A common symbol associated with her is an ostrich feather, which she is almost always shown as wearing in her hair. Her statue was a stone platform depicting a stable foundation on which order was built. In other instances she is seen holding a scepter in one hand and an ankh (the symbol of life) in the other. Ma'at is usually depicted in the form of a woman seated or standing with outstretched wings attached to both her arms. Together, these two forces brought balance to the world in which they lived and was an important part of everyday Egyptian life.Īncient painting of the Egyptian god Ra and Maat with an ostrich feather in her headdress (Stig Alenas / Adobe Stock) Depictions of Ma’at Ancient Egyptians considered the desert beyond the Nile River to be chaotic whereas, the area close to the Nile was considered orderly. The opposing force of this was known in ancient terms as “isfet” or chaos. She was the one that kept the stars in motion, the seasons changing and the maintaining of the order of Heaven and Earth. The goddesses Ma’at came to represent the concept of balance and order because many Egyptians needed to explain the world around them. This included religion, society and seasonal changes. The Egyptian culture was centered on order, everything had its due place in the world. The earliest writings where she is mentioned date back to the Old Kingdom of Egypt more than 2,300 years ago. She decided whether a person would successfully reach the afterlife, by weighing their soul against her feather of truth, and was the personification of the cosmic order and a representation of the stability of the universe. The daughter of the Egyptian sun deity Ra and wife of the moon god Thoth, she served a kind of spirit of justice to the Egyptians. Maat, also known as Ma’at or Mayet, was a female goddess in the ancient Egyptian religion who represented truth, justice, balance and morality.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |