Egyptian Gods

Ma’at was the Goddess of Truth, Justice and Harmony of ancient goddess of Egyptian Gods. She was the wife or the counterpart of the God of Wisdom, Thoth and their attributes are same. Her name Ma’at means ‘truth’ in Egypt and she represents the ideals of law, order, moral and cosmic order. Mayet is also another name of Ma’at.

Her appearance portrayed as women seated or standing wears an ostrich feather on her head and holding the scepter in one hand and the ankh in the other. She also sometimes depicted as a woman with feather on her head and her arms attached with a pair of wings or just as an ostrich feather on its own without the goddess.

Ma’at was said to be the son of Ra and she was associated with the balance of things on earth. The Egyptians believed that without Ma’at there would be only the Chaos and the world come to the end. Besides her role in cosmic harmony, she also takes part of the major role in the underworld.

In Egyptian Underworld, Ma’at plays an important role in the Hall of Two Truths, where the hearts of the dead ones were judged by weighing one’s heart against the feather of Ma’at. If hearts of the deceased are as “light as a feather” on the scale, they were granted eternal life in the Duat which means the person had led a pure and honest life. The heart that would become out of balance because of failure to follow Ma’at and any hearts heavier or lighter than her feather were rejected and eaten by the goddess Ammit (also known as the Devourer of Souls).

Ma’at was worshipped widely throughout all of Egypt and her temple was build at Karnak. Many pharaohs of New Kingdom took her name into theirs and stated to live according to her rules.