Seshat is the ancient Egyptian goddess of writing, wisdom and knowledge. As daughter of Thoth the scribe god, she's a scribe and record keeper. The word sesh is used to denote a scribe, meaning 'to draw'. Her name Seshat means female scribe.
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Her mother is Ma'at, goddess of justice. Ma'at features in the weighing of the heart in duat, part of the Afterlife. First appearing c. 2900 BCE, Seshat is also goddess of sciences, accounting, architecture, astronomy, astrology, building, mathematics and surveying.
In this she relates to Sumerian goddess Nisaba, deity of Mesopotamian scribes, writing, surveying, agriculture and grain. It's thought Nisaba is an agricultural goddess before the advent of writing in Mesopotamia (c. 3400 - 3100 BCE).
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The earliest evidence of phonetic writing in Egypt dates to c. 3250 BCE. The first known complete sentence in Egyptian language is dated to c. 2690 BCE. This is also about the time cohesive writing develops in Mesopotamia.
Scribes in Egypt record activities of daily life, keep books, supervise building and statuary, immortalize battles and control inventory. They write recipes for incense, embalming and medical treatments, take dictation from rulers and describe special events in ancient Egypt.
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After scribe school, jobs vary from writing letters for illiterate citizens, city planning or keeping tally on royal and community grain, usually stored in temples. Sons of scribes assume the positions of their fathers.
As divine measurer and scribe, Seshat advises the Pharaoh in both of these areas of expertise. Seshat assists the Pharaoh in the "stretching the cord" ritual. This ritual is related to laying out the foundations of temples and other important structures.
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Seshat is invoked to determine and assure sacred alignments and dimensional precision. She has the epithet Mistress of Builders. Seshat lays plans for construction and expansion of sacred sites such as temples and temple complexes.
Her skills are vital for surveying the land, especially to re-establish boundary lines after the annual Nile floods. The priestess who officiates in her name also supervises staff and is trained in mathematics and related knowledge.
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The scribe also records speeches of the Pharaoh during the crowning ceremony, and may supervise the inventory of foreign captives and goods gained in military campaigns. During the New Kingdom (c. 1570 BCE), Seshat takes part in the Sed festival.
The Sed Festival or Festival of the Tail is held by Pharaohs who can celebrate thirty years of rule. The regnal years of the king and his jubilees are documented on leaves of the ished or Persea tree (Mimusops laurifolia), also called the tree of life.
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Seshat notches her palm staff to measure time allotted to the Pharaoh for his stay on earth. Another title for Seshat is Mistress of the House of Books. Her priest/esses oversee the libraries containing the most important knowledge and documentation.
They ensure the spells and rituals are preserved. Seshat also appears in funerary contexts, along with Nephthys, a goddess symbolizing the death experience. Seshat restores the limbs of the deceased as part of a ritual to re-animate the body in the spirit world.
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Seshat is associated with Thoth (Djehuty in ancient Egyptian), the scribe god. The reckoner of time and god of writing, Thoth is also revered as a deity of wisdom. Seshat is variously considered to be the sister, wife, or daughter of Thoth.
Seshat is the inventor of writing. Thoth teaches writing to mortals. In other tales, Thoth invents writing. As a moon god Thoth is worshipped from c. 6000 BCE. Seshat appears in myth c. 2800 BCE. The first Egyptian script, hieroglyphic, shows up c. 3200 BCE.
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Since the Egyptian word for scribe is sesh, meaning 'to draw', the original term applies to makers of drawings such as the images of hieroglyphs. The cursive or hieratic style of Egyptian writing comes later, about the time of Seshat's reign.
Thoth can be seen as inventor of the hieroglyphic writing system, and Seshat the hieratic. The hieratic sees the evolution of picture glyphs into cursive and demotive writing. Changes are gradual. Some styles are in use simultaneously.
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The symbols of Seshat include the leopard skin, tablet, star and stylus. She's always shown in leopard print attire such as a long dress or cloak. She carries the curved palm rod notched with the years of a ruler's reign.
The leopard skin is worn by funerary priests. The pattern of the hide is said to represent the stars and their arrangements in the cosmos. It symbolizes night and eternity.
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Other symbols of Seshat include scribe tools such as tablet, bag of styli or reeds, and box for ink. The seven-point star is a symbol based on the leaf over her head and the decorative cloche above it. The star gives Seshat the appellation Seven-Horned or Sefkhet-Abwy.
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