page_title: Maat
section_title: Principle
hierarchical_section_title: Maat / Principle
caption_attribution_description: English: Names of Rameses III; winged Ma'at kneeling over lilies of Upper Egypt. Scene from tomb of Ramses III. (KV11)
context_page_description: Maat or Maʽat refers to the ancient Egyptian concepts of truth, balance, order, harmony, law, morality, and justice. Maat was also the goddess who personified these concepts, and regulated the stars, seasons, and the actions of mortals and the deities who had brought order from chaos at the moment of creation. Her ideological opposite was Isfet, meaning injustice, chaos, violence or to do evil.
context_section_description: Maat represents the ethical and moral principle that every Egyptian citizen was expected to follow throughout their daily lives. They were expected to act with honor and truth in matters that involve family, the community, the nation, the environment, and the gods.
  Maat as a principle was formed to meet the complex needs of the emergent Egyptian state that embraced diverse peoples with conflicting interests. The development of such rules sought to avert chaos and it became the basis of Egyptian law. From an early period the king would describe himself as the "Lord of Maat" who decreed with his mouth the Maat he conceived in his heart.
  The significance of Maat developed to the point that it embraced all aspects of existence, including the basic equilibrium of the universe, the relationship between constituent parts, the cycle of the seasons, heavenly movements, religious observations and fair dealings, honesty, and truthfulness in social interactions.
  The ancient Egyptians had a deep conviction of an underlying holiness and unity within the universe. Cosmic harmony was achieved by correct public and ritual life. Any disturbance in cosmic harmony could have consequences for the individual as well as the state. An impious king could bring about famine, and blasphemy could bring blindness to an individual. In opposition to the right order expressed in the concept of Maat is the concept of Isfet: chaos, lies and violence.
  In addition to the importance of the Maat, several other principles within ancient Egyptian law were essential, including an adherence to tradition as opposed to change, the importance of rhetorical skill, and the significance of achieving impartiality and "righteous action". In one Middle Kingdom (2062 to c.1664 BCE) text, the creator declares "I made every man like his fellow". Maat called the rich to help the less fortunate rather than exploit them, echoed in tomb declarations: "I have given bread to the hungry and clothed the naked" and "I was a husband to the widow and father to the orphan".
  To the Egyptian mind, Maat bound all things together in an indestructible unity: the universe, the natural world, the state, and the individual were all seen as parts of the wider order generated by Maat.
  A passage in the Instruction of Ptahhotep presents Maat as follows:
  Maat is good and its worth is lasting.
  It has not been disturbed since the day of its creator,
  whereas he who transgresses its ordinances is punished.
  It lies as a path in front even of him who knows nothing.
  Wrongdoing has never yet brought its venture to port.
  It is true that evil may gain wealth but the strength of truth is that it lasts;
  a man can say: "It was the property of my father."
caption: Winged Maat
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