Ammit was a demon in Egyptian mythology that could prevent the souls of the dead from reaching the blessed underworld, banishing them to eternal oblivion.
Evolving Ideas of the Egyptian Underworld
As Egyptian ideas about the underworld developed over time, the passage from the world of the living to the paradise of the dead became more complex.
The ordeal of the Weighing of the Heart Ceremony, as detailed in the Book of the Dead, became a popular idea until the New Kingdom. Ammit also emerged in the New Kingdom.
Ammit the Chimera Demon
Ammit, “the Devourer of the Dead,” is described as a mythological hybrid creature with the forequarters of a lion, the hindquarters of a hippopotamus, and the head of a crocodile. Some variations exist; for example, Ammit was sometimes depicted with the head of a hippo or the body of a dog.
While the name Ammit denotes her as female, she often appeared with male aspects, such as the mane of a male lion and the tri-colored nemes worn by the (usually) male pharaohs.
Role of Ammit in the Judgement of the Dead
Ammit appears in tombs and on funerary papyri as part of the judgement that allowed the dead to pass into the blessed underworld. If, when the heart of the dead is weighed against the feather of Ma’at, it is found to be too heavy, the heart is given to Ammit to devour.
Ammit (and Khonsu) in the Coffin Texts and Book of the Dead
In older funerary texts, Khonsu, the moon god, was described as the devourer of the dead and hearts. One spell (310) from the Coffin Texts (Middle Kingdom) specifically said that Khonsu burned hearts that weighed more than the father, while another spell (311) calls him the devourer of the hearts of gods and the dead, eating them for their power.
When these Coffin Texts were updated for the Book of the Dead in the New Kingdom, Khonsu was replaced by Ammit.
A Fate Worse Than Death
Devouring the heart essentially left the dead without a soul to join Osiris in the underworld, which was essentially a second death for the deceased.
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