Ma'at. Story of Justice in ancient Egypt

Diploma Thesis from the year 2018 in the subject Egyptology, University of Heidelberg (institut von Aegyptologie), language: English, abstract: Egyptian society was founded on the concept of ma‛at. Ma‛at regulated the seasons, the movement of the stars, and relations between man and the gods; it was a golden thread running through their ideas about the universe and their code of ethics; it formed the basis of their thinking and especially of the way they approached justice and law. Ma‛at related to activities of human life and the cosmos in general. After its creation by the sun god Re, ma‛at ordered the universe. Since the pharaoh was a living god, ruling by divine right, he was the supreme judge and lawgiver. As Re's representative on earth, he was responsible for the preservation of ma‛at and was the nexus between ma‛at and the law (hp). Ma‛at had a religious, ethical, and moral connection, since it was the guiding principle for all aspects of life and represented the values that all people sought. Ma'at is an idea, invented by the king, and believed by the whole world