Isfet (Egyptian mythology)

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Isfet (Egyptian mythology) in hieroglyphics
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Isfet
Jsft
injustice / violence

Isfet (in English "injustice" or "violence") is a term from the ancient Egyptian worldview , which was characterized by a religious , political and social ambiguity ( dualism ).

Principle and ideology

Isfet was regarded as the counterpart to Maat (to German "(world) order" or "harmony"). In the eyes of the Egyptians, Isfet and Maat formed a complementary, albeit paradoxical, duality: the one could not exist without the other. An Egyptian ruler ( Pharaoh ) was instructed to destroy the Isfet in order to "realize" the Maat , that is, he had to ensure order and harmony through justice and cults . The principle of opposition between Isfet and Maat is impressively described , for example, in a popular story from the Middle Kingdom , the "Lamentations of the Oasis Man" :

“ Whoever destroys the lie promotes the Maat,
whoever promotes the good destroys the evil,
how satiety drives away hunger,
clothes cover the naked,
how the sky is serene after a violent storm. "

In the eyes of the ancient Egyptians, the world was ambiguous; the actions and judgments of the righteous king were made clear by separating good from bad. The first religious expressions relating to the Isfet / Maat antagonism can be found in the pyramid texts of King Unas ( 5th Dynasty , Old Kingdom ).

literature

  • Jan Assmann : Ma'at. Justice and immortality around ancient Egypt (= Beck series. Bd. 1403). 1st edition, Beck, Munich 1990, ISBN 3-406-45943-9 .
  • Jan Assmann et al .: Ma'at - Confucius - Goethe. Three lessons for real life. 1st edition, Insel-Verlag, Frankfurt a. M. / Leipzig 2006, ISBN 3-458-17248-3 .
  • Anja Berendine Kootz: The ancient Egyptian state: Investigation from a political science perspective (= Menes. Vol. 4). Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 2006, ISBN 3447053194 .
  • Donald B. Redford : The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt: AF (= The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt. Volume 1). Oxford University Press, 2001, ISBN 019513821X .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ J. Assmann: Ma'at. Justice and immortality around ancient Egypt. Munich 1990, p. 213. See also Chapter III, 1: The "complaints of the oasis man". P. 58ff.
  2. ^ Also Jan Assmann et al .: Ma'at - Konfuzius - Goethe. Three lessons for real life. Leipzig 2006, p. 48ff.
  3. ↑ J. Assmann: Ma'at. Justice and immortality around ancient Egypt. Munich 1990, pp. 213-216.
  4. ↑ AB Kootz: The ancient Egyptian state. Wiesbaden 2006, pp. 71-73.