Maat is an ancient Egyptian concept and goddess embodying truth, cosmic balance, order, harmony, law, morality, and justice. She represented the ideal ethical and moral principles that Egyptians were expected to follow in their daily lives and governed the universe's balance against chaos. Maat's symbolic emblem is an ostrich feather, used in the afterlife judgment called the "Weighing of the Heart," where the deceased's soul was measured against her feather to determine their fate. As a goddess, Maat was closely associated with the sun god Ra, often called his daughter, and had connections to other deities like Thoth and Osiris. Pharaohs upheld Maat to legitimize their rule by maintaining order and righteousness. The concept extended beyond mere law to include universal equilibrium—maintaining Maat meant preventing chaos and ensuring harmony in all aspects of life and the cosmos. Violating Maat was equated with inviting disorder or injustice (Isfet). Maat was depicted as a woman with an ostrich feather on her head and played a critical role in Egyptian religion, cosmology, and governance from the Old Kingdom period onward, deeply influencing Egyptian culture, law, and spirituality.