Based on Egyptian Mythology – The ancient Egyptian goddesses Ammit was the personification of divine retribution. She sat beside scales of Ma’at ready to Devourer the souls of those deemed unworthy. Those unfortunate enough to fall judgement of the dead would suffer the feared second death, and have no chance of the blissful life of the fields of reeds, instead roaming restlessly for eternity.
She was generally depicted as a demon with the head of a crocodile, the torso of a wild cat, and the hindquarters of a hippopotamus. However she also took human form.
Ammit was never worshipped, and was not strictly a goddess, but her image was thought to ward off evil. She was the personification of all that the ancient Egyptians feared and a reminder to live by the principles of Ma’at. Although she was referred to as a demon, she was in reality a force for order. Moreover each person was at least given the chance to defend their actions before being consigned to eternal damnation. The heart scarab was used to encourage the persons heart not to speak out against them and the negative confession allowed a person to defend themselves by pointing out all of the evil actions they had NOT taken.
Recently Ammit appeared in the new Disney Marvel series Moon Knight. But I feel this was a swing and a miss on a great opportunity to make this character really scary and cool. I was hoping they would have gone with a similar type of version, like I have depicted in this painting.
This original painting is available to buy, along with a run of 50 limited edition giclee prints, 40cm x 30 cm, signed by the artist. Printed on Hahnemuhle textured fine art paper (German etch) 310gsm
Ian Leaver-Blaxstone 