Althotas (ca. eighteenth century C.E.)
The presumed master and companion of Cagliostro.
Considerable doubt has been expressed regarding his existence.
The French writer Louis Figuier, author of Lalchimie et
les alchimistes (Paris, 1854), stated that Althotas was no imaginary
character, that the Roman Inquisition collected many
proofs of his existence, but none regarding his origin or end.
But, stated Figuier, he was a magician and doctor as well,
possessed divinatory abilities of a high order, was in possession
of several Arabic manuscripts, and had great skill in chemistry.
The French writer on occultism Éliphas Lévi stated that the
name Althotas is composed of the word thot with the syllables
al and as, which if read cabalistically are sala, meaning
messenger or envoy; the name as a whole therefore signifies
Thot, the Messenger of the Egyptians.
Althotas has also been identified with Kolmer, the instructor
of Adam Weishaupt (a German leader of the Illuminati) in
magic, and at other times with the Comte de Saint Germain.
The accounts concerning him are certainly conflicting, for
whereas Cagliostro stated at his trial in Paris that Althotas had
been his lifelong preceptor, another account says that he met
him first on the quay at Messina.
