| In Egyptian
mythology, Maàt was the
goddess, or rather the concept, of
truth, justice and order. Because
it was the pharaoh's duty to ensure
truth and justice, many of them were
referred to as Meri-Maàt (Beloved
of Maàt). Since she was considered
as merely the concept of order and
truth, it was thought that she came
into existence at the moment of creation,
having no creator. When beliefs about
Thoth arose
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. |
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|
In Duat, the Egyptian underworld,
the hearts of the dead were said to be weighed against a single
feather, symbolically representing the concept of Maàt,
in the Hall of Two Truths. A heart which was unworthy was
devoured by Ammit and its owner condemned
to remain in Duat. Those people with
good hearts were sent on to Osiris
in Aaru.
Maàt was depicted in art as a woman with wings and
an ostrich feather on her head or sometimes just as a feather.
These images are on some sarcophogi as a symbol of protection
for the souls of the dead. Egyptians believed that without
Maàt there would be only the primal chaos, ending the
world. It was seen as the Pharoah's necessity to apply just
law.
Gods
and Goddesses Menu
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