| Maat | |
|---|---|
 | |
|
Other Names |
Maʽat |
|
First Appearance |
Egyptian Mythology |
|
Created by |
Unknown |
Origin[]
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Winged Maat, depicted in The Tomb of Nefertari (1255 BCE)
Maat or Maʽat comprised the ancient Egyptian concepts of truth, balance, order, harmony, law, morality, and justice. Maat was also the goddess who personified these concepts, and regulated the stars, seasons, and the actions of mortals and the deities who had brought order from chaos at the moment of creation. Her ideological opposite was Isfet (Egyptian jzft), meaning injustice, chaos, violence or to do evil.
Later, when most goddesses were paired with a male aspect, her masculine counterpart was Thoth, as their attributes are similar. In other accounts, Thoth was paired off with Seshat, goddess of writing and measure, who is a lesser-known deity.
After her role in creation and continuously preventing the universe from returning to chaos, her primary role in ancient Egyptian religion dealt with the Weighing of the Heart that took place in the Duat. Her feather was the measure that determined whether the souls (considered to reside in the heart) of the departed would reach the paradise of the afterlife successfully. In other versions, Maat was the feather as the personification of truth, justice, and harmony.
Pharaohs are often depicted with the emblems of Maat to emphasise their roles in upholding the laws and righteousness. From the Eighteenth Dynasty (c. 1550 – 1295 BC) Maat was described as the daughter of Ra, indicating that pharaohs were believed to rule through her authority.
Maat was the goddess of harmony, justice, and truth represented as a young woman. Sometimes she is depicted with wings on each arm or as a woman with an ostrich feather on her head. The meaning of this emblem is uncertain, although the god Shu, who in some myths is Maat's brother, also wears it. Depictions of Maat as a goddess are recorded from as early as the middle of the Old Kingdom (c. 2680 to 2190 BCE).
The sun-god Ra came from the primaeval mound of creation only after he set his daughter Maat in place of isfet (chaos). Kings inherited the duty to ensure Maat remained in place, and they with Ra are said to "live on Maat", with Akhenaten (r. 1372–1355 BCE) in particular emphasising the concept to a degree that the king's contemporaries viewed as intolerance and fanaticism. Some kings incorporated Maat into their names, being referred to as Lords of Maat, or Meri-Maat (Beloved of Maat).
Maat had a central role in the ceremony of the Weighing of the Heart, where the decedent's heart was weighed against her feather.
Public Domain Appearances[]
All published appearances of Maat from before January 1, 1930 are public domain in the US.
Some notable appearances are listed below:
Public Domain Literary Appearances[]
- Pyramid Texts of Unas
- Egyptian Book of the Dead
- Papyrus of Ani
- The Book of the Dead: The Chapters of Coming Forth by Day (1898)
- The Gods of the Egyptians: Studies in Egyptian Mythology. Vol. 1 (1904)