(urth) Monkey business

[Lee Berman]

Oh, some further thoughts on monkeys and Inire- I agree
that "dog-faced baboon" is the likely reference for the
cynocephalus. I think it might tie in with the Egyptian
god Thoth who had an ibis head while in heaven but a
baboon head while in the underworld. Snips from Wikipedia
say:
 
>The ancient Egyptians regarded Thoth as One, self-begotten,
>and self-produced. They credited him as the author of all works
>of science, religion, philosophy, and magic.The Greeks
>further declared him the inventor of astronomy, astrology,
>the science of numbers, mathematics, geometry, land surveying,
>medicine, botany, theology, civilized government, the alphabet,
>reading, writing, and oratory.Further, the Greeks related Thoth
>to their god Hermes due to his similar attributes and functions.

>Displaying his role as arbitrator, he had overseen the three
>epic battles between good and evil. All three battles are 
>fundamentally the same and belong to different periods. The 
>first battle took place between Ra and Apep, the second 
>between Heru-Bekhutet and Set, and the third between Horus, 
>the son of Osiris, and Set. In each instance, the former god
>represented order while the latter represented chaos. If one
>god was seriously injured, Thoth would heal them to prevent
>either from overtaking the other. Thoth was also prominent in
>the Osiris myth, being of great aid to Isis. After Isis gathered
>together the pieces of Osiris' dismembered body, he gave her the
>words to resurrect him so she could be impregnated and bring forth
>Horus. When Horus was slain, Thoth gave the magic to resurrect him
>as well
 
>In the underworld, Duat, he appeared as a dog-faced baboon or an ape,
>A'an, the god of equilibrium, who reported when the scales weighing 
>the deceased's heart against a feather, was exactly even.
 
With the arts and sciences, resurrections and advocacy for the dead
references, I see possible whiffs of Father Inire, Severian and Rudesind. 		 	   		  
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