remains of the giant temple. I visited when I was in Egypt several years back, even though it is a bit off the beaten tourist track.

    Across the river and a few km to the north are the ruins of Antinopolis, the city founded by Hadrian in memory of his lover.
     
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  5. ancient coin hunter

    ancient coin hunter 3rd Century Usurper

    Here is my copy...a bit dog-eared and worn but I got it from Shakespeare and Co. in Berkeley - a fine read.

    hermes.jpg
     
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  6. Mat

    Mat Ancient Coincoholic

    Nice writeup, thanks for the post.
     
  7. zumbly

    zumbly Ha'ina 'ia mai ana ka puana

    Great writeup! This interesting reverse type caught my eye too. Mine, struck in the name of Gallienus.

    Gallienus - Tyre Hermes Thoth.jpg
    GALLIENUS
    AE Dichalkon. 14.21g, 30.9mm. PHOENICIA, Tyre, circa AD 253-268. Rouvier 2529 var. (rev legend); AUB –; BMC –. O: IMP C P LIC GALLIENVS AVG, radiate, draped and cuirassed bust right, seen from front. R: COL TVRO MET, Hermes-Thoth, half-naked, standing left, holding papyrus roll and caduceus; to left, ibis standing left; to right, murex shell set upon palm tree.
    Ex Dennis Rider Collection of the Coins of Tyre; ex John A. Seeger Collection (CNG 172, 5 Sep 2007), lot 125
     
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