Seshat

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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").[1]
Name in hieroglyphs
Symbol	Leopard skin, tablet, star, Cannabis flower, stylus
Parents	Thoth and Maat
Consort	Thoth

Seshat (Ancient Egyptian: 𓋇𓏏𓁐, romanized: sšꜣt, lit. 'Female Scribe',^[1] under various spellings^{[Note 1]}) was the ancient Egyptian goddess of writing, wisdom, and knowledge. She was seen as a scribe and record keeper. She was also credited with inventing writing.^{[citation needed]} She became identified as the goddess of measurement, accounting, architecture, science, astronomy, mathematics, geometry, history and surveying. She was variously depicted as the wife, daughter, or feminine counterpart of Thoth, who was also associated with knowledge, astronomy, measurement, and writing.^[2][3]

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.^[4] She was depicted in image as early as the Second Dynasty, where she was shown conducting the "stretching the cord" ritual with Khasekhemwy.^[1] 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.^[5] In addition, examples of her emblem, or symbols that appear related, have been found dating from the 3rd millennium BC Protodynastic Period.^[6]

Starting in the Middle Kingdom, Seshat was alternatively represented by the name Sefkhet-Abwy.^{[Note 2]} Seshat and Sefkhet-Abwy continued to be depicted until at least the Ptolemaic Dynasty.^[7]

In ancient Egyptian art, she was depicted as a woman with a seven-pointed emblem above her head or extending from a headband.^[8] This emblem was the origin of an alternate name for Seshat, Sefkhet-Abwy,^{[Note 2]} which may be translated as "seven-horned".^[1][9] She was frequently shown in a leopard-skin or dress, sometimes with a robe layered under a skin.^[7] The leopard-skin was a symbol of funerary priests, with the pattern on the natural hide thought to represent the stars, being a symbol of eternity, and to be associated with the night sky.^{[citation needed]}

Usually, Seshat is shown holding a notched palm rib, the symbol for "year" in Egyptian hieroglyphics. The stem was often depicted ending in a tadpole above a shen ring, representing 100,000 and infinity, respectively.^[8][10] Seshat's notching of the stem indicated the recording of the passage of time, especially that of the king's lifespan.^[11] 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.^[1]

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.^[8] She was also shown conducting cattle censuses.^[12] From the Middle Kingdom onwards, she was depicted recording foreign tribute given to Egypt.^[1]

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.^[1]

Seshat held titles related to construction, including "Lady of Builders",^[13] 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.^[14] 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,^[15] while fixing the ground plan and determining its corners.^[13] 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.^[14]

Text from the Palermo Stone indicates that this festival was performed at least as early as the First Dynasty, where it involved her priests.^[16][4] The oldest iconographic depiction dates from the Second Dynasty, where Seshat and Khasekhemwy carry out the ritual.^[17]

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.^[18] 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.^[3][11] Seshat and Thoth would have also recorded the names and histories of kings on the sacred ished tree.^[19]

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.^[1] Likewise, her association with writing and architecture would have made her a patroness of scribes and builders.^[7][16]

Seshat held various titles related to writing and libraries, including "Mistress of Scribes"^[3] and "Lady of Books,"^[9] 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.^[20] 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.^[21]

The Seshat emblem is a hieroglyph representing the goddess Seshat in ancient Egypt.^[22] 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.^[1] Alternatively, the emblem may represent a device similar to the Roman groma^[15] or a method of identifying directions through the use of gnomons.^[13] It is typically shown with seven points and one "stem" of variable length extending from the bottom.^[5] The points of the emblem may be depicted with varying shapes and levels of detail, but remain symmetrical.^[13] It may also be depicted with a disc or ring in its centre.^[23]

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).^[24] By the New Kingdom, the arc was split into two "horns" with upright points replacing the feathers (Gardiner R20).^[22] Both variations remained in use throughout the New Kingdom and onwards.^[7]

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

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.^{[4][Note 3]}

The Seshat emblem is also used on the Palermo Stone to represent Seshu, the male counterpart of Seshat.^[25][7]

• 
  Seshat (third from the left) shown performing the "stretching the cord" ritual with Ramesses II (second from the left). Sunken relief at the Karnak Temple Complex.
• 
  Ptolemy III and Seshat, with Horus alongside, depicted conducting the "stretching of the cord". Bas-relief in the Temple of Edfu (c. 237–57 BC), Ptolemaic dynasty.
• 
  Seshat shown holding the mallet, pole, and rope used in the "stretching the cord" ritual, alongside Horus. Bas-relief at the Temple of Kom Ombo (c. 180–47 BC), Ptolemaic dynasty.
• 
  Depiction of Seshat writing. Sunken relief in limestone from the Pyramid Temple of Senusret I (Dynasty 12, c. 1919–1875 BC); copy of a relief made for Pepi II (Dynasty 6, c. 2284–2214 BC).
• 
  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).
• 
  Full length of Seshat from the previous image.

• Gardiner's Sign List#R. Temple Furniture and Sacred Emblems
• Scribe equipment (hieroglyph)

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Seshat.

• Budge, E. A. Wallis, 1920, (1978). An Egyptian Hieroglyphic Dictionary, (Dover Publications), c 1978, (c 1920), Dover edition, 1978. (In two volumes, 1314 pp. and cliv-(154) pp.) (softcover, ISBN 0-486-23615-3)
• 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 Two" (PDF). Asian and African Studies. 14 (2). Bratislava: Institute of Oriental Studies, Slovak Academy of Sciences: 196–227