A limestone relief slab depicting Seshat, the Egyptian goddess of writing. It occurs on the obverse of the Palermo Piece (at Palermo Museum), 1 of the 2 large pieces of the 7piece Palermo Stone. If there was a large group of literate women in ancient Egypt, they do not seem to have developed any surviving literary genres unique to themselves. Historian and Egyptologist Margaret Bunson describes their function: Research was conducted in the House of Life because medical, astronomical, and mathematical texts perhaps were maintained there and copied by scribes. . As noted, although Seshat never had a temple of her own, she was the foundation of the temples constructed in her role as Mistress of Builders and her participation in the ritual ceremony of "stretching the cord" which measured the dimensions of the structure to be raised. } amzn_assoc_ad_type = "smart"; Writing made permanent that which had passed out of existence. She works as the chief editor of Symbol Sage but also takes the time to write on topics that interest her. The institution served as a workshop where sacred books were composed and written by the ranking scholars of the times. According to Egyptian literature (Coffin text, spell 261), Heka existed "before duality had yet come into being." The term k3 was also used to refer to the practice of magical rituals. Wife of Amun, one of the creation goddesses. It was last seen in British general knowledge crossword. At this time, Thoth seems to have been considered a god of wisdom and knowledge as he remained and once a writing system was developed it was attributed to him. Best Answer. Among Seshat's responsibilities were record keeping, accounting, measurements, census-taking, and patroness of libraries & librarians. The Book of the Dead evolved from the Pyramid Texts of the Old Kingdom but, even before this time, one can see the Egyptian precision in writing at work in the Offering Lists and Autobiographies of tombs in the latter part of the Early Dynastic Period. It is possible that many of the texts were not kept in the Per-Ankh but discussed there and debated. Seshat was already fading from the popular pantheons by the Old Kingdom. Writing made the transitory world of change into one everlasting and eternal. As the goddess of the written word, Seshat took care of the library of the gods, and so became known as the Mistress of the House of Books. Rosalie David writes: It would seem that the House of Life had both a practical use and a deeply religious significance. The leopard skin would represent her power over, and protection from, danger as leopards were a common predator. } The Tree of Life His feminine counterpart was Seshat. Ancient Egyptian cemetery with 40 MUMMIES and a necklace saying Happy New Year is found along with 1,000 statues in the Nile Valley. Seshats responsibilities were many. The crescent above her headdress, resembling a bow, could represent dexterity and precision, if one interprets it along the lines of archery, or simply divinity if one takes the symbol as representing light, along the lines of later depictions of saints with halos. Tic Toc Tic Toc Seshat was acutely aware of the passing of time. She was depicted as a woman wearing a leopard skin dress (as worn by Sem priests) wearing a headdress composed of a flower or seven pointed star on top of a pair of inverted horns. It Daughters of Isis: Women of Ancient Egypt. She holds a Masters degree in Linguistics and Education, and has also studied Political Science, Ancient History and Literature. Retrieved from https://www.worldhistory.org/Seshat/. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Copy. The scribes were most commonly associated with the sun god Ra in earlier times and with Osiris in later periods no matter which god resided in a particular temple. Sekhmet - "Powerful Female" Goddess of war & destruction. The World History Encyclopedia logo is a registered trademark. Perhaps because Thoth already had so many responsibilities, the Egyptians transferred the supervision of writing to the goddess Seshat. Our publication has been reviewed for educational use by Common Sense Education, Internet Scout (University of Wisconsin), Merlot (California State University), OER Commons and the School Library Journal. [5], The famous 24th century BC Palermo Stone has multiple uses of Seshat's emblem. Set (also known as Seth) is a god of the desert, chaos . The Egyptians believed that if something were comitted to writing it could be repeatedly "made to happen" by means of magic. Kebechet. Later years saw a decline in her being venerated by the Egyptians and she was made into the consort or also sometimes the daughter of the Ibis-headed God Tehuti ( Thoth) who took over more and more of her attributes and power. Seshat - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up). A relief from the back of the throne of a seated statue of Ramesses II depicting the Egyptian goddess of writing Seshat. "Seshat." The Egyptians referred to the institution as Per-Ankh (literally "House of Life") and it is first mentioned in inscriptions from the Middle Kingdom. Bunson's theory is substantiated by the known structures identified as a Per-Ankh at Amarna, Edfu, and Abydos, all important cities in ancient Egypt, but this does not mean there were not others elsewhere; only that these have not been positively identified as yet. Among her responsibilities were record keeping, accounting, measurements, census-taking, patroness of libraries and librarians, keeper of the House of Life (temple library, scriptorium, writers workshop), Celestial Librarian, Mistress of builders (patroness of construction), and friend of the dead in the afterlife. The words of Isis "come to pass without fail;" the words of Thoth are "Truth." World History Encyclopedia. As record-keeper she documented everyday events but, beginning in the Middle Kingdom (c. 2613-c. 2181 BCE), she also recorded the spoils of war in the form of animals and captives. The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt. script.async = true; Updates? Isis has always been considered a wise Goddess. The Greek designation hieroglyphics for the Egyptian writing system means sacred carvings and is a translation from the Egyptian phrase medu-netjer, the gods words. loadScript(); The dead were not gone as long as their stories could be read in stone; nothing was ever really lost. Sokar God of the Memphis necropolis. Some Rights Reserved (2009-2023) under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license unless otherwise noted. amzn_assoc_asins = "B075424LZX"; Representations of her typically show her dress to be a plain sheath covered by a long panther skin, with the tail reaching her feet. If not shown with the hide over a dress, the pattern of the dress is that of the spotted feline. Thoth, originally a moon deity, later became god of wisdom and scribe of the gods Sia, the deification of wisdom Seshat, goddess of wisdom, knowledge, and writing. [1], Seshat was closely associated with Thoth (Djehuty in ancient Egyptian), the reckoner of time and god of writing who was also venerated as a god of wisdom, with whom he shared some overlapping functions. Thoth is the messenger much like the Greek god, Hermesa transmutation made from Egyptian to Greek mythology. It is this connection to the magic that keeps her relevant among today's witches. In this capacity, the goddess would have helped the new arrival recognize the spells of The Egyptian Book of the Dead, enabling the soul to move on toward the hope of paradise. Seshat was known by the epithet Mistress of the House of Books because she looked after the library of the gods and was the patron of all earthly libraries. [1] She is credited with inventing writing. (function () { Bastet, goddess of the hearth, home, womens health and secrets, was popular among both men and women and the goddess Hathor was regularly invoked by both at festivals, parties, and family gatherings. "font-size": "18px" The priestess who officiated at these functions in her name also oversaw the staff of others who performed similar duties and were trained in mathematics and the related store of knowledge. NOTE: These settings will only apply to the browser and device you are currently using. The House of Life was a combination library, scriptorium, institute of higher learning, writer's workshop, print shop/copy center, publisher, and distributor. Crescent - This is a later symbol associated with Hecate, and dates from around the Roman times. Her skills were necessary for surveying the land, to re-establish boundary-lines after the annual floods. Ancient Egyptian Beauty: Seshat, the Goddess of Writing and Wisdom Statue: $260.00. It is well substantiated that women could be, and were, scribes in that we have names of female physicians and images of women in important religious posts such as God's Wife of Amun; both of these occupations required literacy. 3 She comes to us from the very beginnings of Egyptian culture as one of a group of sky deities who were ousted by the solar religion of Ra. Help our mission to provide free history education to the world! Throughout all these periods, and later, her most important role was always as the goddess of precise measurements and all forms of the written word. Seshat (Ancient Egyptian: s3t, under various spellings) was the ancient Egyptian goddess of writing, wisdom, and knowledge. While this may be true, one cannot discount the possibility that female scribes were responsible for works of literature, either in creating or copying them. The Egyptians saw writing as a form of magic, believing that if something could be created in the form of the written word, it could also manifest into the world through the word as a medium, something that holds true for many magical systems to this present day. Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund (Public Domain). He had sanctuaries and temples throughout Egypt, but his main cult center was at Thebes. This list may not reflect recent changes. When an author created a story, inscription, or book on earth, an ethereal copy was transferred to Seshat who placed it in the library of the gods; mortal writings were therefore also immortal. Seshat, in ancient Egyptian religion, the goddess of writing and measurement and the ruler of books. So one cannot be sure that the scribal kit belonged to the woman. (Brooklyn Museum, USA). Thoth and Seshat. She also kept a record of the kings allotted life span, writing his name on a different leaf of a Persea tree each year. European History American History Egyptian Artifacts Ancient Egyptian Art Ancient Greece Egyptian Things Marah Woolf Hieroglyphs on Ramesses Colossus Amun Temple, Luxor, Egypt Ancient Alphabets Art History FREE Shipping on orders over $25 shipped by Amazon. She first appears in the 2nd Dynasty (c. 2890- c. 2670 BCE) of the Early Dynastic Period (c. 3150 - c. 2613 BCE) as a goddess of writing and measurements assisting the king in the ritual known as "stretching of the cord" which preceeded the construction of a building, most often a temple. Seshat is not as well known today as many of the other deities of ancient Egypt but, in her time, she was among the most important and widely recognized of the Egyptian pantheon. Egyptologist Richard H. Wilkinson notes how Seshat appears in reliefs and inscriptions in the Early Dynastic Period as a goddess of measurements and writing, clearly indicating she was already an important deity at that time: Representations show the king involved in a foundation ritual known as "stretching the cord" which probably took place before work began on the construction of a temple or of any addition. [3] Usually, she is shown holding a palm stem, bearing notches to denote the recording of the passage of time, especially for keeping track of the allotment of time for the life of the pharaoh. One prince of the Fourth Dynasty, Wep-em-nefret, is noted as the Overseer of the Royal Scribes, Priest of Seshat on a slab stela. There are other versions of Thoths birth as well but they all make mention of his vast knowledge and the great gift of writing he offered to humanity. Seshats many responsibilities included documenting daily events, the spoils of war (which were either animals or captives) and keeping track of tribute paid to the king in the New Kingdom and tribute owned. Egyptologist Gay Robins explains: In a few New Kingdom scenes, women are depicted with scribal kits under their chairs and it has been suggested that the women were commemorating their ability to read and write. Her headdress also represents her name which was not spelled phonetically (the semi-circular bread loaf and the seated woman are both female determinatives). } Which cookies and scripts are used and how they impact your visit is specified on the left. The institution served as a workshop where sacred books were composed and written by the ranking scholars of the times. World History Publishing is a non-profit company registered in the United Kingdom. [1] It was she who recorded, by notching her palm, the time allotted to the pharaoh for his stay on earth. The Egyptians referred to the institution as Per-Ankh (literally House of Life) and it is first mentioned in inscriptions from the Middle Kingdom. World History Encyclopedia is a non-profit organization. Egyptologist Gay Robins explains: In a few New Kingdom scenes, women are depicted with scribal kits under their chairs and it has been suggested that the women were commemorating their ability to read and write. Serapis, god of knowledge and education. Owing to the great value Egyptians placed on writing, however, and her part in the construction of temples and the afterlife, she was venerated widely through commonplace acts and daily rituals from the Early Dynastic Period to the last dynasty to rule Egypt, the Ptolemaic Dynasty of 323-30 BCE. Cookies that are necessary to enable my site to function. The written word was considered a sacred art. One scholar has suggested that this Hermopolitan ennead of Muses might have consisted of Isis-Ma'at, Isis-Hathor, and the Seven Hathors. Seshat is attested from the Second Dynasty, where she assists King Khasekhemwy with the "stretching the cord" ritual.[1]. Egyptian society was quite conservative and written works generally adhered to a set structure and theme throughout the various periods of history. Seshat Seshat, depicted in a leopard skin, inscribing the years of reignfor the king on the palm-leaf ribhieroglyphfor "year". amzn_assoc_linkid = "4eda58dec7c8b129d359fd25811237dd"; Unlike the major gods of Egypt, Seshat never had her own temples, cult, or formal worship. Scribe of the gods. appId: '6', In ancient Egyptian art, she was depicted as a woman with a seven-pointed emblem above her head. Who Was Seshat? "imgWithCarousel": true, The emblem was a long stem with a seven-petal flower on top and surmounted by a pair of horns; the archaic form had seven petals (the vertical shaft as 8), (as a vertical, with two crossed lines-(4), as a 'star', and one horizontal, giving 7+ the 1-vertical shaft), and surmounted by two enclosing sickle-shaped signs, two falcon-feathers on top. In mythology, Seshat was Thoth's sister or daughter then she became his . Seshat assisted the pharaoh in the "stretching the cord" ritual. Set. Please note that some of these recommendations are listed under our old name, Ancient History Encyclopedia. } Representations of her typically show her dress to be a plain sheath covered by a long panther skin, with the . amzn_assoc_placement = "adunit"; Seshat (also given as Sefkhet-Abwy and Seshet) is the Egyptian goddess of the written word. License. Of course, Thoth already had a wife, Seshat (the Goddess of reading, writing, architecture and . Copyright Symbol Sage 2022 All Rights Reserved. loadScript(); Cite This Work Papyrus LansingThe Trustees of the British Museum (CC BY-NC-SA). 13th century BCE, Luxor Temple, Egypt. } She was seen as a scribe and record keeper; her name means "female scribe". A. Angitia; C. Circe; Coyolxuhqui; E. Ereshkigal; H. . (2016, November 18). /*]]>*/. Since Seshat was herself a divine female scribe it would make sense that women practiced the art of writing as well as men. It is certainly beyond doubt that at least some of the daughters of the king were educated and the position of private tutor to a royal princess could be one of the highest honour. Pages in category "Magic goddesses" The following 41 pages are in this category, out of 41 total. Alan Gardiner identified the emblem as a "conventionalized flower (?) 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