Maat
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Earth Culture of Origin
Egyptian
Alternate Names / Spellings
Maat, Maa, Maati, Maet, Maht, Maut
Presides Over
Truth, justice, order
Personal Symbols
The feather
Earth Mythological References
Daughter of the sun god, Ra, Maat was more of a concept than an actual persona in Egyptian mythology. She was pictured as a beautiful woman bearing an ostrich feather, instrumental in the judgment of the dead. When the deceased was presented to Anubis, god of the dead, he would hold a pair of scales into which Maat would place her feather in one tray and the heart of the departed one would be placed into the other. If the heart was filled with evil, it would weigh more than the feather and the soul would be eaten by the Devourer of Souls, committing them to oblivion. If the heart of the deceased was unburdened by guilt, it would be light as a feather, and the dead person would go to eternal reward in the afterlife. She was considered the greatest of all Egyptian deities.
Stargate References
Maat was not present in this episode, but referenced in the funereal rites observed for Sha're. Sha’re’s husband, Daniel Jackson, participated in the Abydonian ceremony in which a feather was placed in a set of scales presided over by a baboon figurine, symbolic of Thoth, whose responsibility it was to record the final judgment of the dead. The feather symbolized the purity of Shau'ri's soul, as a symbol of Maat’s divination of her innocence.
Episodes
Related Characters
Further Reading
--Adapted to the wiki by: DeeKayP 07:43, 19 Jul 2004 (PDT)