The Gospel According to Thomas (or the Gospel of Thomas) is an early Christian non-canonical sayings-gospel that many scholars believe provides insight into the oral gospel traditions. It was discovered near Nag Hammadi, Egypt, in December 1945 among a group of books known as the Nag Hammadi library. The library consists of fifty-two writings that include an excerpt from Plato's Republic and gospels which state that they were written by Jesus' disciple Philip. Scholars speculate that the works were buried in response to a letter from Bishop Athanasius declaring a strict canon of Christian scripture.