Maat, "'Mayet'", "'Maae't'" or ma'at, also spelled māt or mayet, was the ancient Egyptian
concept of truth, balance, order, law, morality, and justice. Maat was also personified as
a goddess regulating the stars, seasons, and the actions of both mortals and the deities,
who set the order of the universe from chaos at the moment of creation. Her ideological
counterpart was Isfet. 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, the earliest substantial surviving examples being found in the Pyramid
Texts of Unas. Later, as a goddess in other traditions of
the Egyptian pantheon, where most goddesses were paired with a male aspect, her masculine
counterpart was Thoth and their attributes are the similar. After the rise of Ra they
were depicted together in the Solar Barque. 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 Egyptian mythology dealt with the weighing of souls that took
place in the underworld, Duat. Her feather was the measure that determined whether the
souls of the departed would reach the paradise of afterlife successfully.
Pharaohs are often depicted with the emblems of Maat to emphasise their role in upholding
the laws of the Creator.
Maat 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 manners that involve family, the community, the nation, the environment, and god.
Maat as a principle was formed to meet the complex needs of the emergent Egyptian state
that embraced diverse peoples with conflicting interests. 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.
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 or blasphemy blindness to an individual. In opposition
to the right order expressed in the concept of Maat is the concept of Isfet: chaos, lies
and violence. 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 social justice. In one Middle Kingdom 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".
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 Ma'at as follows: Ma'at is good and its worth is lasting. It
has not been disturbed since the day of its creator, whereas he who
transgresses its ordi- nances 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. Maat and 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 5th dynasty onwards the Vizier responsible for justice was called
the Priest of Maat and in later periods judges wore images of Maat.
Later scholars and philosophers also would embody concepts from the wisdom literature,
or Sebayt. 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 that few specific and general rules could be derived
from them. 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. When
the Romans took control of Egypt, the Roman legal system which existed throughout the
Roman Empire was imposed in Egypt. Maat and scribes
Scribes held prestigious positions in ancient Egyptian society in view of their importance
in the transmission of religious, political and commercial information.
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". 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. The exhortations to live according to Maat are such that these kinds
of instructional texts have been described as "Maat Literature".
Maat as a Goddess Maat was the goddess of harmony, justice,
and truth represented as a young woman, sitting or standing, holding a was scepter, the symbol
of power, in one hand and an ankh, the symbol of eternal life, in the other. 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. The sun-god Ra came from the primaeval mound
of creation only after he set his daughter Maat in place of Isfet. Kings inherited the
duty to ensure Maat remained in place and they with Ra are said to "live on Maat", with
Akhenaten in particular emphasising the concept to a degree that, John D. Ray asserts, the
kings contemporaries viewed as intolerance and fanaticism. Some kings incorporated Maat
into their names, being referred to as Lords of Maat, or Meri-Maat. When beliefs about
Thoth arose in the Egyptian pantheon and started to consume the earlier beliefs at Hermopolis
about the Ogdoad, it was said that she was the mother of the Ogdoad and Thoth the father.
Maat had an invaluable role in the ceremony of the Weighing of the Heart..
Temples of Maat The earliest evidence for a dedicated temple
is in the New Kingdom 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. 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. Maat and the Afterlife
See also "True of Voice" 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 Ma'at", 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 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. 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 the lioness 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 watched on. Maat in Funerary Texts
Egyptians were often entombed with funerary texts in order to be well equipped for the
afterlife as mandated by Egyptian burial customs. 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. The
lines of these texts are often collectively called the "Forty-Two Declarations of Purity".
These declarations varied somewhat from tomb to tomb as they were tailored to the individual,
and so cannot be considered a canonical definition of Maat. Rather, they appear to express each
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. 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.
42 Negative Confessions I have not committed sin.
I have not committed robbery with violence. I have not stolen.
I have not slain men and women. I have not stolen grain.
I have not purloined offerings. I have not stolen the property of the gods.
I have not uttered lies. I have not carried away food.
I have not uttered curses. I have not committed adultery, I have not
lain with men. I have made none to weep.
I have not eaten the heart [i.e., I have not grieved uselessly, or felt remorse].
I have not attacked any man. I am not a man of deceit.
I have not stolen cultivated land. I have not been an eavesdropper.
I have slandered [no man]. I have not been angry without just cause.
I have not debauched the wife of any man. I have not debauched the wife of [any] man..
I have not polluted myself. I have terrorized none.
I have not transgressed [the Law]. I have not been wroth.
I have not shut my ears to the words of truth. I have not blasphemed.
I am not a man of violence. I am not a stirrer up of strife.
I have not acted with undue haste. I have not pried into matters.
I have not multiplied my words in speaking. I have wronged none, I have done no evil.
I have not worked witchcraft against the King. I have never stopped [the flow of] water.
I have never raised my voice. I have not cursed God.
I have not acted with evil rage. I have not stolen the bread of the gods.
I have not carried away the khenfu cakes from the spirits of the dead.
I have not snatched away the bread of the child, nor treated with contempt the god of
my city. I have not slain the cattle belonging to the
god. Assessors of Maat
"The Assessors of Maat" are the 42 deities listed in the Papyrus of Nebseni, to whom
the deceased make the Negative Confession in the Papyrus of Ani. 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.
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. Notes
References Black, James Roger. "The Instruction of Amenemope:
A Critical Edition and Commentary--Prolegomenon and Prologue", Dissertation University of
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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 Books America, 2004.
Strudwick, Helen. The Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt. Singapore: De Agostini UK, 2006.
Journey through the afterlife, Ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead edited by John H. Taylor