Jasnow, R. & K.–Th. Zauzich. 2005. The Ancient Egyptian Book of Thoth: A Demotic Discourse on Knowledge and Pendant to the Classical Hermetica (Volume I & II). – Wiesbaden, Otto Harrasowitz

Abstract

This book is the long–awaited text edition of a composition that was first announced by the authors at the Seventh International Congress of Egyptology held in Cambridge in September 1995 (Jasnow & Zauzich, 1998: 607–618). The text, dubbed ‘The Book of Thoth’ by the authors, is a complex and multi–layered discourse in the form of a dialogue between the god Thoth and a student designated as mr-rx, ‘lover of knowledge/wisdom’ (cf. Greek philosophos). As with most Egyptian papyri, the manuscripts of the text are fragmentary and dispersed, with even a single papyrus often being split between various collections around the world. The dates of the manuscripts fall between the 1^st Century BC and 2^nd Century AD, and they are said to come from various sites in Egypt, including a considerable number from Tebtunis and Dime, as well as Elephantine (P. Louvre AF 13035 and P. Louvre E 10614; the only copy of the Book of Thoth in hieratic) and perhaps Edfu (P. Berlin P 15531, the best preserved manuscript). Read more...