Ma’at - Ancient Egyptian Goddess of Truth, Justice and Balance
Ma’at was depicted as a woman with an ostrich feather on her head.
Illustration by Christa Galloway
Ma'at was both a goddess and an idea.
To the Ancient Egyptians, Ma'at represented order, justice, and harmony. Her name means "that which is straight."
She was the daughter of Ra. In Egyptian mythology, Ma'at was a daughter of Ra, the sun god, and the wife of Thoth, the god of wisdom and writing.
Her feather was used to weigh hearts.
During the afterlife judgment, she helped judge people who had died by participating in the Weighing of the Heart ceremony in the underworld. Osiris weighed a dead person's heart against Ma'at's white feather of truth on golden scales. If the heart was lighter than the feather, the person went to paradise called the Field of Reeds.
Her symbol was an ostrich feather. She was depicted as a woman with an ostrich feather on her head, sometimes with wings. Sometimes she was just pictured as the ostrich feather itself.
Ma'at helped keep the world balanced. Egyptians believed Ma'at kept order in the universe and prevented chaos from taking over the world through her power of truth and justice.
Can you find a hieroglyph in the shape of the feather of Ma’at in the photo below?
Obelisk at Karnak - photo by Christa Galloway
