Entry 07 / Gods & goddesses
Ma’at
The world, held in balance.
Ma’at was both a goddess and the principle of truth, justice and right order. Her characteristic feather appears in scenes where the heart of the deceased is weighed. The concept joined ethical conduct, legitimate rule and the proper functioning of the world.
Take a closer look ↓
Written in signs
Name & hieroglyphs
- Transliteration
- Mꜣꜥt
- Familiar names & readings
- Ma’at / Maat
One documented spelling, shown in a simple left-to-right line. Ancient spellings and the arrangement of signs varied. Transliteration records consonants; familiar readings supply conventional vowels.
Ma’at names both the goddess and the Egyptian concept mꜣꜥt: truth, justice and the right ordering of the world. The word belongs with mꜣꜥ, “true” or “right,” and has a feminine t ending. Its range of meaning is wider than the English word “balance.”
The apostrophe in Ma’at is a modern reading aid, not punctuation copied from Egyptian writing. The spelling shown ends with a seated goddess wearing a feather, distinguishing the divine personification. Spellings of the abstract concept can use a different final sign.
01 / The story
A goddess and an idea
Ma’at cannot be understood only as one figure in a list of gods. The word also names an ideal condition: a world in which things are ordered properly and people act rightly. Cosmic balance and human conduct were connected, rather than separate concerns.
Representations give that idea a visible form, often a woman with a single feather above her head. The feather can stand for Ma’at even when the full figure is absent. Recognising it helps connect a small amulet with much larger religious and political ideas.
02 / The story
The feather and the heart
In a judgment scene, the heart is set against Ma’at’s feather or a representation of Ma’at. The image asks whether a life accords with right order. It is a religious expression of accountability, not a literal lesson about the physical weight of emotions.
Look at the whole scene. Anubis attends to the balance; Thoth records; Osiris belongs to the setting of the afterlife. Following these relationships turns a crowded image into a readable sequence of roles and actions.
Train your eye
Three details to notice.
One upright feather
An ostrich feather above the head is Ma’at’s signature attribute.
A compact seated figure
Small images may show her seated with knees drawn up beneath her dress.
The balance
In funerary imagery, a feather on the scales can represent Ma’at without a full human figure.
A little more understanding
Good questions.
Clear answers.
Is Ma’at a goddess or a concept?
Both. Egyptians personified the principle of truth and right order as a goddess.
What does Ma’at’s feather symbolise?
It represents truth and right order, especially in the judgment of the deceased.
Is Ma’at just about keeping everything equal?
Balance is a helpful introduction, but the concept also involves justice, appropriate conduct and the maintenance of order. It is broader than simple equality.
What does the word Ma’at mean?
It covers truth, justice and right order. The related Egyptian word mꜣꜥ means “true” or “right,” while mꜣꜥt is also the goddess’s name.
Why is Ma’at sometimes written without an apostrophe?
Ma’at and Maat are modern spelling choices for the same Egyptian name. The apostrophe is a reading aid, not punctuation taken from a hieroglyphic inscription.
How is Ma’at shown as a goddess?
She is often a woman with an ostrich feather on her head. The feather can also stand for the principle she personifies.
What was weighed against Ma’at’s feather?
In the familiar funerary judgment image, the deceased person’s heart is weighed against the feather or another representation of Ma’at.
Did Ma’at concern life as well as the afterlife?
Yes. Right conduct, justice and the ordering of society and the cosmos belong to Ma’at. Funerary judgment is one expression of that wider idea.
From the library to your home
Keep the story close.
Explore pieces in our shop connected with this subject. The museum objects above are historical references; shop items have their own materials and descriptions.
Explore the Ma’at collection
Follow the connections
There’s more to this story.
The evidence behind the entry
Bibliography & image credits
Museum records, language references and published research used for this entry. Name spellings and interpretations are documented here alongside the historical sources.
- Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum — Ma’at
- The Met — Maat
- Thesaurus Linguae Aegyptiae — Mꜣꜥt, lemma 66630 (accessed 20 October 2026)
- Thesaurus Linguae Aegyptiae — mꜣꜥt, right order and truth, lemma 66620 (accessed 20 October 2026)
Photograph: Maat, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 10.130.1302. Gift of Helen Miller Gould, 1910. CC0 / Public domain. Resized for display; the complete photograph is preserved.