Relief of the goddess Maat dating from the New Kingdom X1X dynasty. Maat was the ancient Egyptian concept of truth, balance and order.Goddess Maat was thought to have come into existence at the moment of creation, and to have brought order into the ensuing chaos She maintained order in the universe and regulated the stars and seasons and the actions of mortals and gods. Her symbol was the feather seen here on her head. She accompanied the souls of the deceased into the underworld where she presided over judgement before Osiris. The heart of the deceased was weighed against Maat's feather. The outcome determined their treatment in the afterlife. National Archaelogical Museum, Florence