Ammut (Ammit, Ahemait, Ammemet) an Egyptian demoness and funerary deity, "Devourer of the Dead," "Eater of Hearts", or "Great of Death," annihilator and punisher of criminal souls in the Underworld, who waited by the scales of judgement to consume the heads of those who did evil during their lives. She is depicted with a head like a crocodile, and the front part of her body is a lion's or a leopard's, and her back part (hind-quarters) is in the form of a hippopotamus. All three are the most dangerous man-eater animals, that the Egyptians feared, threatening to eat them if they did not follow the principals of Ma'at. An Egyptian papyrus (No. 9901) states: hat en emsuh; pehu-s em tebt her-ab-set em ma, which means "the fore-part of a crocodile; her hind-quarters are those of a hippopotamus; her middle part [is that] of a lion." Ammut was not worshipped as a deity in any temples. It has even been suggested that she was also a protector of Osiris, because of her position at the Judgement.
The hieroglyph for a crocodile is seen as ,
and for a lion is
and for a hippopotumus it is .
Other sources claim Ammut, was also known as the "Dweller in Amenty" or the "Devourer of Amenty," the place where the sun sets. Amenty, as used by the Egyptians, was applied to the west bank of the Nile - Egyptian cemeteries and funerary places were all on the west. To the Egyptians, west was a direction linked to death. Amenty was also the name of the underworld - the place where Ra travelled during the night. Ammut, therefore, was not only a demoness of death, but a demoness of the underworld. In at least one papyrus, Ammut was depicted as crouching beside the lake of fire in the infernal regions of the underworld!
The Book of the Dead is a selection of spells, designed to assist the deceased through the trials of the underworld. This also, of course, assists the dead to not get eaten by Ammut. The papyrus of Ani, in a speech made by the gods to Thoth, says:
The Osiris [the scribe Ani], whose word is true, is holy and righteous. He has not committed any sin, and he has done no evil against us. The devourer Ammut shall not be permitted to prevail over himThe Book of the Dead
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