kingship-dynastyWe're still mapping where this idea was first discussed. Key passages and related ideas below.
Divine Kingship & the King as Guarantor of Ma'at
Without a king doing ma'at, Egyptians feared, the whole world would slide into chaos.
For Egyptians, kingship was not merely political but cosmic: the king was the one figure who kept the world in order, performing the rites that sustained the gods and the state, defending the land, and ensuring the Nile, the harvests, and justice. To 'do ma'at' was the king's defining task. Middle Kingdom 'pessimistic' literature evokes a world sliding into chaos when this order breaks down — imagery conventionally read against the memory of the First Intermediate Period.
Key passages(0)
No passages match your filters.