Ammut : A mythical creature of the Netherworld with the head of a crocodile, front legs of a lion, and back legs of a hippopotamus. Ammut was called the “devourer of the dead.” In illustrations for Chapter 125 of the Book of the Dead, she sits in the Hall of Two Truths, next to the scale of justice, on which the heart of the deceased was weighed against the feather of truth that represents justice or maat. If the heart was found to be heavy with evil deeds, it fell to Ammut, who devoured it. This was the worst thing that could happen, for then the soul of the deceased could never resurrect in the next world.

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Egyptian Mythology A to Z, Third Edition – Written by Pat Remler – Copyright © 2000, 2006, 2010 by Pat Remler