This page includes information that may not reflect the current views and values of the Penn Museum.
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Gods
& Goddesses
MAAT
The controlled
order of ancient Egypt was personified by the goddess Maat. The
ancient Egyptians believed the the world was in careful balance
between the forces of chaos, called isfet, and order. or
maat. The word maat is often translated as "truth."
Maat is usually depicted as a woman wearing a single ostrich plume
on her head. This feather is the same one that was placed on a
scale opposite the heart during the judgment
of the dead. The heart of the deceased had to equal the feather
in order for the deceased to enter the afterlife. Small, seated
images of this goddess were often shown being offered to the gods
by the ruling king, showing that the king was upholding the order
of the world.
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Egypt
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