Through the Eras

Philosophyern people still credit the Egyptians with secret knowledge,both technical and spiritual. Many believe that theEgyptians perfected astrology and alchemy. These ideasstem directly from ancient Greek notions of Egyptianthought. The popularity and survival of such ideas intothe twenty-first century C.E. is a testament to the powerof Greek writing and its constant repetition. In fact,some Greek ideas have a basis in certain Egyptian traditions,but the interpretations of those traditions arepurely Greek.MAATTOPICSin PhilosophyORDER. The Egyptian philosophical view of existencewas based on the idea that all existence was eitherorderly or chaotic. Order was called maat while chaoswas called isfet. Maat encompassed the physical world,political conditions, and ethical conduct. In the physicalworld maat meant that the sun rose and set in a regularpattern. Maat also meant that the Nile floodedEgypt on a regular schedule and provided fertility to agriculturalfields. In politics, maat meant that the true kingsat on the throne and ensured order within Egypt. InEgyptian thought, maat depended on correct personalconduct. In fact correct personal conduct ensured loyaltyto the king, which, in turn, supported an orderlyphysical world. For individuals, maat also meant tellingthe truth, and dealing fairly with others in addition toobedience to authority. Ultimately an individual whosupported maat through his actions could enter the afterlifeas a reward.KING’S ROLE. The king’s primary duty was to maintainmaat in the world. If the king behaved correctly, thephysical world behaved in a predictable way. This wasimportant due to the Egyptians’ dependence on cropsand the food and clothing they provided. The king’sconduct could affect the regular rising and setting of thesun, necessary for crop growth. The fertility of the soilwas the result of the annual Nile flood that depositedrich new silt on Egypt’s fields annually. The Egyptiansbelieved that the height of the flood and the subsequentsuccess of the crops depended on the king performingmaat. The individual’s primary duty was to obey the king.In fact obeying the king allowed him to perform maat,and thus maintain order in the physical world. Thisworld view led to an extremely stable political structure.RITUAL. In the New Kingdom (1539–1075 B.C.E.)kings performed the ritual of presenting maat to othergods as a means of stressing that they had maintainedmaat in their actions. Maat was personified as a seatedgoddess who wore a feather in her hair. A depiction ofa feather was one way of writing the word “maat” inhieroglyphs. Hatshepsut (1478–1458 B.C.E.) was mostlikely the first ruler to depict herself presenting a statuetteof maat to the gods. Large numbers of representationsof the presentation of maat to the gods date tothe reign of Akhenaten (1352–1336 B.C.E.) when it appearedto be the major ritual act that the king and thequeen performed. During the Nineteenth and TwentiethDynasties (1292–1075 B.C.E.), temples often displayedrelief scenes showing the king offering maat to the gods.The priestess called the God’s Wife of Amun performedthis function in the Twenty-fifth and Twenty-sixth Dynasties(760–525 B.C.E.). The ritual served to legitimizekings in the eyes of the ruled. It was a physical expressionof the king’s obligation to uphold maat in the world.ROYAL NAMES. Many kings took throne names thatincluded maat or epithets, self-descriptions includedwith a name, that claimed they were possessors of maat.The earliest use of the epithet “possessor of maat” wasmost likely Sneferu of the Fourth Dynasty (r. 2625–2585B.C.E.). In the New Kingdom Hatshepsut (1478–1458B.C.E.) took the throne name Maat-ka-re, “the soul of Reis maat.” Amenhotep III (1390–1352 B.C.E.) called himselfNeb-maat-re, “Possessor of the maat of Re.” Sety I(1290–1279 B.C.E.) took the throne name Men-maat-re,“the maat of Re is firm.” All of these names are attemptsto associate the king with maat. These kings also presentedtheir own names to the gods as way of cementingthe association between the king and maat.THE DEITY. As a deity, Maat was the daughter ofthe sun god Re. She also constituted Re’s eye, makingher integral to the god’s body. The other gods claimedto “live on Maat,” meaning that they ate Maat to sustainthemselves. Maat was thus a food offering for all ofthe gods. The scribal god Thoth was often paired withMaat, showing their close connection. Before the NewKingdom, there was no temple dedicated to the goddessMaat. The first known temple was in Karnak and wasin use in Hatshepsut’s time. In texts there are referencesto a temple of Maat in Memphis, Egypt’s political capital,and in Deir el-Medina, the workman’s village acrossthe river from modern Luxor. Hatshepsut’s coronationtook place in the temple dedicated to Maat. In the lateTwentieth Dynasty there is some evidence that criminalinvestigations took place at the temple of Maat. Thereis also some evidence that there were priests of Maat andArts and Humanities Through the Eras: Ancient Egypt (2675 B.C.E.–332 B.C.E.) 185