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Underworld
Ammit
ꜥm-mwtDevouring 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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