This enigmatic book contains a large number of spells that include understanding what animals say and perceiving the gods. According to the legend, whoever reads the content of the book, will be able to decipher the secrets and to dominate the earth, the air, the sea and the celestial bodies. It is considered a sacred and mysterious book by the ancient Egyptians and according to the beliefs it was written by an ancient god.
According to history records, this book belongs to a large collection of Egyptian books allegedly written by the Egyptian god Thot, the god of writing and knowledge. Its content includes a large number of texts and beliefs attributed magical powers to it.
Fragments of the book of Thot appear in several found papyri, belonging to the Ptolemaic period. It was cited in the Turis papyrus that was published in Paris at the end of the 18th century and it describes an assassination attempt on a pharaoh, through several spells taken from the Book of Thot.
The various compilations that have been made, allow presuming that it is a story in which there is a dialogue between the god Thot and a disciple with a desire to know, but it also reflects another god, possibly Osiris, who also speaks to the disciple. According to Manetho, the god Thot wrote 36,525 books, while others claim that they were only 20,000.
According to the legend, the book is in an iron box, which contains a bronze box, which in turn contains another of keté wood, another of ivory and ebony, a silver box and a gold box, in which the book is protected, in the middle of the Koptos River. It is said that around the iron box there are a lot of snakes and scorpions that no man can kill.
The story states that an ancient Egyptian prince, named Neferkaptah decided to recover it and for that he fought against the snakes and scorpions achieving to recover it, nevertheless it is said that he suffered as punishment, the death of his wife Ahwere and his son Merib, for that reason Neferkaptah killed himself and it is claimed that he was buried with the book.
The legend has it that Setne Khamwas, years later, stole the book from the grave, despite the opposition of Neferkaptah’s ghost. The story tells that Setne met a beautiful woman who seduces him to kill his children and humiliate before the pharaoh, however he realized that it was an illusion and decides to return the book to the grave.
According to the father of the Clement of Alexandria church, this book contains the Egyptian philosophy, and states that they were written by Hermes, the Greek god, whom they compare with Thoth, although others say that it is the same god because of its similar characteristics.
To date it is unknown if the book exists or is only the product of an Egyptian legend, however it has been the object of many studies that try to determine its veracity and verify its magical powers.
ALFA