Seshat, under various spellings, was the ancient Egyptiangoddess of wisdom, knowledge, and writing. She was seen as a scribe and record keeper, and her name means she who scrivens, and is credited with inventing writing. She also became identified as the goddess of accounting, architecture, astronomy, astrology, building, mathematics, and surveying. In art, she was depicted as a woman with a seven-pointed emblem above her head. It is unclear what this emblem represents. This emblem is the origin of an alternate name for Seshat, Sefkhet-Abwy, which means "seven-horned". Mistress of the House of Books is another title for Seshat, being the deity whose priests oversaw the library in which scrolls of the most important knowledge were assembled and spells were preserved. One prince of the fourth dynasty, Wep-em-nefret, is noted as the Overseer of the Royal Scribes, Priest of Seshat on a slab stela. Heliopolis was the location of her principal sanctuary. Usually, she is shown holding a palm stem, bearing notches to denote the recording of the passage of time, especially for keeping track of the allotment of time for the life of the pharaoh. She was also depicted holding other tools and, often, holding the knotted cords that were stretched to survey land and structures. She is frequently shown dressed in a cheetah or leopardhide, a symbol of funerary priests. If not shown with the hide over a dress, the pattern of the dress is that of the spotted feline. The pattern on the natural hide was thought to represent the stars, being a symbol of eternity, and to be associated with the night sky. As the divine measurer and scribe, Seshat was believed to appear to assist the pharaoh in both of these practices. It was she who recorded, by notching her palm, the time allotted to the pharaoh for his stay on earth. Seshat assisted the pharaoh in the "stretching the cord" ritual. This ritual is related to laying out the foundations of temples and other important structures in order to determine and assure the sacred alignments and the precision of the dimensions. Her skills were necessary for surveying the land after the annual floods to reestablish boundary lines. The priestess who officiated at these functions in her name also oversaw the staff of others who performed similar duties and were trained in mathematics and the related store of knowledge. She also was responsible for recording the speeches the pharaoh made during the crowning ceremony and approving the inventory of foreign captives and goods gained in military campaigns. During the New Kingdom, she was involved in the Sed festival held by the pharaohs who could celebrate thirty years of reign. Thoth, the reckoner of time and god of writing who was also venerated as a god of wisdom was closely identified with Seshat, with whom he shared some overlapping functions. At times she was identified as his daughter, and at other times as his wife.
Emblem
The Seshat emblem is a hieroglyph representing the goddess Seshat in Ancient Egypt. As the emblem symbolizes this deity, it sits atop her head. The emblem was a long stem with a 7-petal flower on top and surmounted by a pair of horns; the archaic form had 7-petals,, as a 'star', and one horizontal-, and surmounted by two enclosing sickle-shaped signs, two falcon-feathers on top. The Seshat emblem in Egyptian is the name of Seshat. As the origin of her name is related to the male scribe, and she represents the female version, it is thought her origins also involve the stars, and ancient Egyptian astronomy.
The famous 24th century BC Palermo Stone has multiple uses of Seshat's emblem. It occurs on the obverse of the Palermo Piece, 1 of the 2 large pieces of the 7—piece Palermo Stone. It is used on the obverse, Row III, and is used twice in King Year Record 34, and 40 of King Den. It is also used elsewhere on the stone for God Seshu, the male counterpart of Seshat. F31:X1.R21 ! U1-S39-Z9:Z9 ! I9:D47:X1-S39-Z9:Z9 !! ---- The reading is approximately: "YEAR: To create Statue for Seshait, Statue for Mafdet." for YEAR, precedes the register
Iconographic example, Goddess Seshat
One famous example of the iconographic use of the Seshat's emblem is from Pharaoh, and Queen Hatshepsut's Red Chapel.
