Maat was both a goddess and an abstract idea which governed ancient Egyptian society. As a goddess, she enforced truth, justice and order.
As an ideology, she ensured that the cosmic order that was established at the beginning of creation was maintained.
Discover how these two aspects of Maat helped to maintain law and order in ancient Egyptian society.
Table of Contents
Who Is Maat in Egyptian Mythology?
In Egyptian mythology, Maat, also spelled Ma’at, is a goddess whose duty was to maintain law and order. Her influence reached even into the Underworld where she was heavily involved in judging the dead.
Maat also embodied the concepts of balance, order, truth, morality, law, harmony and justice in ancient Egyptian society. Without Maat, there would be Isfet, which was total chaos and disorder in the universe.
According to ancient Egyptian myth, Maat ordered the stars and the seasons. She also kept the actions of all deities and humans in check and was responsible for establishing order at the beginning of creation. Maat embodied nature and all creation and was linked to the Sun god, Ra.
Her role in ancient Egyptian mythology was central to keeping ancient Egyptian society and the whole universe in order.
The Beginnings
According to one creation myth, before the Sun god Ra emerged from the primeval mound, there was chaos. He restored order by creating his daughter Maat to ward off chaos. Once the order was restored, it was now up to the Pharaohs to maintain it (Maat).
The goddess Maat first appeared in the Old Kingdom, according to existing records obtained from the Pyramid Texts. The Pyramid Texts were the oldest surviving accounts of life in ancient Egypt.
These documents detailed how the people of the Old Kingdom saw Maat as the embodiment of nature and normality. The texts also revealed the role she played in the Afterlife in ensuring justice was served.
During the Old Kingdom, Ma’at was seen as the consort of Thoth, the god of Wisdom. This was not surprising since both deities had similar qualities and roles in the ancient Egyptian pantheon. After the world was created, Maat fought chaos and injustice and prevented it from taking over the world. Later, she went to the Underworld where her feather was essential in determining the fate of the dead.
– The Feather of Maat
The feather of Maat was used in the Egyptian weighing of the heart, which determined how the dead would spend eternity. Osiris, the god of the Underworld, put the heart in the scales of Maat and weighed it against the feather of Maat.
If the scales were equal, it meant the deceased was a righteous person who fulfilled all the principles of Maat. Some myths denoted Maat’s feather as the symbol of truth, justice and harmony.
– Maat and the Pharaohs
Later, Maat became the daughter of Ra, and as the daughter of Ra, she came to be a symbol of the pharaohs. By her principles and laws, the pharaohs ruled Egypt and maintained societal harmony.
In paintings and sculptures, the Pharaohs were shown with a symbol of Maat. This was to emphasize their authority and power as kings of the land. The Egyptians believed that the Pharaohs lived on Maat and dispensed justice in her name.
Her Principles
To maintain social cohesion and balance, the notion of Maat operated on principles designed to create and maintain a harmonious living. The principles of Maat expected the Egyptians to act in ways that would promote unity in the country. These principles became the foundation on which the laws of Maat were established. They were said to embody Maat and any law that he decreed was sacred because it came from her heart.
– What Her Principles Cover
The principles of Maat engulfed all aspects of the individual’s existence, including the environment, society, nation and deity. It taught the individual how to relate in harmony with all these aspects without causing chaos.
The Maat also covered other aspects such as the seasons, the constituents of the heavens, religious rites and equity. The aim of Maat stretched beyond just keeping societal harmony to maintaining equilibrium in the universe.
– Disrupting Maat
Ancient Egyptians had a deep desire to be holy and live in unity with the universe. To achieve that, each individual had to strive to follow strict religious rituals and live an honest life.
They believed any misdeed could interrupt Maat and result in serious consequences both for the individual and the nation. For instance, the ancient Egyptians believed that a king who refused to follow the principles of Maat could cause famine throughout the land.
Also, any individual that spoke or acted against the gods could be struck with blindness. This and many other consequences helped to keep the individual and nation in check. After all, no one wanted to experience the hardships associated with flouting the principles of Maat.
The Seven Principles of Maat
The seven principles which embodied the idea of Maat were balance, order, harmony, truth, justice, righteousness and morality. These principles were not in any order of importance but were supposed to be practiced in unison. The seven principles bound everyone, from royals to servants. Egyptians believed that actions in life had a telling impact in the afterlife, so they made sure to follow these principles.
The Laws of Ma’at
As already discussed, the laws of Maat were based on the principles of Ma’at. Just like the principles, the laws governed all the aspects of life of the ancient Egyptians. Unfortunately, there are only a few sources that give insight into the practice of Egyptian law. However, the Laws of Maat concerned themselves with carrying out justice in truth and fairness rather than penning down long legalistic documents.
The laws were enacted to maintain Maat and to keep the evil forces of chaos from disrupting the cosmic order. By the Fifth Dynasty, the Egyptians gave the title Priest of Maat to the official in charge of dispensing justice.
As time went on, the judges in the courts wore the emblem of Maat to indicate their power and authority. They delivered justice on behalf of Maat and made sure they were truthful, honest and fair.
– The Sebayt
Later, the Egyptians added certain ideas and concepts, known as Sebayt, to the laws. The Sebayt was a collection of wise sayings and instructions which governed social and professional conduct. The Egyptians practiced the wise sayings and teachings in light of the laws of Ma’at. The Sebayt were very pragmatic and relatable, so it was better to quote and apply them.
– The Era of the Greeks
When the Greeks conquered and ruled Egypt, they didn’t dispose of the laws and principles of Maat. Rather, they introduced Greek law alongside Egyptian law based on Maat.
The Egyptian law upheld the rights of women, including ownership of properties. This influenced the Greeks and Romans, who were more conservative when it came to women’s rights.
The Depictions of the Goddess
The Egyptian god of justice was depicted as a young woman with wings or a young woman wearing an ostrich feather. Sometimes, she spread the wings out horizontally or held the wings on one side. She is shown either in a sitting or a standing position, and some sculptures showed her holding the ankh of life in one hand and the papyrus staff in the other.
She was sometimes depicted holding the Was scepter instead of the papyrus staff. As was common with most of the ancient Egyptian deities, her skin was painted gold. She wore a red dress with white or red straps over her shoulders, and her neck was adorned with the colorful aegis symbol. The ostrich feather on her head was held in place by a red headband.
Her symbols were the scales of justice and the ostrich feather, which were essential in assessing the soul of the dead. Other actors in judging the dead included Anubis, Osiris and the 42 Assessors of Maat.
The Meanings of the Symbols
Scholars are not certain of the meaning of the image of Ma’at with two wings. According to some, the two wings represent that of a vulture. The ancient Egyptians considered these birds as sacred and regarded them as symbols of the Pharaohs. Some scholars also believe that the wings were a symbol of safety, as in the case of Isis.
Since Ma’at was the protector of order in the universe, it was only appropriate to depict her with outstretched wings. The ankh was a symbol for life and represented Maat’s role in the afterlife. The Was scepter indicated the power she had in dispensing justice, while her gold skin was a symbol of her status as a deity.
The ostrich feather signified her judgment of the dead. As mentioned already, the weight of the heart against Maat’s feather determined how the deceased would spend eternity. The ostrich feather also represented truth. It was placed on the scales of justice and compared to the heart of the deceased.
Her Family and Temples
Maat was the wife to the god of Wisdom, Thoth, with whom she shared various characteristics. The two deities served as parents to the goddess Seshat, goddess of wisdom and literature. Other myths named Seshat as the consort of Thoth but maintained Maat as his wife. The father of Maat was Ra and her mother was Hathor, the goddess of the sky.
The temple of Maat was built in the New Kingdom, despite the prominence of the goddess since the Old Kingdom. It was located at Karnak Temple Complex in Karnak, Luxor. The temple was constructed by Amenhotep the Great, pharaoh of Egypt from 1386 to 1349 BC. Some of her temples were in Memphis and the village of Deir-el-Medina.
– Afterlife
The ancient Egyptians believed that once a person died, their soul traveled to the underworld known as Duat. In the Duat, the heart of the deceased is placed in the scales of Maat and weighed against the feather of Maat.
Hearts were buried with the deceased according to ancient Egyptian funerary customs so that they could be weighed during judgment. The Egyptians believed that the heart was an integral part of the soul.
– The Feather of Maat
The feather was a symbolic representation of the concept of Maat. Thus, for a soul to enjoy the afterlife, they must have fulfilled all the concepts of Maat. If all the concepts of Maat were obeyed, the heart of the deceased would be less heavy. The weighing of the heart was conducted in The Hall of Two Truths.
– The Judgment
The souls with the less heavy hearts were allowed to pass on to transition to Aaru, the heavenly paradise in ancient Egyptian mythology. If the heart was heavier than the feather of Maat, it was consumed by the demon goddess, Ammit. The soul was condemned to spend eternity in the Duat. Anubis, the god of the dead, was the overseer of the whole weighing of the heart ceremony.
Many tomb scenes depicted the weighing of the heart ritual with Anubis watching the ceremony and Ammit eagerly waiting to devour the offenders. The scenes also feature the scales of Maat with Maat’s feather on one side and an upright heart on the other. These depictions showed the various roles of Anubis and Maat in the afterlife.
– Other Mythologies
According to some mythologies, Anubis presented the hearts to Osiris, the god of the Underworld. Osiris then weighed the heart against the feather of Maat while the soul chanted the 42 Negative Confessions. These were individual confessions made by the deceased to declare their innocence and conformity with the principles of Maat.
The 42 Confessions of Maat
While the soul chanted the 42 negative confessions, a group of judges known as the 42 Assessors of Maat looked on. The 42 Assessors of Maat were 42 deities who helped Osiris to determine the fate of the dead. The 42 negative confessions, also known as the 42 confessions of Maat, were linked to each of the 42 Assessors of Maat, with each deity judging each negative confession. The soul recited each confession to prevent the Assessors from condemning the soul.
Each of the 42 judges wore the feather of Maat as a symbol of justice, truth, morality and fairness. The whole confession process centered around the soul, declaring itself innocent of all the 42 offenses against the principles of Maat. Right after the confessions, the weight of the heart was determined.
– Egyptian Funerary Texts
The Egyptian funerary texts were inscriptions that were buried with the dead to prepare them for the afterlife. The inscriptions were mostly written to suit the individual deceased persons. They expressed the life of the deceased and their morality in accordance with Maat, and the texts also expressed the innocence of the deceased in offenses against Maat.
One of the most popular funerary texts, called the Papyrus of Ani, was featured in The Book of Coming Forth by Day, popularly referred to as the Book of the Dead. The Papyrus of Ani, compiled by Priest Ani, featured the 42 Negative Confessions which sought to establish his righteous acts. The texts also absolved the priest of all sins against Maat. The Book of the Dead was a guide for the soul of the departed in the next stage.
The Discovery of the Papyrus of Ani
The Papyrus of Ani was compiled in 1250 BC and was discovered in 1888 by an Egyptologist from England named E.A. Wallis Budge. Due to its importance in understanding ancient Egyptian culture, Budge smuggled it out of Egypt to study it. With the help of the book, Egyptologists were able to understand the culture of the ancient Egyptians.
Summary
In this article, we discovered the laws, principles and roles of the deity Maat and how she influenced ancient Egyptian society. Here’s a recap of what we’ve read so far:
- Maat was both an idea and a deity that was responsible for order in ancient Egypt.
- As a goddess, she was created by Ra to ward off chaos and to bring order to the universe.
- Her mother was Hathor and her husband was Thoth, with whom she gave birth to the goddess Seshat.
- The Egyptians depicted her as a young woman with the wings of a vulture representing her protective abilities and an ostrich feather.
- As an idea, Maat served as the basis upon which ancient Egyptian laws operated.
- Her feather was weighed against the heart of a deceased person to determine where the soul would spend eternity.
- The Egyptians also used funerary texts that contained the 42 negative confessions to aid their judgment in the afterlife.
- The righteous who passed judgment were allowed to enjoy eternity in paradise while those who failed were consumed by the demon Ammit.
- When the Greeks conquered and ruled Egypt, they didn’t dispose of the laws and principles of Maat. Rather, they introduced Greek law alongside Egyptian law based on Maat.
The principles are still relevant today as they help to establish order even in the modern world.
