In ancient Egyptian mythology, it is the formidable creature known as Ammit who consumes the hearts of the wicked during the crucial judgment of the afterlife.
Ammit: The Devourer of Souls
Ammit, often referred to as the "Devourer of the Dead," "Devourer of Hearts," or "Great of Death," is a terrifying figure in the ancient Egyptian underworld. She is revered and feared as a demoness and the personification of divine retribution, rather than being worshipped as a god. Her role is specific and chilling: she consumes the hearts of those deemed unworthy during the Weighing of the Heart ceremony, ensuring their complete annihilation and preventing them from reaching the blissful afterlife.
The Weighing of the Heart Ceremony
The heart was considered the seat of a person's intellect, memory, and personality in ancient Egypt, and it was the only internal organ deliberately left within the body during mummification (or replaced with a scarab if removed). Upon death, an individual's journey to the afterlife involved a pivotal trial known as the Weighing of the Heart ceremony, which typically took place in the Hall of Two Truths within the Duat (the underworld).
This solemn judgment involved several key figures:
- Anubis: The jackal-headed god of mummification and the afterlife, who guides the deceased and supervises the weighing scale.
- Ma'at: The goddess of truth, justice, and cosmic order, represented by her feather. The deceased's heart is weighed against this feather.
- Thoth: The ibis-headed god of knowledge, writing, and wisdom, who records the results of the weighing.
- Osiris: The god of the afterlife, the underworld, and the dead, who presides over the judgment.
The Process:
- The deceased's heart is metaphorically placed on one side of a great scale.
- On the other side, Ma'at's feather of truth is placed.
- If the heart is pure and balanced with Ma'at's feather, the deceased is declared 'maa-kheru' ("true of voice") and permitted to pass into the Field of Reeds, a paradise.
- However, if the heart is heavy with sin and misdeeds, failing to balance with the feather, it signifies that the deceased is unworthy.
Ammit's Terrifying Role
It is at this critical moment that Ammit performs her gruesome task. With the pronouncement of guilt, Ammit, who typically waits beside the scales, devours the condemned heart. This act signifies the "second death" – an irreversible and final destruction of the soul, erasing the individual from existence forever. This ultimate obliteration was considered far worse than physical death, as it meant eternal oblivion and a complete cessation of one's journey to the afterlife.
Ammit is often depicted as a hybrid creature, combining the most feared animals of ancient Egypt: the head of a crocodile, the forequarters of a lion, and the hindquarters of a hippopotamus, underscoring her monstrous and inescapable nature. Her very existence served as a powerful deterrent, encouraging ancient Egyptians to lead virtuous lives in accordance with Ma'at's principles.
