Painting from the tomb of King Ramesses V/VI, New Kingdom, 20th Dynasty – King’s Valley 9, Western Thebes, Valley of the Kings – The pillars of the sepulcher of Ramesses V/VI, like in other tombs of the same era, bear figures of the king and various gods. Here, the pharaoh presents a small figure of Ma’at. Depicted as a woman with an ostrich plume (one hieroglyph for her name) on her head, Ma’at was the goddess of the cosmic order. She is attested in the Old Kingdom, especially in the Pyramid Texts, and by the New Kingdom she had become the daughter of Re and thus the sister of the reigning king (who is the son of Re). One of the principal roles of the king was to maintain ma’at, to rule justly and wisely and keep balance in the cosmos; Ma’at was the personification of this concept.