Maat

Maat or Maʽat (Egyptian mꜣꜥt /ˈmuʀʕat/)[1] refers to the ancient

Maat
Egyptian concepts of truth, balance, order, harmony, law,
morality, and justice. Maat was also the goddess who personified Goddess of truth, justice, wisdom,
these concepts, and regulated the stars, seasons, and the actions of the stars, law, morality, order,
mortals and the deities who had brought order from chaos at the harmony, the seasons, and
moment of creation. Her ideological opposite was Isfet (Egyptian cosmic balance
jzft), meaning injustice, chaos, violence or to do evil.

Contents
Pronunciation
History
As a principle
The law
Scribes
As a goddess
Temples
The afterlife
The Weighing of the Heart
In funerary texts
42 Negative Confessions (Papyrus of Ani)
Assessors of Maat
References
Citations
Bibliography
Further reading Maat was both the goddess and the
personification of truth and justice.
Her ostrich feather represents truth.

Pronunciation Major cult All ancient Egyptian

center cities
Cuneiform texts indicate that the word m3ˤt was pronounced
Symbol scales, ostrich
/múʔʕa/ during the New Kingdom of Egypt, having lost the
feather
feminine ending t.[2] Vowel assimilation of u to e later produced
the Coptic word ⲙⲉⲉ/ⲙⲉ "truth, justice".[3] Consort Thoth
Offspring Seshat
History Parents Ra and Hathor

The earliest surviving records indicating that Maat is the norm for nature and society, in this world and
the next, were recorded during the Old Kingdom of Egypt, the earliest substantial surviving examples
being found in the Pyramid Texts of Unas (ca. 2375 BCE and 2345 BCE).[4]
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.[5] 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.

Pharaohs are often depicted with the emblems of Maat to emphasise their role in upholding the laws and
righteousness.[6]

As a principle
Maat represents the ethical and moral principle that every
Egyptian citizen was expected to follow throughout their daily
lives. They were expected to act with honor and truth in matters
that involve family, the community, the nation, the environment,
and the gods.[7]

Maat as a principle was formed to meet the complex needs of the

emergent Egyptian state that embraced diverse peoples with
conflicting interests.[8] The development of such rules sought to
avert chaos and it became the basis of Egyptian law. From an
early period the king would describe himself as the "Lord of
Maat" who decreed with his mouth the Maat he conceived in his
heart.

The significance of Maat developed to the point that it embraced

all aspects of existence, including the basic equilibrium of the
universe, the relationship between constituent parts, the cycle of
the seasons, heavenly movements, religious observations and fair
dealings, honesty, and truthfulness in social interactions.[8]
Winged Maat
The ancient Egyptians had a deep conviction of an underlying
holiness and unity within the universe. Cosmic harmony was
achieved by correct public and ritual life. Any disturbance in cosmic harmony could have consequences
for the individual as well as the state. An impious king could bring about famine, and blasphemy could
bring blindness to an individual.[9] In opposition to the right order expressed in the concept of Maat is the
concept of Isfet: chaos, lies and violence.[10]

In addition to the importance of the Maat, several other principles within ancient Egyptian law were
essential, including an adherence to tradition as opposed to change, the importance of rhetorical skill, and
the significance of achieving impartiality and "righteous action". In one Middle Kingdom (2062 to c.
1664 BCE) text the Creator declares "I made every man like his fellow". Maat called the rich to help the
less fortunate rather than exploit them, echoed in tomb declarations: "I have given bread to the hungry
and clothed the naked" and "I was a husband to the widow and father to the orphan".[11]
To the Egyptian mind, Maat bound all things together in an indestructible unity: the universe, the natural
world, the state, and the individual were all seen as parts of the wider order generated by Maat.

A passage in the Instruction of Ptahhotep presents Maʽat as follows:

Maʽat is good and its worth is lasting.

It has not been disturbed since the day of its creator,
whereas he who transgresses its ordinances is punished.
It lies as a path in front even of him who knows nothing.
Wrongdoing has never yet brought its venture to port.
It is true that evil may gain wealth but the strength of truth is that it lasts;
a man can say: "It was the property of my father."[12]

The law
There is little surviving literature that describes the practice of
ancient Egyptian law. Maat was the spirit in which justice was
applied rather than the detailed legalistic exposition of rules.
Maat represented the normal and basic values that formed the
backdrop for the application of justice that had to be carried out
in the spirit of truth and fairness. From the Fifth Dynasty (c.
2510–2370 BCE) onwards, the vizier responsible for justice was
called the Priest of Maat and in later periods judges wore images
of Maat.[13]

Later scholars and philosophers also would embody concepts

from the Sebayt, a native wisdom literature. These spiritual texts
dealt with common social or professional situations, and how
each was best to be resolved or addressed in the spirit of Maat. It
was very practical advice, and highly case-based, so few specific
and general rules could be derived from them.[14]
Maat wearing feather of truth
During the Greek period in Egyptian history, Greek law existed
alongside Egyptian law. The Egyptian law preserved the rights of
women, who were allowed to act independently of men and own substantial personal property, and in
time, this influenced the more restrictive conventions of the Greeks and Romans.[15] When the Romans
took control of Egypt, the Roman legal system, which existed throughout the Roman Empire, was
imposed in Egypt.

Scribes
Scribes held prestigious positions in ancient Egyptian society in view of their importance in the
transmission of religious, political, and commercial information.[16]

Thoth was the patron of scribes who is described as the one "who reveals Maat and reckons Maat; who
loves Maat and gives Maat to the doer of Maat".[17] In texts such as the Instruction of Amenemope the
scribe is urged to follow the precepts of Maat in his private life as well as his work.[18] The exhortations
to live according to Maat are such that these kinds of instructional texts have been described as "Maat
Literature".[19]
As a goddess
Maat was the goddess of harmony, justice, and truth represented as a young
woman.[22] Sometimes she is depicted with wings on each arm or as a woman
with an ostrich feather on her head.[21] The meaning of this emblem is
uncertain, although the god Shu, who in some myths is Maat's brother, also
or
wears it.[23] Depictions of Maat as a goddess are recorded from as early as the
middle of the Old Kingdom (c. 2680 to 2190 BCE).[24]
or
The sun-god Ra came from the primaeval mound of creation only after he set
or
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
or
Akhenaten (r. 1372–1355 BCE) in particular emphasising the concept to a
degree that, John D. Ray asserts, the king’s contemporaries viewed as
or
intolerance and fanaticism.[25] Some kings incorporated Maat into their names,
being referred to as Lords of Maat,[26] or Meri-Maat (Beloved of Maat).
or
Maat had an invaluable role in the ceremony of the Weighing of the Heart.
(See below: "The Weighing of the Heart").
or

Temples Goddess Maat[20][21]

The earliest evidence for a dedicated temple is in the New Kingdom (c. 1569 to in hieroglyphs
1081 BCE) era, despite the great importance placed on Maat. Amenhotep III
commissioned a temple in the Karnak complex, whilst textual evidence indicates that other temples of
Maat were located in Memphis and at Deir el-Medina.[27] The Maat temple at the Karnak complex was
also used by courts to meet regarding the robberies of the royal tombs during the rule of Ramesses IX.[23]

The afterlife

The Weighing of the Heart

In the Duat, the Egyptian underworld, the hearts of the dead were said to be weighed against her single
"Feather of Maʽat", symbolically representing the concept of Maat, in the Hall of Two Truths. This is why
hearts were left in Egyptian mummies while their other organs were removed, as the heart (called "ib")
was seen as part of the Egyptian soul. If the heart was found to be lighter or equal in weight to the feather
of Maat, the deceased had led a virtuous life and would go on to Aaru. Osiris came to be seen as the
guardian of the gates of Aaru after he became part of the Egyptian pantheon and displaced Anubis in the
Ogdoad tradition. A heart which was unworthy was devoured by the goddess Ammit and its owner
condemned to remain in the Duat.[28]

The weighing of the heart, pictured on papyrus in the Book of the Dead typically, or in tomb scenes,
shows Anubis overseeing the weighing and Ammit seated awaiting the results so she could consume
those who failed. The image would be the vertical heart on one flat surface of the balance scale and the
vertical Shu-feather standing on the other balance scale surface. Other traditions hold that Anubis
brought the soul before the posthumous Osiris who performed the weighing. While the heart was
weighed the deceased recited the 42 Negative Confessions as the Assessors of Maat looked on.[28]
In funerary texts
Egyptians were often entombed with funerary texts in order to be
well equipped for the afterlife as mandated by ancient Egyptian
funerary practices. These often served to guide the deceased
through the afterlife, and the most famous one is the Book of the
Dead or Papyrus of Ani (known to the ancient Egyptians as The
Book of Coming Forth by Day). The lines of these texts are often
collectively called the "Forty-Two Declarations of Purity".[29] Weighing of the Heart Book of the
Dead written on papyrus showing the
These declarations varied somewhat from tomb to tomb as they
Weighing of the Heart in the Duat
were tailored to the individual, and so cannot be considered a using the feather of Maat as the
canonical definition of Maat. Rather, they appear to express each measure in balance
tomb owner's individual practices in life to please Maat, as well
as words of absolution from misdeeds or mistakes, made by the
tomb owner in life could be declared as not having been done, and through the power of the written
word, wipe particular misdeed from the afterlife record of the deceased. Many of the lines are similar,
however, and paint a very unified picture of Maat.[29]

The doctrine of Maat is represented in the declarations to Rekhti-merti-f-ent-Maat and the 42 Negative
Confessions listed in the Papyrus of Ani. The following are translations by E. A. Wallis Budge.[29]

42 Negative Confessions (Papyrus of Ani)

From the Papyrus of Ani.

1. I have not committed sin.

2. I have not committed robbery with violence.
3. I have not stolen.
4. I have not slain men and women.
5. I have not stolen grain.
6. I have not purloined offerings.
7. I have not stolen the property of the gods.
8. I have not uttered lies.
9. I have not carried away food.
10. I have not uttered curses.
11. I have not committed adultery.
12. I have made none to weep.
13. I have not eaten the heart [i.e., I have not grieved uselessly, or felt remorse].
14. I have not attacked any man.
15. I am not a man of deceit.
16. I have not stolen cultivated land.
17. I have not been an eavesdropper.
18. I have slandered [no man].
19. I have not been angry without just cause.
20. I have not debauched the wife of any man.
21. I have not debauched the wife of [any] man. (repeats the previous affirmation but addressed
to a different god).
22. I have not polluted myself.
23. I have terrorized none.
24. I have not transgressed [the Law].
25. I have not been wroth.
26. I have not shut my ears to the words of truth.
27. I have not blasphemed.
28. I am not a man of violence.
29. I am not a stirrer up of strife (or a disturber of the peace).
30. I have not acted (or judged) with undue haste.
31. I have not pried into matters.
32. I have not multiplied my words in speaking.
33. I have wronged none, I have done no evil.
34. I have not worked witchcraft against the King (or blasphemed against the King).
35. I have never stopped [the flow of] water.
36. I have never raised my voice (spoken arrogantly, or in anger).
37. I have not cursed (or blasphemed) God.
38. I have not acted with evil rage.
39. I have not stolen the bread of the gods.
40. I have not carried away the khenfu cakes from the spirits of the dead.
41. I have not snatched away the bread of the child, nor treated with contempt the god of my
city.
42. I have not slain the cattle belonging to the god.[30][31]

Assessors of Maat
The Assessors of Maat are the 42 deities listed in the Papyrus of Nebseni,[32] to whom the deceased
make the Negative Confession in the Papyrus of Ani.[33] They represent the 42 united nomes of Egypt,
and are called "the hidden Maati gods, who feed upon Maat during the years of their lives;" i.e., they are
the righteous minor deities who deserve offerings.[29] As the deceased follows the set formula of
Negative Confessions, he addresses each god directly and mentions the nome of which the god is a
patron, in order to emphasize the unity of the nomes of Egypt.[32]

References

Citations
1. Allen, James P. Middle Egyptian: An Introduction to the Language and Culture of
Hieroglyphs (https://books.google.com/books?id=6KUdBAAAQBAJ&pg=147). Cambridge
University Press. p. 147. ISBN 9781139917094.
2. Allen, James P. (2013-07-11). The Ancient Egyptian Language: An Historical Study (https://
books.google.com/books?id=Gd6aAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA25). Cambridge University Press.
ISBN 9781107032460.
3. "Coptic Dictionary Online" (https://corpling.uis.georgetown.edu/coptic-dictionary/entry.cgi?en
try=756&super=351). corpling.uis.georgetown.edu. Retrieved 2017-03-16.
4. Siegfried Morenz (1973). Egyptian Religion: Siegried Morenz. p. 273. ISBN 978-0-8014-
8029-4.
5. Budge. The Gods of the Egyptians Vol. 1 p. 418.
 6. Henrietta McCall (January 1990). Mesopotamian myths (https://archive.org/details/egyptian
myths00hart). University of Texas Press. p. 46. ISBN 0-292-72076-9.
7. Denise Martin (2008). Maat and order in African Cosmology: A Conceptual Tool for
Understanding Indigenous Knowledge. p. 951.
8. Norman Rufus Colin Cohn (1993). Cosmos, Chaos and the World to Come: The Ancient
Roots of Apocalyptic Faith (https://archive.org/details/cosmoschaosworld00cohn). p. 9.
ISBN 978-0-300-05598-6.
9. John Romer, Testament, pp. 41–42, Guild Publishing, 1988.
10. Religion and Cultural Memory: Ten Studies, Jan Assmann, Translated by Rodney
Livingstone, p. 34, Stanford University Press, 2006, ISBN 0-8047-4523-4.
11. James P. Allen (2000). Middle Egyptian: An Introduction to the Language and Culture of
Hieroglyphs. p. 116. ISBN 978-0-521-77483-3.
12. Frankfort, Henri. Ancient Egyptian Religion. p. 62.
13. Siegfried Morenz (1973). Egyptian Religion: Siegried Morenz. pp. 117–125. ISBN 978-0-
8014-8029-4.
14. Roland Murphy (2012). The Interpretation of Old Testament Wisdom Literature.
15. Anton Powell (1995). The Greek World. Psychology Press. p. 303. ISBN 978-0-415-17042-
0.
16. Black, p. 130
17. Black, p. 131
18. Black, p. 132
19. Black, p. 157
20. Hieroglyphs can be found in (Collier and Manley pp. 27, 29, 154)
21. Budge The Gods of the Egyptians Vol. 1 p. 416
22. Robert A. Armour (2001). Gods and Myths of Ancient Egypt. American University in Cairo
Press. ISBN 978-977-424-669-2.
23. "The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt" Vol. 2 p. 320
24. The Oxford Essential Guide to Egyptian Mythology, Edited by Donald B. Redford, p. 190,
Berkeley, 2003, ISBN 0-425-19096-X
25. Ray, John D. Reflections on Osiris, p. 64, Profile books, 2002, ISBN 186197 490 6; An
inscription of Hatshepsut reads "I have made bright the truth which he [Amun-Re] loved, [I]
know that he liveth by it the truth[Maat]; it is my bread, I eat of its brightness" (Breasted
Records, V2, p. 123)
26. Barry J. Kemp (2005). 100 hieroglyphs: think like an Egyptian. ISBN 1-86207-658-8.
27. The Essential Guide to Egyptian Mythology: The Oxford Guide, p. 190, Berkeley Reference,
2003, ISBN 0-425-19096-X
28. "Death in Ancient Egypt: Weighing the Heart" (https://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/youn
g_explorers/discover/museum_explorer/ancient_egypt/death/weighing_the_heart.aspx).
British Museum. British Museum. Retrieved May 2, 2014.
29. "The Papyrus of Ani" (https://www.africa.upenn.edu/Books/Papyrus_Ani.html).
30. The Book of the Dead. Gramercy. 1995-01-23. pp. 576–582. ISBN 978-0-517-12283-9.
31. Sir Ernest Alfred Wallis Budge (1913). The Papyrus of Ani: A Reproduction in Facsimile,
Edited, with Hieroglyphic Transcript, Translation, and Introduction (https://books.google.co
m/books?id=Pd3fAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA576). Medici Society. pp. 576–582. "Image of p. 576
(https://books.google.com/books?id=Pd3fAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA576&img=1&zoom=3&hl=en&
sig=ACfU3U30DEywqNadiJv2SJKZOFyV-Qd5_g&ci=150%2C660%2C800%2C596&edge=
0) & p. 577 (https://books.google.com/books?id=Pd3fAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA577&img=1&zoom
=3&hl=en&sig=ACfU3U2JFJlW2Meg9p431udj7PoIr8R3Nw&ci=63%2C159%2C769%2C120
4&edge=0) & p. 578 (https://books.google.com/books?id=Pd3fAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA578&img
=1&zoom=3&hl=en&sig=ACfU3U1Jdr9ualNT85zBejA5gaNzWyhu_g&ci=145%2C153%2C8
50%2C1218&edge=0) & p. 579 (https://books.google.com/books?id=Pd3fAAAAMAAJ&pg=
PA579&img=1&zoom=3&hl=en&sig=ACfU3U2Rk6I2S3WZ-VvXhBVX3v3oCyx-pA&ci=30%2
C177%2C820%2C1222&edge=0) & p. 580 (https://books.google.com/books?id=Pd3fAAAA
MAAJ&pg=PA580&img=1&zoom=3&hl=en&sig=ACfU3U1PmV9f9FK7qNm4lRHELMx1r21J
0w&ci=160%2C155%2C820%2C1207&edge=0) & p. 581 (https://books.google.com/books?
id=Pd3fAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA581&img=1&zoom=3&hl=en&sig=ACfU3U2GZFEn330Ow6TUc
wCANdbjK6R7Zw&ci=37%2C168%2C810%2C1212&edge=0) & p. 582 (https://books.googl
e.com/books?id=Pd3fAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA582&img=1&zoom=3&hl=en&sig=ACfU3U1b3Y5
ZqALeLzM2O3ysYLq07Qh-pQ&ci=160%2C169%2C800%2C664&edge=0) at Google
Books"
32. "Papyrus of Nebseni" (https://www.touregypt.net/bod123.htm). Retrieved May 2, 2014.
33. Budge The Gods of the Egyptians Vol. 1 pp. 418–20

Bibliography
Black, James Roger. The Instruction of Amenemope: A Critical Edition and Commentary –
Prolegomenon and Prologue (https://archive.is/20140430002426/https://www.shemtaia.co
m/diss.shtml), Dissertation University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2002
Budge, E. A. Wallis. The Egyptian Book of the Dead: (The Papyrus of Ani) Egyptian Text
Transliteration and Translation. New York: Dover Publications, 1967. Originally published in
1895.
Budge, E. A. Wallis. The Gods of the Egyptians: Studies in Egyptian Mythology – Volume 1.
New York: Dover Publications, 1969. Originally published in 1904.
Collier, Mark and Manly, Bill. How to Read Egyptian Hieroglyphs: Revised Edition. Berkeley:
University of California Press, 1998.
Faulkner, Raymond. The Egyptian Book of the Dead. San Francisco: Chronicle Books,
1994. ISBN 0-8118-6489-8
Mancini, Anna. Maat Revealed: Philosophy of Justice in Ancient Egypt. New York: Buenos
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Strudwick, Helen. (2006). The Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt. Singapore: De Agostini UK.
Journey through the afterlife, Ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead edited by John H. Taylor
(the British Museum Press 2010. London ISBN 0-7141-1989-X)

Further reading
Assmann, Jan (1990). Maʽat: Gerechtigkeit und Unsterblichkeit im Alten Ägypten (in
German). C.H. Beck Verlag. ISBN 3406346677.
Menu, Bernadette (2005). Maât: L'ordre juste du monde (in French). Editions Michalon.
ISBN 2841862836.

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