The ancient Egypt Ammit (also known as Ammut and Ahemait) is a female demon goddess, a personification of divine retribution. She sat beside the scales of Ma’at ready to devour the souls for all the wrongs one has committed in life.

Ammit, as the character is known as the demoness of punishment and was depicted having a head of a crocodile. She was also shown with a dog’s head in some cases. Her upper torso was that of a lioness or leopard and the hind quarters were taken from a hippopotamus.

She was generally depicted as a demon with the head of a crocodile, the torso of a wild cat, animals that were considered dangerous and were man-eating animals by ancient Egyptians. Many times, she also took the human form.

During the Judging of the Heart, if the deeds of the soul being judged are found to be unworthy, more wicked than good with wrong deeds, then Anubis feeds the soul to Ammit. This results in the total annihilation and end of the soul with no hope of further existence.

Other scholars believed that Ammit, the demon goddess resides near the lake of fire in Duat (the underworld) and protects it. After every judgment is made, she throws the hearts of the wicked into the fiery lake to be destroyed.

Ancient Egypt Ammit Meaning

The name Ammit was also spelled as  Ammet, Amhemit, Amam, Ammut or Amemet. Literally, the demon goddess name means “devourer” and so she also acquired titles like “Eater of Souls”,  “Eater of Hearts”, “The Devourer of the Dead”, “Greatness of Death”, “Devourer of Millions”, Demoness of the Underworld”, “Bone Eater”, “Demoness of Death”, ” and “Dweller or Devourer in Amenta.

In myth, Ammit was never regarded as a goddess and was not worshiped. Instead, she embodied all that the Egyptians feared if they did not follow the principle of Ma’at by threatening to bind them to eternal restlessness.  Although she is often referred to as a demon, by destroying evil she acted as a force for good.