Tag: maat

Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

The Deities Maat and Osiris-Iah

These two 𓏻 bronze π“ˆ”π“€π“ˆ’π“¦ pieces at the Petrie Museum are both such nice representations of Egyptian deities π“ŠΉπ“ŠΉπ“ŠΉ! Bronze π“ˆ”π“€π“ˆ’π“¦ statues 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓀾π“ͺ were popular during the later period of Egyptian history, and there are so many of them for two 𓏻 reasons! The first 𓏃 is that bronze π“ˆ”π“€π“ˆ’π“¦ preserves really well so the pieces aren’t as subject to breakdown and the second is because bronze π“ˆ”π“€π“ˆ’π“¦ pieces were mass produced! Both of these bronze π“ˆ”π“€π“ˆ’π“¦ statues 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓀾π“ͺ are dated to the 26th Dynasty.Β 

Osiris-Iah (left) and Maat (right)

The statue 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓀾 at the forefront of the picture 𓏏𓅱𓏏 is of the goddess π“ŠΉπ“ Maat π“™π“Œ΄π“‚£π“π“¦. Not only was Maat π“™π“Œ΄π“‚£π“π“¦ the goddess π“ŠΉπ“ of truth π“™π“Œ΄π“‚£π“π“†„, fact, law, order and justice π“™π“Œ΄π“‚£π“π“†„π“œ, β€œmaat” was also a concept and a way of life in ancient Egypt π“†Žπ“…“π“π“Š–. Maat π“™π“Œ΄π“‚£π“π“¦ was also the balance and order in the whole universe. Maat π“™π“Œ΄π“‚£π“π“¦ is usually shown as a woman with a feather 𓆄 on her head.Β  Her most important role was in the judgement of the dead 𓅓𓏏𓏱.

Some hieroglyphs π“ŠΉπ“Œƒπ“ͺ fun! The words for β€œMaat π“™π“Œ΄π“‚£π“π“¦,” β€œtruth π“™π“Œ΄π“‚£π“π“†„,” andΒ β€œjustice π“™π“Œ΄π“‚£π“π“†„π“œβ€ are super similar!Β 

The statue 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓀾 in the back of the picture 𓏏𓅱𓏏 is of the combination god π“ŠΉ Osiris-Iah. I know the description says β€œOsiris π“Ήπ“Š¨π“€­,” but the crown on the head of the deity π“ŠΉ, which shows the moon and a crescent underneath, leads me to believe this statue 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓀾 is Osiris-Iah. 

While Iah π“‡‹π“‚π“Ž›π“‡Ή is the god π“ŠΉ of the moon π“‡‹π“‚π“Ž›π“‡Ή, he seems to be the adult version of the god π“ŠΉ Khonsu π“π“ˆ–π“‡“π“…±π“€―(another lunar god π“ŠΉ), and over time seemed to take over the lunar aspect of Thoth 𓅝𓏏𓏭𓀭. So why was Iah π“‡‹π“‚π“Ž›π“‡Ή assimilated with Osiris π“Ήπ“Š¨π“€­? This is most likely due to the monthly lunar cycle, which seems to follow a birth π“„Ÿ – death 𓅓𓏏𓏱 – rebirth π“„Ÿπ“Ώπ“…± cycle. This cycle was the backbone to the Egyptian religion, and was always linked back to Osiris π“Ήπ“Š¨π“€­. 

Some hieroglyphs π“ŠΉπ“Œƒπ“ͺ fun! The words for the name π“‚‹π“ˆ– of the god π“ŠΉ β€œIah” and β€œmoon” are the same – π“‡‹π“‚π“Ž›π“‡Ή!Β 

Categories
Reading Hieroglyphs

“Beloved of Maat”

Let’s read some hieroglyphs π“ŠΉπ“Œƒπ“ͺ!Β 

This inscription π“Ÿπ“›π“₯ is very simple because it contains the shortened variant of both of the words! 

π“ŒΊ – Beloved (π“Œ»π“‚‹π“‡Œ)

𓁧 – Ma’at (π“™π“Œ΄π“‚£π“π“§)

I haven’t spoken about Maat π“™π“Œ΄π“‚£π“π“§ in a while, so let’s learn a bit more about her! So why would a pharaoh 𓉐𓉻 want to be the β€œBeloved of Maat π“ŒΊπ“§?”

Maat π“™π“Œ΄π“‚£π“π“§, the goddess π“ŠΉπ“ of truth π“™π“Œ΄π“‚£π“π“†„, justice π“™π“Œ΄π“‚£π“π“†„π“œ, harmony and was an extremely important goddess π“ŠΉπ“ in the Egyptian pantheon. 

Maat π“™π“Œ΄π“‚£π“π“§ was not only a goddess π“ŠΉπ“ but also a concept in ancient Egypt π“†Žπ“…“π“π“Š– – to live π“‹Ή by Ma’at π“™π“Œ΄π“‚£π“π“§ was to always act truthfully and with good intentions, as opposed to chaotically – which is how the ancient Egyptians viewed other societies at the time. The goddess Maat π“™π“Œ΄π“‚£π“π“§ was the personification of these concepts and of cosmic order. 

Being a β€œBeloved of Maat π“ŒΊπ“§β€ was the pharaoh 𓉐𓉻 taking the place of Maat π“™π“Œ΄π“‚£π“π“§ in the creation myth. When Ra 𓇳𓏺𓁛 emerged from the primeval mound, he set his daughter 𓅭𓏏 Maat π“™π“Œ΄π“‚£π“π“§ in the place of chaos and to keep cosmic order. One of the roles of the pharaoh 𓉐𓉻 was to do the same. 

Maat π“™π“Œ΄π“‚£π“π“§ is always portrayed as having a feather 𓆄𓏺 on her head, whether in reliefs or even in hieroglyphs π“ŠΉπ“Œƒπ“ͺ! You can always tell that an image 𓏏𓅱𓏏 is of Maat π“™π“Œ΄π“‚£π“π“§ by looking for the feather 𓆄𓏺! 

Maat’s π“™π“Œ΄π“‚£π“π“§ most important role was in the judgement of the dead 𓅓𓏏𓏱.  The god π“ŠΉ Anubis π“‡‹π“ˆ–π“Šͺ𓅱𓁒 would weigh the heart 𓇋𓃀𓄣 of the deceased against Maat’s π“™π“Œ΄π“‚£π“π“¦ feather 𓆄 to see if they lived a true π“™π“Œ΄π“‚£π“π“†„ and just life π“‹Ή. If the deceased’s heart  𓇋𓃀𓄣 was balanced with the feather 𓆄, they were declared β€œtrue of voice π“™π“Š€,” and could meet Osiris π“Ήπ“Š¨π“€­. 

Also, notice the similarities between all of these words that have to do with Maat – the determinatives are different, which changed the meaning of the word, but they would have been pronounced the same! 

π“™π“Œ΄π“‚£π“π“†„ – Truth

π“™π“Œ΄π“‚£π“π“†„π“œ – Justice

π“™π“Œ΄π“‚£π“π“§ – Maat

Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

Bronze Statue of Maat

Not only was Maat π“™π“Œ΄π“‚£π“π“¦ the goddess π“ŠΉπ“ of truth, fact, law, order and justice, β€œmaat” was also a concept and a way of life in ancient Egypt π“†Žπ“…“π“π“Š–. The noun β€œmaat” is translated as β€œtruth” so living by maat, meant living a pure and truthful life. Maat was also the balance and order in the whole universe.

Maat π“™π“Œ΄π“‚£π“π“¦ is usually shown as a woman with a feather on her head. Her most important role was in the judgement of the dead 𓅓𓏏𓏱. The god Anubis π“‡‹π“ˆ–π“Šͺ𓅱𓁒 would weigh the heart 𓇋𓃀𓄣 of the deceased against Maat’s π“™π“Œ΄π“‚£π“π“¦ feather 𓆄 to see if they were worthy to enter the Underworld 𓇼𓄿𓏏𓉐 and meet Osiris π“Ήπ“Š¨π“€­. If the deceased’s heart 𓇋𓃀𓄣 was balanced with the feather 𓆄, they were declared β€œtrue of voice” π“™π“Š€, and could meet Osiris π“Ήπ“Š¨π“€­.

This statue is at the Petrie Museum at UCL in London!

Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

The Book of the Dead of Hunefer

Β The Book of the Dead of Hunefer is one of my absolute favorite artifacts, and seeing it in the British Museum was a dream come true for me!

On the top panel, Hunefer (the deceased) stands before the 42 divine judges and pleads their lifetime of truth and moral doings. The Book of the Dead provided the deceased with the words to say so they would pass this trial!

On the bottom panel: This is the Weighing of the Heart ceremony! Let’s start from the left! Anubis π“‡‹π“ˆ–π“Šͺ𓅱𓃣 is leading Hunefer (the deceased) to the scales (not gonna lie, I’m a little jealous they are holding hands πŸ˜‚). Here, Anubis π“‡‹π“ˆ–π“Šͺ𓅱𓁒 weighs the heart 𓇋𓃀𓄣 of the deceased 𓅓𓏏𓏱 against Maat’s π“Œ΄π“™π“‚£π“π“¦ feather (Maat is sitting on top of the scales). If Anubis π“‡‹π“ˆ–π“Šͺ𓅱𓃣 determines there’s balance between the two 𓏻, that means that the deceased lived a truthful π“™π“Œ΄π“‚£π“π“†„ and just π“™π“Œ΄π“‚£π“π“†„π“œ life π“‹Ή.

Ammit 𓂝𓅓𓅓𓏏 (the Devourer of the Dead/Eater of Hearts) is there waiting to see if the deceased 𓅓𓏏𓏱 didn’t live a truthful π“™π“Œ΄π“‚£π“π“†„ life! If the deceased’s 𓅓𓏏𓏱 heart 𓇋𓃀𓄣 weighs more than the feather, Ammit 𓂝𓅓𓅓𓏏 would eat the heart 𓇋𓃀𓄣 and the deceased would β€œdie a second time” and not live in eternal paradise. Thoth π“…€π“€­ records the findings of the ceremony.

If the deceased 𓅓𓏏𓏱 passed the Weigning of the Heart, they would be presented to Osiris π“Ήπ“Š¨ π“€­ by Horus π“…ƒπ“€­ and would then enter the Field of Reeds π“‡π“π“ˆ…π“‡‹π“„Ώπ“‚‹π“…±π“†°π“Š– and live in eternal paradise!

Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

The Weighing of the Heart

The Weighing of the Heart 𓇋𓃀𓄣 is my absolute favorite scene from the Book of the Dead, and just one of my favorite scenes from literature in general! I have been so fortunate to see many different version of the Book of the Dead in various museums! While this is a simplified version of the scene, I still love it! This papyrus 𓅓𓍑𓏏𓏛 is kinda hidden amongst many other papyri 𓅓𓍑𓏏𓏛𓏦 at the MET, and I’ve definitely missed it during other visits!

Anubis π“‡‹π“ˆ–π“Šͺ𓅱𓃣 is the center of the scene so of course it is my favorite! Here, Anubis π“‡‹π“ˆ–π“Šͺ𓅱𓁒 weighs the heart 𓇋𓃀𓄣 of the deceased 𓅓𓏏𓏱 against Maat’s π“Œ΄π“™π“‚£π“π“¦ feather. If Anubis π“‡‹π“ˆ–π“Šͺ𓅱𓃣 determines there’s balance between the two 𓏻, then the deceased 𓅓𓏏𓏱 would be presented to Osiris π“Ήπ“Š¨ π“€­ by Horus π“…ƒπ“€­. The deceased 𓅓𓏏𓏱 would then enter the Duat 𓇼𓄿𓏏𓉐, or the afterlife.

Thoth π“…€π“€­ records the findings. While Thoth π“…€π“€­ is usually represented in his human body/ibis 𓉔𓃀𓅀 head form during this scene, that is not the case here! Thoth π“…€π“€­ is in his baboon form and is sitting on top of the scale! Ammit 𓂝𓅓𓅓𓏏(the Devourer of the Dead/Eater of Hearts) is also absent from this version! It’s always so interesting to see different versions of the same scene!

In the hieroglyphs π“ŠΉπ“Œƒπ“ͺ, it’s interesting to see Osiris spelled like β€œπ“Š©π“Ήβ€ instead of the common form β€œπ“Ήπ“Š¨π“€­.” For some reason I’m always fascinated when I see alternate spellings; I don’t know why!

In the hieroglyphs π“ŠΉπ“Œƒπ“ͺ, the phrase β€œπ“Š©π“Ήπ“ŽŸπ“Ž›π“‡³π“Ž›β€ or β€œOsiris, Lord of Eternity” is written! We have learned all of those words through other posts!! Can you find it?!