Thoth-Amon
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Thoth-Amon is a fictional character created by Robert E. Howard. He is an evil wizard in The Phoenix on the Sword, one of the stories about Conan the Cimmerian. Howard most likely derived the character's name from the Egyptian deities Thoth and Amon. Thoth-Amon was the foremost sorcerer of the Stygian culture, which Howard set up as the ancestors of the ancient Egyptian civilization. Thoth-Amon was a worshipper of a god he referred to as Father Set. While this must derive from the Egyptian deity Set, Howard transforms him into a serpent god. There is some intimation that Father Set may be one of the Great Old Ones that H.P. Lovecraft created. Howard and Lovecraft were friends and correspondents who often drew inspiration from each other's work.
The character is one of Howard's most memorable villains and has been used by other authors, notably L. Sprague de Camp. Thoth-Amon was a recurring villain in Marvel Comics' various Conan titles. Several of the sorcerer's acoutrements, The Scroll of Thoth and The Serpent Ring of Set, have also shown up in other stories by Richard Tierney and others. Though the villain in the film Conan the Barbarian is named Thulsa Doom, after an evil wizard in Howard's Kull stories, he more closely resembled Thoth-Amon.
The enduring popularity of Thoth-Amon may be because of his unusual characterization. Though a villain, the sorcerer has many heroic qualities. He is brave, physically strong, intelligent, and devoted to the advancement of his people. He is perhaps the best example of the noble villains.
Robert E. Howard was strongly influenced by social Darwinism and by the racial climate of the time. In his stories black and white skinned characters are assumed to be natural enemies because one race can thrive only at the expense of the other. Despite this attitude, Howard seems to have had a fascination with heroic black characters and often portrayed them so positively that they are often more sympathetic to modern readers than the putative heroes of the stories. In addition to Thoth-Amon the villains of the short stories The Hyena and Black Vulmea's Vengeance are good examples of this.
[edit] The Book of Thoth
In Dark Horse's new comic series, Thoth-Amon was finally given an origin. Thoth-Amon, the dark wizard began life as young Thoth, a street thief of Memphia, stealing for his father to barely earn a living with perpetual beatings the only sign of affection his father gave. The only person Thoth cared for was his sister, whom he vowed to take away from the cruel city one day. As fate would have it, Thoth's only true friend, a street urchin named Amon saved the life of Kharandus, priest of Ibis, the feathered God, by calling out a warning of assassins about to assault the priest's litter. Amon was given a boon by the priest and asked to train at the temple of Ibis, though believing himself unworthy to look the holy man in the eye, he kept his head down. That evening, Thoth's private trove of coins was discovered by thieves who beat Thoth and stole his money when Amon arrived to tell him the news.
Thoth proceeded to murder his friend and take his name, realizing Kharandus would be unable to tell the difference. Thoth became a priest of Ibis, studying alongside Kharandus's son Kalanthes, until he began to lust after more power. Deciding to harness the power of ancient Acheron, Thoth set off on a journey where he entered an ancient tomb and was bitten nearly to death by snakes. There, the God Set came to him and sealed his fate with a dark bargain. Thoth returned to Memphia and began to clandestinely murder members of Ibis's temple in sickening clandestine rituals, as well as engineering the death of the King and all his heirs to make certain his and Kalanthes's friend, young Cstephon would inherit the throne. Thoth's activities were discovered by Kharandus and the two engaged in battle.
Thoth defeated the old priest and forced him under mind control to confess to worship of Set, a great crime then. Kharandus was, through the magic of Ibis, robbed of his mind and kept by Thoth as a servant. Now puppet master of the throne, Thoth set up a vicious dictatorship that beget numerous rebels, including the barbarian hero Akkad of the Danu. Kalanthes soon realized what was happening and with the remainders of Ibis's priesthood set out to kill Thoth. Thoth's power proved greater than they realized and they were bested. In response, Thoth convinced Cstephon to banish worship of Ibis and turned Memphia to the worship of the arch-demon serpent god Set. The people, disenchanted with Ibis by the apparent lack of help the feathered god provided them, welcomed it.
Thoth intended to have the assassins all killed, but Cstephon decided instead to banish them. Furious, Thoth exposed Cstephon to dark magic in secret, destroying the young king's mind and making him a thrall. Kalanthes was crucified and left to die in the desert where he was rescued by Akkad of the Danu.
In an encounter with his past, Thoth recognized a thief brought before him as one man who had stolen his treasure horde so many years ago and demanded in return for his release eighteen coins, the exact amount that had been taken from Thoth. The thief was one short and so Thoth had him blinded and imprisoned for life. Thoth suddenly recalled his promise to his sister long ago and sent a servant to find his family and bring them before him. Thoth began to suffer voices in his head, whispering to him, trying to dissuade him of the path he had chosen. He attempted to ignore them to no avail.
Thoth, attempting to unearth Acheron's secrets accidentally resurrected the ancient sorcerer Xaltoun who brought about the fearsome serpent men on Stygia. Akkad, Kalanthes and their forces arrived to aid Thoth in battling Xaltoun and his men back to oblivion, but Akkad fell in the battle. The battle won, Thoth intended to establish his power even further as Stygia's savior, whereupon Kalanthes sarcastically asked Thoth if he was to go back to the tree now to be crucified again.
To Kalanthes's fury, Thoth took a moment to think of the question and Kalanthes delivered a savage blow that hurled Thoth to the ground, snarling "The question was not serious, liar priest, but I am sickened you had to think of the answer. I will take my poor father and leave the city. Perhaps you will learn something. Perhaps not."
Thoth-Amon was left shivering in a corner, his own weakness exposed.
Shortly thereafter, Thoth's servant arrived with news his family had perished from a grain plague Thoth himself had unleashed upon the lands. Thoth, no longer caring, decided to use the plague to convert the rest of the populace to the worship of Set, despite the pleas of the voices in his head, asking if he even cared any longer that he had been responsible for his once beloved sister's death.
The source of the voices was truly Amon, who had been the first of many to die for Thoth-Amon's ambitions. Sadly, Thoth no longer paid him heed, not for many years. Amon, however, still had hope, even for one lost in darkness as his once most beloved friend.
What became of Thoth-Amon, no tales can truly tell, though he and Kalanthes remained great enemies for many, many years. Some claim he quietly faded into legend, far from fact, some tales claim that he was finally defeated in a savage battle with King Conan himself.
Whatever the truth, many ages after Conan's empire had faded into legend, the chronicles of the Barbarian King were uncovered by a prince and his Wazir...a mysterious Wazir dressed in Stygian clothing, with emerald, serpent-like eyes who was noticeably uncomfortable about the mention of Conan and was heard to remark "Always Barbarians, everywhere I turn...is there no end to them?"
[edit] Thoth-Amon in Conan the Adventurer
In Conan the Adventurer, the villain Wrath-Amon is more likely based from him. Since Conan the Adventurer is loosely based on Robert E. Howard's novels. However unlike Thoth-Amon, Wrath-Amon is a serpent man who took the Black Ring and became Set's New High Priest although he used to serve Ram-Amon. Ram-Amon also suspiciously resembled Thoth-Amon, suggesting a split of the character.
[edit] Thoth-Amon and King Hiss
King Hiss is seen in He-Man as like Thoth-Amon. Even if he's more powerful, King Hiss is still a worshiper of the snake god Serpos (Set) and the leader of the snakemen.
