Egypt
Known as the “devourer of the dead”, Ammit was a demoness and goddess in ancient Egyptian religion. Her body was part lion, hippopotamus, and crocodile—the three largest “man-eating” animals known to ancient Egyptians. A deity of death, her titles also included “Eater of Hearts”, and “Great of Death”. After a human’s death, the god Anubis weighed the heart of the person against the feather of Ma’at, the goddess of truth. If the heart was judged to be not pure, Ammit would devour it, and the person could continue their voyage toward Osiris and immortality. Once Ammit swallowed the heart, the soul was believed to become restless forever, considered dying a second time.
Ammit was not worshipped; instead, she embodied all that the Egyptians feared, threatening to bind them to eternal restlessness if they did not follow the principle of Ma’at.