A depiction of Ammit in a late period papyrus, showing mostly leonine traits.
In Egyptian mythology, Ammit ("Devourer" known as the "devourer of the dead") was a female demon with a body that was part lion, hippopotamus and crocodile.
Ammit lived near the scales of justice in Duat, the Egyptian underworld. In the Hall of Two Truths, Thoth weighed the heart of a person against Ma'at, the goddess of truth, who was sometimes depicted symbolically as an ostrich feather. If the heart was judged to be not pure, Ammit would devour it, and the person undergoing judgement was not allowed to continue their voyage towards Osiris and immortality.
Ammit was also sometimes said to stand by a lake of fire. In some traditions, the unworthy hearts were cast into the fiery lake to be destroyed. Some scholars believe Ammit and the lake represent the same concept of destruction.
Although often referred to as a demon, in destroying evil she also acted as a force for good. Some experts have linked Ammit with the goddess Tawaret, who has a similar physical appearance and, as a companion of Bes, also protected others from evil. Other authors have noted that Ammit's lion characteristics and the lake of fire may be pointers to a connection with the goddess Sekhmet.
In case anyone is wondering how a composite god would be treated under this system, it is the all-important head that proclaims the class.
So the fierce Ammut, ‘great of death’ and ‘eater of hearts’(an unlikely but definitely frightening one third crocodile, one third lion and one third hippopotamus) may be found under crocodile.
Reading through the beautifully illustrated text one is struck by the inexhaustibly elastic nature of the Egyptian pantheon.
Feeds |
Contact