Seshat

Seshat (, under various spellings

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. In addition, examples of her emblem, 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.

Iconography

In ancient Egyptian art, she was depicted as a woman with a seven-pointed emblem above her head or extending from a headband. This emblem was the origin of an alternate name for Seshat, Sefkhet-Abwy, She was frequently shown in a leopard-skin or dress, sometimes with a robe layered under a skin. Seshat's notching of the stem indicated the recording of the passage of time, especially that of the king's lifespan. 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. From the Middle Kingdom onwards, she was depicted recording foreign tribute given to Egypt. 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, while fixing the ground plan and determining its corners.

left|thumb|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).]]

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. 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.

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. 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 representing the goddess Seshat in ancient Egypt. 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.

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). By the New Kingdom, the arc was split into two "horns" with upright points replacing the feathers (Gardiner R20).

References

Further reading

• 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, )
• 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