Egyptian Pantheon
Ma'at
Also known as Mayet
- truth
- justice
- harmony
- order
- balance
Goddess embodying truth, justice, and cosmic order. Her feather is weighed against the hearts of the dead in judgment.
About Ma'at
Cosmic Order
Ma'at is not just a goddess but the fundamental concept of truth, balance, order, law, morality, and justice. Without Ma'at, the universe would crumble into chaos.
The Feather of Truth
She is depicted with an ostrich feather on her head. This is the very feather against which the hearts of the dead are weighed in the afterlife.
Across traditions
Parallel figures
Figures who play a role like Ma'at's in other traditions.
MesopotamianShamashIllustrationBoth personify truth, justice, and the correct cosmic/social order that must be maintained
Compare Ma'at and Shamash side by side
Worship and cult
Temples, festivals, and practices recorded for Ma'at
Truth as a goddess you present, not a pilgrimage. The king lifts a small Maat figure to the gods each day. Judges wear her. Cult is the act of keeping the world from tipping, repeated in every sanctuary.
Sacred sites
- No great independent temple; a chapel in major houses and the vizier's hall
Festivals
- Daily offering of Maat by the king
Sources and further reading
Source notes
These references are recorded in the catalog. Their passage wording and translation have not been checked, so quotations are not displayed here.
- The Book of the Dead, Chapter CXXV (trans. Budge)
Appears in
Ancient and classical works featuring this figure.
Goddess of cosmic order whose white ostrich feather is the standard against which the heart is weighed (Spell 125)
About this entry
By Elizabeth Stein for Mythos Atlas. About the author. Editorial notes are grounded in the site's cited sources and can be challenged through the contact page.
Parallels are editorial comparisons across traditions: a shared role does not, by itself, establish a shared origin.
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Genealogy
Family tree
Ma'at's parents, consorts, children and rivals, as recorded in the atlas.