Seshat

Seshat
Seshat, depicted in a leopard skin with her emblem above her head, inscribing the years of reign for the king on a palm-leaf rib (hieroglyph for "year").
Name in hieroglyphs
R20tB1
SymbolLeopard skin, tablet, star, Cannabis flower, stylus
ParentsThoth and Maat
ConsortThoth

Seshat (Ancient Egyptian: 𓋇𓏏𓁐, romanized: sšꜣt, lit. 'Female Scribe', under various spellings) was the ancient Egyptian goddess of writing, wisdom, surveying, and knowledge. She was seen as a scribe and record-keeper, and was believed to be the creator of writing.: 77  She was variously depicted as the wife, daughter, or feminine counterpart of Thoth, the god of knowledge, writing, and wisdom.: 294 

History

Seshat is attested from at least the First Dynasty. However, the antiquity of her symbols, such as the notched palm rib— a method of recording information that predated writing— suggests that she likely originated earlier than the First Dynasty. Examples of her emblem, or related symbols, have been found as early as the Predynastic Period. Her ancient age was emphasized by her epithets 'the primeval one' and 'the primordial one who began writing.': 77 

The first time her priests and image are definitively referenced is on the Palermo Stone, during the reign of Den. She was first visually depicted as early as the Second Dynasty, where she was shown conducting the "stretching the cord" ritual with the pharaoh Khasekhemwy. Starting in the Middle Kingdom, Seshat was additionally known by the name Sefkhet-Abwy, which may be translated as 'seven-horned' or 'she who has laid aside the horns'.: 366  Seshat and Sefkhet-Abwy continued to be depicted and referenced until at least the Ptolemaic Dynasty.

In the Pyramid Texts, she is identified as an aspect of the goddess Nephthys, and is invoked as the 'Lady of Builders.'

Iconography

In ancient Egyptian art, she was depicted as a woman with a seven-pointed emblem positioned above her head or extending from a headband. This emblem was the origin of an alternate name for Seshat, Sefkhet-Abwy. She was commonly shown wearing a leopard-skin or dress, sometimes with a robe layered underneath the skin. The leopard-skin may serve as evidence of her pre-dynastic origins, as the fashion gradually died out after the Old Kingdom period ended, and only survived ceremonially.

Depiction of Seshat, Thoth, and Atum (not pictured) writing on the fruit of the sacred persea or ished tree. Sunken relief from the Ramesseum, mortuary temple of Ramesses II (c. 1303–1213 BC).

Usually, Seshat is shown holding a notched palm rib, the hieroglyph for "year". The rib was often depicted ending in a tadpole above a shen ring, representing 100,000 and infinity, respectively.: 35  Depictions of Seshat often showed her notching the rib to record the passage of time with one hand, and writing down the pharaoh's regnal years with the other.: 67  When Seshat was depicted recording festivals, hieroglyphs representing them were shown suspended from the rib. She was also often depicted holding other tools such as the knotted cords that were stretched to survey land and structures.

Roles

Seshat was the divine measurer and scribe, and thus assisted the pharaoh 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.[citation needed]

As early as the Old Kingdom, 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 Thoth (Ancient Egyptian: 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.[citation needed] Seshat also appeared in funerary contexts, where, along with Nephthys, she restored the limbs of the deceased.

"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.

Hatshepsut (c. 1479–1458 BC) and Seshat in a sunken relief at the Red Chapel, depicted performing the "stretching the cord" ritual for the temple's founding.

The "stretching the cord" ritual, or pedj-sesh(r) ceremony, is one such example.: 197  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,: 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 is sometimes depicted alongside them.: 197 

Text from the Palermo Stone indicates that this festival was performed at least as early as the First Dynasty, where it involved her priests.: 72  The oldest iconographic depiction dates from the Second Dynasty, where Seshat and Khasekhemwy carry out the ritual.: 200–201 

Sed Festival

By the New Kingdom, she was involved in the Sed festival, 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.: 660  Seshat, sometimes alongside Thoth, recorded the king's jubilees and regnal years on a notched palm rib or the leaves of the sacred ished (or persea) tree.: 67  Seshat and Thoth would have also recorded the names and histories of kings on the sacred ished tree.: 152 

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.: 72 

Seshat held various titles related to writing and libraries, including "Mistress of Scribes" and "Lady of Books,": 366  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.[citation needed]

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 representing the goddess Seshat in ancient Egypt. In art, it was shown above her head or as part of her headpiece.

R21
 
 
 
 
 
 
R20
The variations of Seshat's emblem
in hieroglyphs
Gardiner: R21 and R20

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: 203–210  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.: 62–63 

The emblem has two main variations. During the Old Kingdom, the upper arc was depicted as whole with two upright feathers on top (Gardiner R21).: 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 Palermo Stone, a piece of the Royal Annals of the Old Kingdom stele, 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.

Print of the recto side of the Palermo Stone (c. Fifth Dynasty, 2392–2283 BCE), edited for readability. Seshat's emblem appears twice in the third row down, in the sections 7th and 13th from the right.

The Seshat emblem is also used on the Palermo Stone to represent Seshu, the male counterpart of Seshat.

F31
X1
 
R21
U1S39Z9
Z9
I9
D47
X1		 S39Z9
Z9

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Including Safkhet, Sesat, Seshet, Sesheta, and Seshata.
  2. 1 2 Also spelled Sefkhet-Abut, Sefkhet-Abwi, and Sefekhet-Abuy.
  3. ↑ The Unicode font reads left-to-right; the Palermo Stone was written right-to-left. On the stone, a large renpet (or palm rib), the hieroglyph for year, precedes this selection.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Wilkinson, Richard H. (2003). The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt. London: Thames & Hudson. pp. 166–167. ISBN 0-500-05120-8. Retrieved 8 July 2022 – via Internet Archive.
  2. 1 2 Ramsey, S. D. (2026). The Gods Themselves: Rhetoric and Myth in Sumer, Egypt, and Greece Before 355 BCE. University of South Carolina Press.
  3. 1 2 Asante, Molefi Kete; Cérol, Marie-José, eds. (2009). Encyclopedia of African Religion. Los Angeles: Sage (published 2008-11-26). ISBN 978-1-4129-3636-1. Retrieved 27 February 2025 – via Internet Archive.
  4. 1 2 3 Gregory, Steven R.W. (2022-02-04). Tutankhamun Knew the Names of the Two Great Gods: Dt and nHH as Fundamental Concepts of Pharaonic Ideology. Archaeopress Publishing Ltd. p. 36. doi:10.2307/j.ctv2b07tzx. ISBN 978-1-78969-986-9. JSTOR j.ctv2b07tzx. Retrieved 27 February 2025.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Wainwright, G. A. (1940). "Seshat and the Pharaoh". Journal of Egyptian Archaeology. 26. London: The Egypt Exploration Fund: 30–33. doi:10.1177/030751334002600105. Retrieved 27 February 2025 – via Internet Archive.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Magdolen, Dušan (2006). "The Development of the Sign of the Ancient Egyptian Goddess Seshat Down to the End of the Old Kingdom: Analysis and Interpretation – Part Three" (PDF). Asian and African Studies. 15 (1). Bratislava: Institute of Oriental Studies, Slovak Academy of Sciences: 55–58. Retrieved 27 February 2025.
  7. ↑ Rechholz, M. (2023). Seshat and Lady Wisdom: Prov 8 in Light of the Demotic Book of Thoth. Vetus Testamentum, 74(2), 216-236.
  8. 1 2 3 Wilkinson, Toby A. H. (2000). Royal Annals Of Ancient Egypt: The Palermo Stone and its Associated Fragments. London: Kegan Paul International. pp. 112–118. ISBN 0-7103-0667-9. Retrieved 17 March 2025 – via Internet Archive.
  9. 1 2 3 Bunson, Margaret R. (2002). Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt (Revised ed.). New York: Facts on File Inc. ISBN 978-0-8160-4563-1. Retrieved 27 February 2025 – via Internet Archive.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 Magdolen, Dušan (2005). "The Development of the Sign of the Ancient Egyptian Goddess Seshat Down to the End of the Old Kingdom: Analysis and Interpretation – Part One" (PDF). Asian and African Studies. 14 (1). Bratislava: Institute of Oriental Studies, Slovak Academy of Sciences: 46–47. Retrieved 27 February 2025.
  11. ↑ Allen, James (2015). The Ancient Egyptian Pyramid Texts (2nd ed.). SBL Press. p. 84. ISBN 9781628371154.
  12. 1 2 3 Hart, George (2005). The Routledge Dictionary of Egyptian Gods and Goddesses. New York: Routledge. pp. 142–143. Retrieved 8 July 2022 – via Internet Archive.
  13. ↑ Asante, Encyclopedia of African Religion, p. 609.
  14. 1 2 3 4 Magdolen, Dušan (2009). "A New Investigation of the Symbol of Ancient Egyptian Goddess Seshat" (PDF). Asian and African Studies. 18 (2). Bratislava: Institute of Oriental Studies, Slovak Academy of Sciences: 169–189. Retrieved 27 February 2025.
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 Belmonte, Juan Antonio; Miguel Angel, Molinero Polo; Miranda, Noemi (2009). "Unveiling Seshat: New Insights Into The Stretching Of The Cord Ceremony" (PDF). In Belmonte, Juan Antonio; Shaltout, Mosalam (eds.). In Search of Cosmic Order: Selected Essays on Egyptian Archaeoastronomy. Cairo: Supreme Council of Antiquities Press. Bibcode:2009iscc.book.....B. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2020-12-02. Retrieved 3 July 2022.
  16. ↑ Gardiner, Alan (1938). "The House of Life". Journal of Egyptian Archaeology. 24. London: The Egypt Exploration Fund: 174. doi:10.1177/030751333802400131. Retrieved 27 February 2025 – via Internet Archive.
  17. ↑ Smith, William Stevenson (March 1963). "The Stela of Wepemnofret" (PDF). Archaeology Magazine. 16 (1): 13. Retrieved 16 March 2025 – via Digital Giza, Harvard University.
  18. 1 2 Gardiner, Alan (1927). Egyptian Grammar: Being An Introduction to the Study of Hieroglyphs (Third ed.). Oxford: Griffith Institute. p. 503. ISBN 978-0900416354. Retrieved 3 July 2022 – via Internet Archive. {{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
  19. ↑ Budge, E. A. Wallis (1920). An Egyptian Hieroglyphic Dictionary. Vol. 2. London: John Murray. p. 698a. Retrieved 27 February 2025.

Further reading