home Diagnosis and diseases Goddess of truth, justice and order. See what "Maat" is in other dictionaries

Goddess of truth, justice and order. See what "Maat" is in other dictionaries

- (m; t), in Egyptian mythology, the goddess of truth and order, was considered the wife of the god of wisdom Tog. She was depicted as a woman sitting on the ground, with her knees pressed to her body. Symbol M. ostrich feather attached to the head (hieroglyph “maat” ostrich ... ... Encyclopedia of Mythology

Maat- and Thoth in the form of an ibis. VII VI centuries BC e. Maat and Thoth in the form of an ibis. VII VI centuries BC e. Maat in the myths of the ancient Egyptians is the goddess of truth () and order. She was the wife of the god of wisdom Thoth. She was depicted as a woman sitting on the ground, with... ... pressed to her body. encyclopedic Dictionary"The World History"

Maat- in the myths of the ancient Egyptians, the goddess of truth (truth) and order. She was the wife of the god of wisdom Thoth. She was depicted as a woman sitting on the ground, with her knees pressed to her body. The symbol of Maat is an ostrich feather attached to the head. She was considered the daughter of the god Ra... Historical Dictionary

Maat- in Egyptian mythology, the goddess is the personification of world order and truth. She was revered as the daughter and eye of the god Ra, and participated with him in the creation of the world from chaos. Wife of the god Thoth. In the afterlife court of Osiris, when weighing the heart of the deceased on the scales... ... Political science. Dictionary.

MAAT- in Egyptian mythology, the goddess is the personification of world order and truth. She was revered as the daughter and eye of the god Ra, and participated with him in the creation of the world from chaos. In the afterlife court of Osiris, when weighing the heart of the deceased, a figurine of Maat was placed on the scales... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

Maat- and Thoth in the form of an ibis. VI-VII centuries BC e. Ma'at, in ancient Egyptian religion and mythology, the goddess of truth (righteousness) and order, was considered the wife of the god of wisdom. She was depicted as a woman sitting on the ground, with her knees pressed to her body. Symbol… … Encyclopedic reference book "Africa"

MAAT- (Dutch and Lower German maat). Comrade, assistant on a ship, e.g. boatswain. Dictionary of foreign words included in the Russian language. Chudinov A.N., 1910. MAAT goal. and Lower German. maat. Comrade, assistant on a ship, for example, boatman. Explanation... ... Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language

maat- noun, number of synonyms: 3 goddess (346) volcano (118) assistant (99) ASIS synonym dictionary. IN … Synonym dictionary

Maat- in ancient Egyptian mythology, the goddess of truth and order. * * * MAAT MAAT, in Egyptian mythology, the goddess is the personification of world order and truth. She was revered as the daughter and eye of the god Ra (see RA (in mythology)), participated with him in the creation of the world from chaos... encyclopedic Dictionary

Maat- to Egypt. myth. the goddess of truth and order, was considered the wife of the god of wisdom Thoth. Image a woman sitting on the ground with her knees pressed to her body. Symbol M. ostrich feather, attached. on the head (the hieroglyph “maat” is an ostrich feather). Big role … Ancient world. encyclopedic Dictionary

Books

Real numerology. There are no coincidences. Name number. Secrets of numerology. A new look at numbers. Applied numerology, yoga and meditation. Love numerology. Are you right for each other? (set of 4 books), Yulia Granovskaya, Shirley B. Lawrence, Maat Barlow, Margaret Arnold. More detailed information You can find out about the books included in the set by following the links: "Real numerology. There are no coincidences" "Name number. Secrets of numerology" "New... Buy for 1123 RUR
Numerology is the path of self-knowledge. A new look at numbers. The Mysterious Science of Numerology (3-Book Set), Shirley B. Lawrence, Maat Barlow. You can find out more detailed information about the books included in the set by following the links: "Numerology - the path of self-knowledge. A guide for beginners." "Mysterious science...

Maat

Maat(Ammaat) is an ancient Egyptian goddess personifying truth, justice, universal harmony, divine establishment and ethical standard. Ma'at was depicted as a seated woman with an ostrich feather on her head, sometimes winged; could also be depicted only through her attribute - a feather or a flat sandy primordial hill with one side beveled, on which she often sits, and which can be depicted under the feet and thrones of many other gods. She was the wife of the god of wisdom.

At the cosmic level, Maat symbolized the great divine order and law given to the universe by God the Creator during the creation of the world, according to which the seasons change, stars and planets move in the heavens, gods and people exist and interact. The idea of Ma'at is the axis of all the ancient Egyptians' ideas about the universe and the ethical foundations of their worldview. According to tradition, like other gods, the winged Maat in primordial times was among people, whose sinful nature forced her to follow her father to heaven.

The principle of Maat includes both the correctness and regularity of the development of the universe, and the cohesion of society, and also, most importantly, the responsibility of the king and the mere mortal for their actions. Installed by God on earth, the king supports Maat and through rituals, victorious wars and personal piety destroys Isefet - lies, chaos, destruction. By bringing the figurine of Maat, the daughter of the sun crowned with an ostrich feather, to the face of the deity during daily worship in the temple, the king again, from a specific ruler, became the embodiment of the very principle of royalty, accumulating the experience of numerous ancestors and creating the basis for the life of his successors.

The figurine of Maat embodied the principle of local harmony, the king thereby restores cosmic harmony, for “the heart of the goddess Maat loved him, and she ascends to the gods in eternity,” reuniting the local and universal world order, heaven and earth, proclaiming a new triumph of order in the universe over primordial chaos. In addition, the goddess was associated with the effectiveness of the spoken word; Thus, the Book of the Cow mentions that the figure of the goddess of truth, Maat, was to be inscribed on the tongue of the speaker of this sacred text. Despite the fact that images of Maat were preserved in almost all Egyptian temples, only a few small sanctuaries were dedicated to her cult, one of which was located near the sanctuary of Montu in Karnak, and the other on the western bank of the Nile in Thebes - in Deir el-Medina.

The cult of Maat has been attested since the era of the Old Kingdom; in the New Kingdom the goddess was revered as the daughter of the solar deity. Even Akhenaten, whose foundations of religious reform were later considered to be the opposite of Maat, is called "living according to Maat" in the early texts of the tomb of the vizier Ramose at Thebes. The sacred insect Maat is a bee, the material dedicated to the goddess and her solar father is wax.

The title "priest of Maat" was borne by the chati - the great vizier, who was also the supreme judge and wore a golden image of the goddess on his chest as a sign of his special status. Ma'at is one of the most important characters in the Psychostasia, or afterlife judgment, during which her figurine or emblem - an ostrich feather - is a counterweight to the heart of the deceased on the great scales installed before the throne of Osiris; in addition, her image is often crowned with the scales themselves. Even the hall itself, in which the measure of the sins of the heart of the deceased was determined, was called the “Chamber of Two Truths (Maati).”

Many rituals were aimed at maintaining Maat, images of which were preserved on the walls of the sanctuaries: from images of the king beating foreigners with a mace and thereby establishing world order, to reliefs in which the pharaoh, together with the gods, hunts with a net for swamp birds, screaming flying out of the thickets reed The wading birds in this case symbolize the enemies of God; Having caught the birds of chaos, the king sacrifices them to the gods, affirming Maat.

The name of the goddess was included in big number theophoric names, popular in all eras of the ancient Egyptian civilization. Many royal ceremonial inscriptions speak of the establishment or restoration of Ma'at as highest good, perfect by the king:

“I re-erected the destroyed monuments in eternity and infinity, destroyed lies throughout the country. I established the Truth and made lies an abomination for the earth, just as it was at the beginning of time...”

from the text of Tutankhamun's "Restoration Stele"

In the ancient Egyptian mythological system, the Feather of the goddess Maat is not just a sacred symbol, it is a whole image that embodies the goddess of the same name. That is why the Feather of Maat, its semantics and genesis, cannot be considered in isolation from Maat herself, who in Ancient Egypt was revered as the goddess of truth. Moreover, in early myths (for example, in the so-called “Sarcophagi Texts”) Maat appears as the daughter of the creator god Atum. Later (after the XVIII dynasty) there are references to the fact that Maat is the daughter of Ra, who heads the Heliopolis Ennead of gods, being the first and greatest patron of Egypt.

The feather of the goddess Maat appears in many sources, in particular in the Pyramid Texts, as well as in the Egyptian Book of the Dead. The Feather of Maat is mentioned in connection with one of the most important episodes in the entire mythological system Ancient Egypt- posthumous judgment of the soul. According to the religious and ethical ideas of the ancient Egyptians, after the death of the mortal shell (Khat), a person underwent a series of tests, the main of which was a visit to the “Chamber of Two Truths” (with Egyptian language its name can be transcribed as "maati"). In this palace, Osiris judged the human soul through the scales of Maat (in many images, these scales are crowned with a figurine of the goddess). Anubis placed the human heart on one scale, and on the other - the Feather of the goddess Maat, the measure of all truths, a symbol of order and harmony. If the Feather of Maat turned out to be lighter and the heart sank, then the person’s soul died completely, being fed to the black serpent of chaos Apep (aka Ammat). If the weight of the heart turned out to be less weight The feather of the goddess Maat, or the cups occupied an equilibrium position, Osiris proclaimed the soul “faithful in voice.” This turn means that, among other things, in the “Chamber of Two Truths” the human soul had to read a number of spells, which stated that this soul had not sinned against people and gods and had not committed sinful, ungodly acts.

The feather of Maat is often found on numerous images inside the pyramids and even on sarcophagi. The feather is usually placed on the headdress (crown) of the goddess and is assumed to be an ostrich feather. However, it is unclear why we're talking about specifically about the ostrich feather, because the sacred animal of Maat is the bee, its material is wax, and its symbol (along with the Feather of Maat itself) is a wax candle, an image of the unfading fire of divine truth. One way or another, for the ancient Egyptians, the Feather of the goddess Maat was a very obvious allegory of sincerity and purity, harmony and light, to which any soul should strive in the process of earthly life. At the trial of Osiris in the “Chamber of the Two Truths” it was possible to lie to the gods, but it was impossible to deceive the Feather of Maat. To some extent, this is an image of the highest authority, the limit of truth, beyond which there is only boundless nothingness that existed before the beginning of time.

Maat - goddess of justice

Maat (Ammaat) is an ancient Egyptian goddess who personifies truth, justice, universal harmony, divine institution and ethical norms. Ma'at was depicted as a seated woman with an ostrich feather on her head, sometimes winged; could also be depicted only through her attribute - a feather or a flat sandy primordial hill with one side beveled, on which she often sits, and which can be depicted under the feet and thrones of many other gods. The most famous relief dedicated to this goddess is in the tomb of Ramses XI. It depicts the pharaoh himself, dressed in royal robes, with a headdress decorated with Uraeus (a snake that was a symbol of wisdom and initiation among the Egyptians). Ramses XI is depicted bowing to the great goddess of Justice with his palms outstretched to her. The goddess Maat is dressed in long dress, with the scepter of eternal youth in his hands. The ostrich feather that once adorned the goddess's hairstyle, unfortunately, has not survived to this day.

The ancient Egyptian goddess of truth and justice Maat took part in the judgment of the souls of the dead. She always had an ostrich feather with her. The heart of the deceased was placed on one scale, and the feather of Maat on the other, so the judges could see whether the heart was heavy with sins or not. If the sins outweighed the feather of Maat, then the heart was sent to be devoured by the monster Ammat. If a person lived his life with “Maat in his heart,” that is, he was kind and fair, he became a spirit and went to the gods. The scales were held by the god Anubis, and the decision of the court was recorded by the god Thoth, the husband of Maat. The goddess never parted with the feather; it was stuck in her hair.

There are few mythological stories involving the Goddess of Justice, due to the fact that she is mostly abstract, unlike other Egyptian gods. Maat is more represented in the form of moral and legal norms, ethical laws and religious signs, according to which the pharaoh is obliged to rule Egypt, and the subjects are obliged to live.
But, despite this, the entire ancient Egyptian society is permeated with the spirit of Maat. The Egyptians believed that people live because of Maat, in Maat and for Maat. And the goddess herself is one of the most interesting personalities in the entire pantheon of Egyptian gods.
Today, despite the fact that many centuries have passed since the existence of the ancient Egyptian civilization, Maat is still reflected in our lives. Her image formed the basis of the goddess of justice Themis, whose symbols are also scales. And its principles form the basis of the 12 commandments of Christianity.

He placed an unbearable burden on the shoulders of his fragile daughter - Maat, as one of the senior deities, is obliged to monitor order and justice in Egypt. However, judging by mythology, the wise girl easily coped with the tasks assigned. The goddess of truth managed to administer justice, punish violators, and also give advice to priests and pharaohs.

History of creation

The cult dedicated to Ma'at began around 2700 BC, during the Old Kingdom. Due to the unprecedented speed of the spread of the goddess’s influence, it is impossible to establish exactly where the worship of the “lady of gods and goddesses” originated.

It is known for certain that, despite the popularity of the image, only two personal temples were installed for the beauty: in Deir el-Medina on the west bank of the Nile in Thebes and not far from the sanctuary of Montu in Karnak. It is worth mentioning that the image of Maat is found in sanctuaries glorifying other gods of Ancient Egypt.

If in the original version Maat existed in people’s beliefs as an abstract phenomenon, then by the beginning of the New Kingdom the goddess of truth started a family, acquired an established appearance and expanded her range of responsibilities.

Now the girl was depicted sitting on a raised platform. The goddess kept her back straight, dressed in a red dress and was often decorated with powerful wings. In her hands Maat held a scepter and ankh, symbolizing eternal life and eternal reign.

Myths and legends

Maat owes her own birth to the supreme deity Ra. Nothing is known about the mother of the goddess of justice. At the same time as Maat, the girl’s brother, the god Nun, was born. Both babies were born to help Ra create the world as the ancient Egyptians knew it.

Maat's first creation was the seasons, which the girl later divided into months and days. The goddess transferred the responsibility of ensuring that the temporary balance is maintained to the Moon. Supreme Ra, who watched own daughter, nicknamed Maat “the eye of Ra” and entrusted the girl with the responsibility of monitoring truth, laws and order.

The yellow-skinned beauty traveled with her beloved father in a chariot and closely observed the behavior of mere mortals and pharaohs. Often the sky crew stopped at the territory the afterlife, where rules .

The girl attended court hearings in which the fate of dead Egyptians was decided. Special attention the goddess of justice gave to the pharaohs. The daughter of Ra placed the heart of the defendant on the scales of Anubis. On another bowl, Maat placed an ostrich feather, which she always wore in her hair as a symbol of power and justice. If the heart outweighed the feather, then the defendant received a chance to be reborn in a new body. If the feather turned out to be heavier, then the person’s heart was given to the monster Ammut to be devoured.

Soon after the start of her reign, Maat tied the knot with Thoth, the god of wisdom and knowledge. The divine spouses spent a lot of time together. Quite quickly the couple acquired offspring. Maat and Thoth became the parents of eight children, the so-called main gods of Hermopolis.

Even after becoming a mother, Maat did not abandon her sacred duties. The goddess, together with her husband, decided the fate of people, kept the chronicle of the pharaohs and helped her father drive the heavenly chariot. However, sometimes Maat's decisions plunged the pharaohs and the inhabitants of Egypt into shock and awe. So it was with the great ruler Menkaure.

The pharaoh came to rule after the tyrant Khufu. With the advent of a new ruler, the abandoned lands of Egypt flourished. But soon Menkaura saw a dream in which the gods conveyed a simple thought to the pharaoh - the man had 6 years to live.

Puzzled by the news he received, the pharaoh turned to the priests of Maat with a request to clarify what the ruler was guilty of. After all, the previous pharaoh, distinguished by his stinginess, lived to old age. Ma'at answered the man's prayer. Menkaura simply did not recognize the message of the gods. The city where the hero ruled must suffer. And the newly-minted ruler violated the will of the gods, for which he paid.

In response to Maat's reproaches, Menkaure ordered bonfires to be lit at night and feasts to be held. So Pharaoh increased the period own life for another 6 years. Maat did not punish the cunning ruler for her ingenuity.

In the anime "Fun of the Gods" Maat is the middle name of the lord of the dead, who is close friends with Thoth.

The inhabitants of Ancient Egypt believed that the three goddesses - Maat and Hathor - represented the basis of the existence of all earthly things. Later, the cults of the three characters merged into a single whole, united by the name Hathor.
The priests of Maat wore on their chests the image of the goddess, cast from pure gold. The beauty's main admirers were the pharaohs and representatives of the judicial system.
During the weighing of the heart, Maat forced the defendants to pronounce a “confession of denial,” which contained 42 theses confirming the purity of a person’s thoughts.