Editing Seshat (section)

== Emblem ==
The '''Seshat emblem''' is a [[Egyptian hieroglyphs|hieroglyph]] representing the goddess Seshat in [[ancient Egypt]].<ref name="Gardiner2">{{cite book |last1=Gardiner |first1=Alan |author-link=Alan Gardiner |url=https://archive.org/details/gardiner.-egyptian-grammar/page/503/mode/2up |title=Egyptian Grammar: Being An Introduction to the Study of Hieroglyphs |date=1927 |publisher=Griffith Institute |isbn=978-0900416354 |edition=Third |location=Oxford |page=503 |language=English |access-date=3 July 2022 |via=Internet Archive}}</ref> In art, it was shown above her head or as part of her headpiece.

It is unclear what the emblem symbolises. It is variably described as a flower, star, or rosette below a crescent or arc.<ref name="Wilkinson" /> Alternatively, the emblem may represent a device similar to the Roman [[groma (surveying)|groma]]<ref name=":7" /> or a method of identifying directions through the use of [[Gnomon|gnomons]].<ref name=":2" /> It is typically shown with seven points and one "stem" of variable length extending from the bottom.<ref name=":1" /> The points of the emblem may be depicted with varying shapes and levels of detail, but remain symmetrical.<ref name=":2" /> It may also be depicted with a disc or ring in its centre.<ref>Magdolen, "Sign of Seshat - Part Three," pp. 62–63.</ref>

The emblem has two main variations. During the [[Old Kingdom of Egypt|Old Kingdom]], the upper arc was depicted as whole with two upright feathers on top (Gardiner R21).<ref>Magdolen, "Sign of Seshat - Part Three," pp. 64–65.</ref> By the [[New Kingdom of Egypt|New Kingdom]], the arc was split into two "horns" with upright points replacing the feathers (Gardiner R20).<ref name="Gardiner2" /> Both variations remained in use throughout the New Kingdom and onwards.<ref name=":3" />
[[File:Abhandlungen_der_Königlich_Preussischen_Akademie_der_Wissenschaften_aus_dem_Jahre_(1902)_(16765759871).jpg|thumb|Print of the recto side of the [[Palermo Stone]] (c. [[Fifth Dynasty of Egypt|Fifth Dynasty]], 2392–2283 BCE), edited for readability. Seshat's emblem appears twice in the third row down, in the sections 7th and 13th from the right.]]
{{Hiero|The variations of Seshat's emblem|<hiero>R21-.- -.- -.- -.- -.- -.-R20</hiero>|align=center|gardiner=R21 and R20}}The famous 24th century BC [[Palermo Stone]], a piece of the Royal Annals of the Old Kingdom [[stele]], has multiple uses of Seshat's emblem. It occurs twice on the "front" (or recto) side, in years 34 and 40 under [[Den (pharaoh)|Den]]. One of these examples is arranged below, reading approximately: ''"(Year:) [[Three fox skins (hieroglyph)|Creating]] (images of) Seshat and [[Mafdet]]."'' This refers to the creation of the goddesses' [[Cult image#Ancient Near East and Egypt|cult images]], such as statues, as a defining event for the year.<ref name=":8" /><ref name="Note03" group="Note" />

The Seshat emblem is also used on the Palermo Stone to represent Seshu, the male counterpart of Seshat.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Budge |first=E. A. Wallis |author-link=E. A. Wallis Budge |url=https://archive.org/details/BudgeEAWEgyptianHieroglyphicDictionaryVol21920/page/n107/mode/2up |title=An Egyptian Hieroglyphic Dictionary |date=1920 |publisher=John Murray |volume=2 |location=London |page=698a |access-date=27 February 2025}}</ref><ref name=":3" />

<hiero>F31:X1.R21 ! U1-S39-Z9:Z9 ! I9:D47:X1-S39-Z9:Z9 !!</hiero>