Egyptian Gods
Ancient Egyptian Gods, Goddesses and Religion
Seshat
Mythology of Seshat
Seshat (literally, 'the female scribe') was the goddess of
all forms of writing and notation, including record
keeping, accounting, and census taking as well as being
'she who is foremost in the house of books': the patroness
of temple libraries and other collections of texts.
The goddess is known from as early as the 2nd Dynasty when
she is attested assisting King Khasekhemwy in the ritual
'stretching the cord' ceremony, as Seshat was also the
'mistress of builders' and it was she who established the
ground plan on the founding or expansion of every sacred
structure.
Beginning in the Old Kingdom Seshat is also found recording
herds of different types of animals seized as booty, and
from the Middle Kingdom she records the names of foreign
captives in addition to their tribute, and in New Kingdom
temple scenes she records the king's regnal years and
jubilees on the leaves of the sacred ished or persea tree.
Along with Nephthys, Seshat was said to restore the members
of the deceased in the afterlife.
The goddess was also associated with
some few other Egyptian gods, mainly the god Thoth whose
sister, consort or daughter she was variously said to be.
In New Kingdom times Seshat was parallelled by the goddess
Sefkhet-abwy whose characteristics and attributes seem to
be virtually identical to her own. It is unlikely,
therefore, that she is really anything but a form of
Seshat.
Iconography of Seshat
Seshat was depicted in anthropomorphic form as a woman
often wearing a leopard skin over her robe and with a
headdress consisting of a headband with a tall extension
upon which was an obscure emblem resembling a
rosette-pointed star. This 'star' is often surmounted by a
bow or crescent moon-like symbol resembling downturned
horns, which was itself sometimes crowned by two falcon
feathers. Usually the goddess holds a palm rib upon which
the years were notched and which may terminate in a tadpole
(the hieroglyphic number for 100,000) seated upon the
shen (eternity) hieroglyph symbolizing an infinite
number of years. In scenes where Seshat records the
jubilees of the king, hieroglyphic signs for the festival
are also suspended from the tip of the branch. When she is
depicted alongside the king in the foundation ceremony,
Seshat often holds the stake and mallet and stretches taut
the line used to mark out the parameters of new buildings.
Worship of Seshat
By her very nature Seshat was a deity of official building,
recording and writing projects and she rarely appears to
have had no temple of her own, but by virtue of her role in
the foundation ceremony she was a part of every temple
building. In a similar manner she played no real part in
popular religion, although she may have been held to be a
patron goddess of sorts among scribes and builders.
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