The political and ideological interests of the elite dominated and directed the majority of social and cultural life in Ancient Egypt. Since scribes read the letters out loud in public, they could not use the first person to present the king’s voice. These letters were written and read by scribes for those who were not literate which enabled communication with superiors and families. During periods of natural disasters, additionally, scribes worked on distant assignments, which were often in the form of letters.
If the heart proved lighter or equal in weight, it meant the individual had lived a life of truth and balance, thus earning passage to the eternal paradise of the Field of Reeds (Aaru). The ethical aspect of Maat gave rise to the social formation of groups of elite individuals called sesh referring to intellectuals, scribes, or bureaucrats. Maʽat is both the goddess and the personification of truth, cosmic balance, and justice. Foremost among these was Ma’at, the divine embodiment of truth, justice, balance, harmony, and cosmic order.
These spiritual texts dealt with common social or professional situations, and how each was best to be resolved or addressed in the spirit of Maat. Maat had a central role in the ceremony of the Weighing of the Heart, where the decedent’s heart was weighed against thunder empire pokies her feather. The sun-god Ra came from the primaeval mound of creation only after he set his daughter Maat in place of isfet (chaos). Depictions of Maat as a goddess are recorded from as early as the middle of the Old Kingdom (c. 2680 to 2190 BCE). Her feather was the measure that determined whether the souls (considered to reside in the heart) of the departed would reach the paradise of the afterlife successfully. After her role in creation and continuously preventing the universe from returning to chaos, her primary role in ancient Egyptian religion dealt with the Weighing of the Heart that took place in the Duat.
