Maàt (believed to be pronounced Muh-aht)Information taken from phonetic symbols for Maàt, and explanations on how to pronounce based upon modern reals, revealed in (Collier and Manley pp. 2-4, 154) was the Ancient Egyptian concept of law, morality, and justice(Budge The Gods of the Egyptians Vol. 1 p. 417) which was deified as a goddess.(Budge The Gods of the Egyptians Vol. 1 p. 418) As a goddess, her masculine counterpart was Djehuty (i.e. Thoth) and their attributes go hand in hand(Budge The Gods of the Egyptians Vol. 1 p. 400). Like Djehuty(Budge The Gods of the Egyptians Vol. 1 p. 407), she was seen to represent the Logos of Plato.http://www.wsu.edu:8000/~dee/EGYPT/MAAT.HTM Her primary role in Egyptian mythology dealt with the weighing of words that took place in the Underworld, Duat.(Budge The Gods of the Egyptians Vol. 1 p. 418)

Maàt as a goddess

Because it was the pharaoh's duty to ensure truth and justice, many of them were referred to as Meri-Ma'at (Beloved of Ma'at). 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 the single Shu feather, symbolically representing the concept of Ma'at, 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, (and pure), hearts were sent on to Osiris in Aaru. The weighing of the heart, pictured on papyrus, (in the Book of the Dead, typically, or in tomb scenes, etc.), shows Anubis overseeing the weighing, the "lion-like" Ammit seated awaiting the results and the eating of the heart, the vertical heart on one flat surface of the balance scale, and the vertical Shu-feather standing on the other balance scale surface.

Ma'at was depicted in art as a woman with wings and a "curved" 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 Ma'at there would be only the primal chaos, ending the world. It was seen as the Pharaoh's necessity to apply just law.

Maàt as a principle

Ma'at as a principle was never codified into a set of laws, but was a much more nebulous concept of "righteous action" characterized by concepts of truth and a respect for and adherence to the divine order set forth at the time of the world's creation. This divine order was primarily conceived of as being modeled in various environmental/agricultural and social relationships. It somewhat resembles the underlying concepts of Taoism and Confucianism at times. Though it was never codified into laws, however, it was often written of by ancient Egyptian philosophers and officials in a genre of texts known as the Wisdom Literature, or seboyet. These texts dealt with common social or professional situations and how each was best to be resolved or addressed in the spirit of ma'at- it was very practical advice, and highly case-based, so that few specific and general rules could be derived from them.

One aspect of ancient Egyptian funerary literature which is often mistaken for a codified ethic of ma'at is Chapter 125 of the Book of the Dead, often called the 42 Declarations of Purity or the Negative Confession. These declarations actually varied somewhat from tomb to tomb, and so can not be considered a cannonical definition of ma'at. They appear rather to express each tomb owner's individual conception of ma'at, as well as working as a magical absolution (misdeeds or mistakes made by the tomb owner in life could be declared as not having been done, and through the power of the written word wipe that particular misdeed from his or her afterlife record). Many of the lines are similar, however, and they can help to give the student a "flavor" for the sorts of things which ma'at governed (which was basically everything- from the most formal to the most mundane aspect of life). Many versions are given online, unfortunately seldom do they ever note the tomb from which they came or whether they are a collection from various different tombs. Generally, they are each addressed to a specific deity, described in his or her most fearsome aspect. Here is one version, from the scribe Ani:

THE 42 DECLARATIONS OF PURITY^*

1. O Wide-strider who came forth from Heliopolis, I have not done wrong
2. O Fire-embracer who came forth from KherahaI have not robbed.
3. O Beakey One who came forth from Hermopolis, I have not stolen.
4. O Swallower of Shades who came forth from Kernet, I have not slain people.
5. O Terrible of Face who came forth from Rosetjau, I have not destroyed the food offerings.
6. O Double Lion who came forth from the sky, I have not reduced measures.
7. O He-Whose-Eyes-are-in-Flames who came forth from Asut, I have not stolen the god's property.
8. O Burning One who came forth backwards, I have not told lies.
9. O Breaker of Bones who came forth from Heracleopolis, I have not stolen food.
10. O Orderer of Flame who came forth from Memphis, I was not sullen.
11. O He-of the Cavern who came forth from the West, I have not fornicated with the fornicator.
12. O He-Whose-Face-is-behind-him who came forth from his hole, I have not caused anyone to weep.
13. O Anointed One who came forth from the chapel, I have not dissembled.
14. O Hot-Legs who came forth at twilight, I have not transgressed.
15. O He-Who-is-Blood who came forth from the place of slaughter, I have not done grain-profiteering (usury).
16. O Eater of Entrails who came forth from the Council of Thirty, I have not robbed a parcel of land.
17. O Lord of Truth who came forth from Hall of Two Truths, I have not discussed secrets.
18. O Strayer who came forth from Bubastis, I have brought no lawsuits.
19. O Planter who came forth from Heliopolis, I have not disputed at all about property.
20. O Evil One who came forth from Ity, I have not had intercourse with a married woman.
21. O Blazing Snake who came forth from the execution place, I have not had sex with a man's wife.
22. O He-Who-Sees-What-He-Has-Brought who came forth from the House of Min, I have not wrongly copulated.
23. O He-Who-is-Over-the-Great-Ones who came forth from Yam, I have not struck terror.
24. O Demolisher who came forth from Qis, I have not lead myself astray.
25. O Proclaimer of Speech who came forth from Weryt, I have not been hot tempered.
26. O Youth who came forth from the Double Scepter Nome, I have not been neglctful of truthful words.
27. O Dark One who came forth from darkness, I have not cursed.
28. O He-Who-Brings-His-Offerings who came forth from Asyut, I have not been violent.
29. O Proclaimer of Voice who came forth from Wenis, I have not confounded truth.
30. O Possessor of Faces who came forth from Nedjefet, I have not been impatient.
31. O Captian who came forth from Weten, I have not eavesdropped.
32. O Possessor of Two Horns who came forth from Asyut, I have not been garrulous about matters.
33. O Nefertum who came forth from Memphis, I have not done wrong, I have not done evil.
34. O He Who Does Not Allow Survivors who came forth from Busiris, I have not disputed the King.
35. O He Who Acts As He Wishes who came forth from Antinaiopolis, I have not waded in the water.
36. O Ihy who came forth from the Primordial Waters, my voice was not loud.
37. O She Who Prospers of the Common People who came forth from Asyut, I have not cursed a god.
38. O Uniter of Attributes who came forth from the Cavern, I have not caused grief.
39. O Uniter of Good who came forth from the Cavern, I have not harmed the bread-ration of the gods.
40. O Upraised of Head who came forth from the shrine, I have not stolen the khenef-cakes from the Blessed Dead.
41. O He Who Brings His Portion who came forth from the Hall of Two Truths, I have not stolen hefnu-cakes of a youth, nor have I fettered the god of my town.
42. O He Who Brightens the Land who came forth from Faiyum, I have not slain sacred cattle.

Note that several of these declarations overlap or repeat one another- this is often done for emphasis, as these particular transgressions would have been very damaging to the ancient Egyptian culture and economy (such as adultury, or and robbery) and therefore very serious. Some of them may also be meant to magically purge related, but specific deeds for whom the set of 42 was written.

Notes