The Assessors of Maat were 42 minor ancient Egyptian deities of the Maat charged with judging the souls of the dead in the afterlife by joining the judgment of Osiris in the Weighing of the Heart.
Papyrus of Ani: some of the 42 Judges of Maat are visible, seated and in small size. British Museum, London.
All 42 Judges of Maat are depicted above this scene of psychostasia from the Temple of Hathor at Deir el-Medina. Each of them has on his head the ostrich feather of their mistress Maat.
Maat or MaŹ½at comprised the ancient Egyptian concepts of truth, balance, order, harmony, law, morality, and justice. Ma'at was also the goddess who personified these concepts, and regulated the stars, seasons, and the actions of mortals and the deities who had brought order from chaos at the moment of creation. Her ideological opposite was Isfet, meaning injustice, chaos, violence or to do evil.
Statue of Maat, adorned with the ostrich feather of truth
Maat wearing the feather of truth
The heart of Hunefer weighed against the feather of Maat
Some of the 42 Judges of Maat are visible, seated and in small size. Maat's feather of truth depicted in the bottom right corner. British Museum, London.
