# Sophia's Esoteric Name - The Letter Phi

The Proto-Canaanite letter Qoph (𐤒), which was a pre-cursor to the Greek letter Phi (ϕ), in its original iconography was a glyph for a monkey. When we look at ancient glyphs/symbols its important to think of its functional aspect, what does that symbol do in reality, and how does it achieve it.

Interestingly enough this monkey depiction bares a similar resemblance to the way the baboon was depicted in ancient Egypt. The baboon was seen as a representation of the god Thoth. Thoth was depicted as a baboon in the underworld of the Duat. He was seen at the equilibrium on the scales judging the deceased's heart against a feather. Taking this into consideration, it makes sense as to why this letter is at the center point for the word Sophia or wisdom.

The number 10 was sacred to the Pythagoreans as they related it to their sacred Tetractys. The arrangement depicted in the Tetractys Symbol represents the organization of space, where the first row denotes zero dimension (a point), the second row denotes first dimension (a line joining two points), the third row denotes second dimension (a triangular plane), and the fourth row denotes the third dimension (a tetrahedron).

To get 100, we would cube each level of the Tetractys.

1³ + 2³ + 3³ + 4³ = 100

We can also use a Pythagorean Triple to get 100. Through the formula of a² + b² = c² .

6² + 8² = 10²
36 + 64 = 100
100 = 100

Through these mathematical proofs we have further proof that this letter is dedicated to Thoth, as 100 is a triple number. Thoth in ancient times was referred to as "Thrice Great", or his Greek counterpart Hermes Trismegistus (Thrice Great).

Plato (500 BC), writes in Cratylus, that the letter Phi is pronounced with an expolsion of breath, which appropriately imitates blowing or hard breathing. In the Greek Alphabet, Phi has a value of 100.

1 + 0 + 0 = 1

As we learn in philosophical mathematics, the number 1 is a male number.

In Kabbalistic texts, Qoph, connects the physical to the invisible world. Qoph also literally translates to "monkey".