Ammit, the Devourer of the Dead
In the ancient Egyptian underworld, a creature waited beside the scales. If your heart was heavier than a feather, it ate it.
What was reported
In ancient Egyptian belief, after death a person's heart was weighed against the feather of Ma'at, the goddess of truth and justice, in the Hall of Judgement. If the heart was light, the person passed on to the afterlife. If it was heavy with wrongdoing, it was thrown to Ammit.
Ammit, 'the devourer', was shown in the Book of the Dead with the head of a crocodile, the front of a lion and the back of a hippopotamus, the three most dangerous animals the Egyptians knew. Being eaten by her meant ceasing to exist forever.
Explanations offered
Ammit was never worshipped as a goddess. She was a figure of fear, and illustrated papyri, such as the famous Papyrus of Ani from Thebes, show her crouching by the scales. People were buried with spells to help them pass the judgement safely.
- When
- Shown in the Book of the Dead, from about 1550 BC
- Where
- Thebes (Luxor), Egypt
- Witnesses
- Ancient Egyptian funeral texts
- Status
- Myth
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.
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