Ma'at gave the breath of life to the gods

Ma'at

Responsible For Truth Justice Law and Order Immortality Primordial Being Totemic Form Feather About Her Cult Cult Center: Throughout Egypt The earliest surviving texts found that mention Ma'at date from the Old Kingdom, around 2,780 - 2,250. The only known temple dedicated to Ma'at which has been found so far appears in the Karnak complex at Thebes (Luxor). Texts indicate that other temples to her may have existed at Memphis and Deir el Medina, but these have not been found.
Those who lived by the laws of Ma'at took a sacramental drink which conferred ritual purity in the same sense as the Christian Holy Communion. Like baptismal water of life, Ma'at's potion brought life after death to the peaceful and law-abiding, but death to violent persons. Legends Ma'at gave the breath of life to the gods. Some say she was the daughter of Ra. Later depictions show her as the consort of Thoth, who shared some of the same attributes as her. Name in Hieroglyphics Ma'at can be represented in hieroglyphics by just the feather itself. However, this can be misleading because the feather can also be used to symbolize the air god Shu. A closer look at the context is required to determine which the image represents in a specific situation. For a longer name, the loaf symbol (semicircle) which indicates a female and the image of the seated goddess can be added. There are other ways that Ma'at can be identified in hieroglyphics. Sometimes the seated goddess figure has a feather on the top of the head.
Depicting Maat In funerary scenes and pictures depicting the underworld, the figure of Ma'at or her feather was placed on the opposite side of the scale from the heart of the deceased. If the scale balanced, the deceased was allowed to go on to the afterlife. If not, s/he was given to Ammit to devour. Thus the feather of Ma'at itself became a hieroglyph for "truth". In the excerpt from a funerary scene to the right, Ma'at appears twice. Her head appears on top of the scale, at the center. The feather representing her appears on the right-hand cup of the scale. As usual, the feather is shown as being heavier than the deceased person's heart.
Although the funerary scene above shows just a feather on Ma'at's side of the scale, some variations of the scene show the goddess in a seated position, such as the drawing to the right. If doing a theatrical portrayal of Ma'at, these elements may be useful in building the character: Wear a white robe (although there are many images depicting her wearing other colors) A narrow fabric headband holding a single ostrich feather Wings Carry an ankh