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Egyptian Mythology
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Underworld

Ammit

ꜥm-mwt
Devouring the condemnedFinal death

How it changed

Not a goddess to be placated but a consequence, drawn crouching next to the balance in every illustrated judgement scene. If the heart outweighs the feather she eats it, and the dead person simply ceases: no punishment, no hell, no afterlife at all. That is what Egyptian religion offered as the worst outcome, and it is worth noticing that it is annihilation rather than torment.

Cult centre

None. Never worshipped

Best attested

New Kingdom onward, in the Book of the Dead

Family

None.

Epithets

  • Devourer of the dead
  • Eater of hearts

How to recognise the figure

A composite: the head of a crocodile, the forequarters of a lion and the hindquarters of a hippopotamus, waiting beside the scales.

Appears in

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