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by Simon Starr (Author)
Thoth, Hermes or Djehuty as this book refers to him is a mythical ancient Egyptian (Kemetian) sage whose wisdom is said to have transformed him into a god. Djehuty, who was venerated in Kemet from at least 3000 B.C.E., is credited with the invention of sacred hieroglyphic writing and his figure, portrayed as a scribe with the head of an Ibis, can be seen in many temples and tombs. He is the dispatcher of divine messages and recorder of all human deeds. In the great hall of judgement, the after-life court of the god Asar (Osiris) where the dead are judged, Djehuty would establish whether the deceased had acquired spiritual knowledge and purity, and so deserved a place in Heaven. Djehuty was said to have revealed to the Kemetians (Ancient Native Egyptians) all knowledge on astronomy, architecture, engineering, botany, geometry, medicine and religion, land surveying, and was believed by the ancient Greeks to be the architect of the pyramids. The Greeks, who were in awe of the knowledge and spirituality of the Kemetians, depicted him through their narrow view of the mysteries as Hermes, the messenger of the gods and guider of souls in the realm of the dead. To distinguish the Kemetian Djehuty, from their own, the Greeks referred to him using the title "Trismegistus," meaning Thrice Great, to honor his sublime wisdom. The remnants of the wisdom of Djehuty have been passed on in texts mistakenly referred to today as the Hermetica. Although largely unknown today, the writings attributed to Djehuty have been immensely important in the history of Western thought. They profoundly influenced the Greeks and, through their rediscovery in the fifteenth- century Florence helped to inspire the " Renaissance" which gave birth to our modern age. The list of people who have acknowledged a debt to the wisdom of the Scribe of the gods reads like a "Who's Who" of greatest philosophers, scientists and artists that the West has produced- Leonardo da Vinci, Durer, Botticelli, Roger Bacon, Paracelcus, Thomas More, William Blake, Kepler, Copernicus, Isaac Newton, Sir Walter Raleigh, Milton, Ben Johnson, Daniel Defoe, Shelley, Victor Hugo and Carl Jung. It heavily influenced Shakespeare, John Donne, John Dee and all the poet philosophers who surrounded the court of Queen Elizabeth I, as well as the founding scientists of the Royal Society in London, and even the leaders who inspired the Protestant reformation in Europe. The list is endless with the Djehuty's influence reaching well beyond the frontiers of Europe. Islamic mystics and philosophers also trace their inspiration back to the Scribe of the gods, and the esoteric tradition of the Jews equated him with their mysterious prophet Enoch. The Hermetica, as Djehuty's works are referred to today act like a cornerstone of Western Culture. In substance and importance it is equal to well known eastern scriptures like Upanishads, the Dhammapada and the Tao Te Ching. Yet unlike these texts which are readily available and widely read, the works of Djehuty have been lost under the dead weight of academic translations, Christian prejudice and occult obscurities.
