People in most ancient civilizations were afraid of their gods.
This was not true in ancient Egypt. The Egyptians loved their gods. They
had little fear and great wonder.
There was one exception, though - the god Ammut. Almost
everyone in ancient Egypt was afraid of Ammut! Ammut was the Devourer. The ancient Egyptians believed if
you did something bad, your heart would be heavy, and the god Ammut might
suddenly appear and eat you up!
The god Ammut had a big part in the weighing of the heart
ceremony. When you died, the ancient Egyptians believed you traveled to
an afterlife, a heavenly place where you spent eternity. You had to earn
your way. There were rules. To enter your afterlife, you had to
have a light heart. Light hearts were earned from a lifetime of doing
good deeds.
After you died, the ancient Egyptians believed your heart had to
be weighed. It had to be lighter than a feather. To find out if your
heart qualified for the trip to the afterlife, your spirit had to enter
the Hall of Maat.
The god Anubis weighed your heart. The god Thoth
recorded the findings. (In ancient Egypt, everything was recorded and written down.)
If your heart was light, you passed the test and entered
your afterlife. BUT, if your heart was heavy because your deeds were
dreadful, the god Ammut would suddenly appear ... and eat
you up!
