Smite is a game steeped in mythology. That sounds like the most obvious statement of the year, but we can’t overstate that fact that the mythology behind the game’s beloved characters has inspired some of its most awesome depictions. This is very true for the lore behind Smite gods like Thoth.
Developers Hi-Rez Studios and Titan Forge dig deep for much of the lore they use for their characters. They’d have to dig deep, otherwise how would they come up with characters such as Ratatoskr? Seriously, you’d be hard pressed to find any mention of a squirrel in most popular depictions of the Norse mythology these days!
That said, they do miss things sometimes. I understand a game’s developers can only incorporate so much mythology into their depictions of their characters. Still, on occasion they omit some cool stuff about the gods and goddesses present in the game. To help you appreciate the lord details missing from the game, we will go deep and investigate it ourselves. In this new series, we will go from character by character, in no particular order, and uncover the cool stuff that couldn’t (for whatever reason) make it into Smite.
We will start with the lore of everyone’s favorite book-slinging, nerdy mid lane Mage, Thoth.
Thoth invented music in Egyptian mythology
Ever notice how when Thoth casts any of his abilities, they’re accompanied by music notes? Similarly, on his Victory screen, you can see him doing toe-tapping as he’s collecting free-floating hieroglyphics into his book. This is not a coincidence.
Thoth is indeed credited with inventing music in Egyptian mythology, but his Lore page in Smite does not reference this at all. It’s curious why this aspect of Thoth never got mentioned directly on his Lore page, but at least Thoth’s animations and sound effects give hints of this accreditation.
Thoth was the arbiter between Horus and Set in a rather raunchy incident
A particularly infamous tale of Egyptian mythology is what I like to call the “lettuce incident.” In-game, Set references it in one of his VGS jokes, by saying that his first rule as king would be to outlaw salads. But there’s another wrinkle to the lore of the story, involving Thoth. Thoth was the one who discovered that Horus, uh, tainted the lettuce Set ate. Because Set ate it, Horus was dominant over Set, and therefore would rule Egypt. Check out the link if you want to know more details, since I’m trying to keep this article SFW.
Thoth was an expert in board games, and he used this skill to great effect
Senet is an ancient Egyptian board game that’s closest in comparison to chess. Perhaps in an ultimate display of Thoth’s nerdiness, Thoth actually helped out his fellow god Geb through a game of senet.
As the story goes, the separation of Geb and Nut by Ra was temporarily circumvented by a bet Thoth made on a game of senet. Thoth played a round versus the Egyptian god of the moon, Khonsu, and by winning this round, Thoth was able to extend the year by five days via extra moonlight. It’s during these five days that Geb and Nut were able to reunite and have their children.
Thoth was once merged with the Greek messenger of the gods, Hermes
The ancient Greeks attempted to reconcile Egyptian mythology and religion with their own at some points in history. One way they did this was through the monster Typhon. Typhon was a horrible creature, so badass that the Greek gods had to flee to Egypt to avoid fighting him. According to Greek myth, while in Egypt, the Greek gods disguised themselves and became the Egyptian gods while they tried to figure out how to fight Typhon. Hermes – better known as Mercury in Smite – was merged with Thoth, since both were “messengers” of the gods.
Obviously, in Smite, just like actual history, the Greek and Egyptian pantheons are completely different. But there’s no mention of this portion of the Typhon myth in the Thoth lore in Smite. It would’ve made for some good material for jokes and taunts. I want to see a direct taunt to Mercury!
One of Thoth’s alternate names was Tahuti, making him the rightful owner of Rod of Tahuti
The gods of Egypt had several names, mostly due to different translations across languages and cultures. Among Thoth’s other names are Djehuty, Tehuti, and, you guessed it, Tahuti. Coincidentally, there’s an item in Smite which many players know and love, called the Rod of Tahuti – or Rod of The Booty, as some veterans call it. But, just like Chronos and his pendant, Thoth for some reason has to buy his own book and his own rod. Weird.
