|
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.
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
This article is copied from an
article on Wikipedia.org
- the free encyclopedia created and edited by online user
community. Although the vast majority of the wikipedia encyclopedia
articles provide accurate and timely information please do
not assume the accuracy of any particular article. This article
is distributed under the terms of GNU
Free Documentation License.
|
|
 |
| Displaying 1 to 2 (of 2 products) |
Result Pages: 1 |
|
|
