Seshat (, under various spellings) was the

ancient Egyptian Ancient Egypt () was a cradle of civilization concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in Northeast Africa. It emerged from prehistoric Egypt around 3150BC (according to conventional Egyptian chronology), when Upper and Lower E ...

goddess A goddess is a female deity. In some faiths, a sacred female figure holds a central place in religious prayer and worship. For example, Shaktism (one of the three major Hinduism, Hindu sects), holds that the ultimate deity, the source of all re ...

writing Writing is the act of creating a persistent representation of language. A writing system includes a particular set of symbols called a ''script'', as well as the rules by which they encode a particular spoken language. Every written language ...

wisdom Wisdom, also known as sapience, is the ability to apply knowledge, experience, and good judgment to navigate life’s complexities. It is often associated with insight, discernment, and ethics in decision-making. Throughout history, wisdom ha ...

, and

knowledge Knowledge is an Declarative knowledge, awareness of facts, a Knowledge by acquaintance, familiarity with individuals and situations, or a Procedural knowledge, practical skill. Knowledge of facts, also called propositional knowledge, is oft ...

. She was seen as a

scribe A scribe is a person who serves as a professional copyist, especially one who made copies of manuscripts before the invention of Printing press, automatic printing. The work of scribes can involve copying manuscripts and other texts as well as ...

and record keeper. She was also credited with inventing

. She became identified as the goddess of

measurement Measurement is the quantification of attributes of an object or event, which can be used to compare with other objects or events. In other words, measurement is a process of determining how large or small a physical quantity is as compared to ...

accounting Accounting, also known as accountancy, is the process of recording and processing information about economic entity, economic entities, such as businesses and corporations. Accounting measures the results of an organization's economic activit ...

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

science Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into twoor threemajor branches: the natural sciences, which stu ...

astronomy Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and the phenomena that occur in the cosmos. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and their overall evolution. Objects of interest includ ...

mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...

geometry Geometry (; ) is a branch of mathematics concerned with properties of space such as the distance, shape, size, and relative position of figures. Geometry is, along with arithmetic, one of the oldest branches of mathematics. A mathematician w ...

history History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

and

surveying Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, art, and science of determining the land, terrestrial Plane (mathematics), two-dimensional or Three-dimensional space#In Euclidean geometry, three-dimensional positions of Point (geom ...

. She was variously depicted as the consort, daughter, or female counterpart of

Thoth Thoth (from , borrowed from , , the reflex of " eis like the ibis") is an ancient Egyptian deity. In art, he was often depicted as a man with the head of an African sacred ibis, ibis or a baboon, animals sacred to him. His feminine count ...

, who was also associated with knowledge, astronomy, measurement, and writing.

History

Seshat is attested from at least the First Dynasty. Her priests and image are referenced in the Royal Annals of the Old Kingdom, during the reign of Den. She was depicted in image as early as the Second Dynasty, where she was shown conducting the " stretching the cord" ritual with

Khasekhemwy Khasekhemwy (ca. 2690 BC; ', also rendered ''Kha-sekhemui'') was the last Pharaoh of the Second Dynasty of Egypt. Little is known about him, other than that he led several significant military campaigns and built the mudbrick fort known as S ...

. The antiquity of her symbols, such as the notched palm stick that predated writing, suggests that she may have originated earlier than the First Dynasty. In addition, examples of her

emblem An emblem is an abstract art, abstract or representational pictorial image that represents a concept, like a moral truth, or an allegory, or a person, like a monarch or saint. Emblems vs. symbols Although the words ''emblem'' and ''symbol'' ...

, or symbols that appear related, have been found dating from the 3rd millennium BC Protodynastic Period. Starting in the Middle Kingdom, Seshat was alternatively represented by the name Sefkhet-Abwy. Seshat and Sefkhet-Abwy continued to be depicted until at least the Ptolemaic Dynasty.

Iconography

In ancient Egyptian art, she was depicted as a woman with a seven-pointed

above her head or extending from a headband. This emblem was the origin of an alternate name for Seshat, Sefkhet-Abwy, which may be translated as "seven-horned". She was frequently shown in a leopard-skin or dress, sometimes with a robe layered under a skin. The leopard-skin was a symbol of funerary

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

s, with the pattern on the natural hide thought to represent the

star A star is a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by Self-gravitation, self-gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night sk ...

s, being a symbol of

eternity Eternity, in common parlance, is an Infinity, infinite amount of time that never ends or the quality, condition or fact of being everlasting or eternal. Classical philosophy, however, defines eternity as what is timeless or exists outside tim ...

, and to be associated with the night sky. Usually, Seshat is shown holding a notched palm rib, the symbol for "year" in

Egyptian hieroglyphics Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs ( ) were the formal writing system used in Ancient Egypt for writing the Egyptian language. Hieroglyphs combined ideographic, logographic, syllabic and alphabetic elements, with more than 1,000 distinct characters.I ...

. The stem was often depicted ending in a

tadpole A tadpole or polliwog (also spelled pollywog) is the Larva, larval stage in the biological life cycle of an amphibian. Most tadpoles are fully Aquatic animal, aquatic, though some species of amphibians have tadpoles that are terrestrial animal, ...

above a

shen ring In ancient Egypt, a shen ring was a circle with a line tangent to it, represented in hieroglyphs as a stylised loop of a rope, bound to a stick. The tool used by builders and architects. Shen rings can most often be seen in the clutches of Horu ...

, representing 100,000 and infinity, respectively. Seshat's notching of the stem indicated the recording of the passage of time, especially that of the king's lifespan.Magdolen, "Sign of Seshat - Part Three," p. 67. Hieroglyphs representing festivals were shown as suspended from the palm stem when Seshat recorded these events. She was also depicted holding other tools, often the knotted cords that were stretched to survey land and structures.

Roles

Seshat was the divine measurer and scribe, and thus assisted the

pharaoh Pharaoh (, ; Egyptian language, Egyptian: ''wikt:pr ꜥꜣ, pr ꜥꜣ''; Meroitic language, Meroitic: 𐦲𐦤𐦧, ; Biblical Hebrew: ''Parʿō'') was the title of the monarch of ancient Egypt from the First Dynasty of Egypt, First Dynasty ( ...

in both of these practises. Her skills were necessary for surveying the land, to re-establish boundary-lines after the annual floods. 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. She also was responsible for recording the speeches the pharaoh made during the crowning-ceremony. As early as the

Old Kingdom In ancient Egyptian history, the Old Kingdom is the period spanning –2200 BC. It is also known as the "Age of the Pyramids" or the "Age of the Pyramid Builders", as it encompasses the reigns of the great pyramid-builders of the Fourth Dynast ...

, Seshat was depicted recording the goods, loot, and captives brought to Egypt, especially those gained in military campaigns. She was also shown conducting cattle censuses. From the Middle Kingdom onwards, she was depicted recording foreign tribute given to Egypt. Seshat was closely associated with

(

Ancient Egyptian Ancient Egypt () was a cradle of civilization concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in Northeast Africa. It emerged from prehistoric Egypt around 3150BC (according to conventional Egyptian chronology), when Upper and Lower E ...

: ''Ḏḥwtj''), the reckoner of time and god of writing, who was also venerated as a god of wisdom. The two shared some overlapping functions and she was variously considered to be his sister, wife, or daughter. Seshat invented writing and Thoth taught writing to man. Seshat also appeared in funerary contexts, where, along with

Nephthys Nephthys or Nebet-Het in ancient Egyptian () was a goddess in ancient Egyptian religion. A member of the Great Ennead of Heliopolis in Egyptian mythology, she was a daughter of Nut and Geb. Nephthys was typically paired with her sister Isis ...

, she restored the limbs of the deceased. Hatshepsut_and_Seshat

"Stretching the Cord" Ritual

Seshat held titles related to construction, including "Lady of Builders", as she was involved in planning the building and expansion of sacred sites, such as temples. The "stretching the cord" ritual, or ''pedj-sesh(r)'' ceremony, is one such example. This ritual related to laying out the foundations of temples and other important structures. It would have helped plan dimensions and align structures to astronomic or geographic features,Belmonte, "Unveiling Seshat," pp. 203-210. while fixing the ground plan and determining its corners. It involved the use of rope/cord, poles/stakes, and clubs/mallets. Depictions of the ritual typically showed Seshat and the king, across from another, holding these tools and "stretching" the cord between them. The god

Horus Horus (), also known as Heru, Har, Her, or Hor () in Egyptian language, Ancient Egyptian, is one of the most significant ancient Egyptian deities who served many functions, most notably as the god of kingship, healing, protection, the sun, and t ...

is sometimes depicted alongside them. Text from the

Palermo Stone The Palermo Stone is one of seven surviving fragments of a stele known as the Royal Annals of the Old Kingdom of Ancient Egypt. The stele contained a list of the kings of Egypt from the First Dynasty (c.3150–2890 BCE) through to the early par ...

indicates that this festival was performed at least as early as the First Dynasty, where it involved her priests.Magdolen, "Sign of Seshat - Part Three," p. 72. The oldest iconographic depiction dates from the Second Dynasty, where Seshat and

carry out the ritual. SFEC-RAMASSEUM-2009-11-14-0011

Sed Festival

By the New Kingdom, she was involved in the

Sed festival The Sed festival (''ḥb-sd'', Egyptian language#Egyptological pronunciation, conventional pronunciation ; also known as Heb Sed or Feast of the Tail) was an ancient Egyptian ceremony that celebrated the continued rule of a pharaoh. The name is ...

, a ceremony attested since the Early Dynastic Period. Also called the Heb Sed, the festival celebrated the continuing reign of a king, typically after thirty years of rule. Seshat, sometimes alongside

, recorded the king's jubilees and

regnal years A regnal year is a year of the reign of a sovereign, from the Latin meaning kingdom, rule. Regnal years considered the date as an ordinal, not a cardinal number. For example, a monarch could have a first year of rule, a second year of rule, a t ...

on a notched palm rib or the leaves of the sacred ''ished'' (or persea) tree. Seshat and Thoth would have also recorded the names and histories of kings on the sacred ''ished'' tree.

Worship

Seshat was strongly associated with the king's reign and official ceremonies. She was not worshipped by the general populace and did not have a dedicated cult or temple of her own. However, her role in the "stretching the cord" ritual would have involved her in the founding of every temple. Likewise, her association with writing and architecture would have made her a patroness of scribes and builders. Seshat held various titles related to writing and

libraries A library is a collection of Book, books, and possibly other Document, materials and Media (communication), media, that is accessible for use by its members and members of allied institutions. Libraries provide physical (hard copies) or electron ...

, including "Mistress of Scribes" and "Lady of Books," as her priests oversaw the places in which scrolls of knowledge were assembled and spells were preserved. This responsibility would have involved her in the House of Life, a place where scribes were trained. Heliopolis was the location of her principal sanctuary. A prince of the Fourth Dynasty, Wep-em-nefret, is noted as a priest of Seshat (among other deities) on a slab stela from his tomb.

Emblem

The Seshat emblem is a

hieroglyph Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs ( ) were the formal writing system used in Ancient Egypt for writing the Egyptian language. Hieroglyphs combined ideographic, logographic, syllabic and alphabetic elements, with more than 1,000 distinct characters. ...

representing the goddess Seshat in

ancient Egypt Ancient Egypt () was a cradle of civilization concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in Northeast Africa. It emerged from prehistoric Egypt around 3150BC (according to conventional Egyptian chronology), when Upper and Lower E ...

. In art, it was shown above her head or as part of her headpiece. It is unclear what the emblem symbolises. It is variably described as a flower, star, or rosette below a crescent or arc. Alternatively, the emblem may represent a device similar to the Roman groma or a method of identifying directions through the use of gnomons. It is typically shown with seven points and one "stem" of variable length extending from the bottom. The points of the emblem may be depicted with varying shapes and levels of detail, but remain symmetrical. It may also be depicted with a disc or ring in its centre. The emblem has two main variations. During the

, the upper arc was depicted as whole with two upright feathers on top (Gardiner R21).Magdolen, "Sign of Seshat - Part Three," pp. 64–65. By the New Kingdom, the arc was split into two "horns" with upright points replacing the feathers (Gardiner R20). Both variations remained in use throughout the New Kingdom and onwards. The famous 24th century BC

, a piece of the Royal Annals of the Old Kingdom

stele A stele ( ) or stela ( )The plural in English is sometimes stelai ( ) based on direct transliteration of the Greek, sometimes stelae or stelæ ( ) based on the inflection of Greek nouns in Latin, and sometimes anglicized to steles ( ) or stela ...

, has multiple uses of Seshat's emblem. It occurs twice on the "front" (or recto) side, in years 34 and 40 under Den. One of these examples is arranged below, reading approximately: ''"(Year:) Creating (images of) Seshat and Mafdet."'' This refers to the creation of the goddesses' cult images, such as statues, as a defining event for the year. The Seshat emblem is also used on the Palermo Stone to represent Seshu, the male counterpart of Seshat. F31:X1.R21 ! U1-S39-Z9:Z9 ! I9:D47:X1-S39-Z9:Z9 !!

Gallery

File:SFEC EGYPT KARNAK 2006-014.JPG, Seshat (third from the left) shown performing the "stretching the cord" ritual with

Ramesses II Ramesses II (sometimes written Ramses or Rameses) (; , , ; ), commonly known as Ramesses the Great, was an Pharaoh, Egyptian pharaoh. He was the third ruler of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt, Nineteenth Dynasty. Along with Thutmose III of th ...

(second from the left). Sunken relief at the Karnak Temple Complex. File:Temple of Edfu 15.jpg, Ptolemy III and Seshat, with

alongside, depicted conducting the "stretching of the cord". Bas-relief in the Temple of Edfu (c. 237–57 BC),

Ptolemaic dynasty The Ptolemaic dynasty (; , ''Ptolemaioi''), also known as the Lagid dynasty (, ''Lagidai''; after Ptolemy I's father, Lagus), was a Macedonian Greek royal house which ruled the Ptolemaic Kingdom in Ancient Egypt during the Hellenistic period. ...

. File:Kom Ombo 23.jpg, Seshat shown holding the mallet, pole, and rope used in the "stretching the cord" ritual, alongside

. Bas-relief at the Temple of Kom Ombo (c. 180–47 BC),

. File:Goddess Seshat, ca. 1919-1875 B.C.E., 52.129.jpg, Depiction of Seshat writing. Sunken relief in limestone from the Pyramid Temple of

Senusret I Senusret I (Egyptian language, Middle Egyptian: wikt:z-n-wsrt, z-n-wsrt; /suʀ nij ˈwas.ɾiʔ/) also anglicized as Sesostris I and Senwosret I, was the second pharaoh of the Twelfth dynasty of Egypt, Twelfth Dynasty of Egypt. He ruled from 1971 ...

( Dynasty 12, c. 1919–1875 BC); copy of a relief made for Pepi II ( Dynasty 6, c. 2284–2214 BC). File:Luxor temple 16.jpg, alt=Bust depiction of Seshat recording the king's life on the palm rib. Thoth (not pictured) is doing likewise across from her. Sunken relief in granite from the back of the throne of the statue of Ramesses II, in the Amun temple at Luxor (c. 1250 BCE)., Depiction of Seshat recording the king's life on the palm rib.

(not pictured) is doing likewise across from her. Sunken relief in granite from the back of the throne of the statue of

, in the Amun temple at

Luxor Luxor is a city in Upper Egypt. Luxor had a population of 263,109 in 2020, with an area of approximately and is the capital of the Luxor Governorate. It is among the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited c ...

(c. 1250 BCE). File:Seshat in Luxor.jpg, Full length of Seshat from the previous image.

History

Iconography

Roles

"Stretching the Cord" Ritual

Sed Festival

Worship

Emblem

Gallery

See also

Notes

References

Further reading