The Hindu elephant headed God Ganesha shares some interesting features with the Egyptian God Thoth, and Thoth’s Greek counterpart, Hermes.

Like Thoth, he is the inventor of writing; as the story goes, the Hindu Epic Poem the Mahabharata was dictated to Ganesha, who broke off one of his tusks to serve as a quill. Also like Thoth, he is zoomorphic – while he has the head of an elephant, Thoth has the head of an ibis, a bird native to Africa and Australia; his other form is that of a baboon.

Like Thoth’s Greek version Hermes (in turn the Roman Mercury), he is a trickster. From the fact that his sacred animal steed is a mouse, to his fabulously round belly, his appearance belies his powers – he is both the placer and the remover of obstacles.

Few practicing Hindus would start a venture, or an adventure, without seeking the…