Ancient
Egyptian Goddess Amentet
Amentet with Ra-Horakhty ("Horus
of the two horizons")
in the Tomb of Nefertari
The ancient
Egyptian Goddess Amentet (also known as Ament, Amentit, Imentet and Imentit)
was the consort of Aken (the ferryman of the dead).
Amentet
Her name means "She of the west". This was not just a geographical statement, although some scholars consider that she originated fromLibya (west
of Egypt
Her name means "She of the west". This was not just a geographical statement, although some scholars consider that she originated from
As
the sun set in the west, it was associated with death and the netherworld. The
name Amentet referred to both the west bank of the Nile
and to the world of the dead, and the dead were sometimes known as
"westerners". Originally, Amenti (or Amentet) was considered to be
the place where the sun set at the entrance to the netherworld, but the name
was soon applied to cemeteries and tombs across Egypt
As a goddess of
the dead, Amentet is thought to have lived in a tree at the edge of the desert
overlooking the gates to the underworld. She was often depicted in tombs and
coffins, protecting the dead. However, she was also a fertility goddess. She
met the souls of the recently deceased and offered them bread and water before
ushering them into the realm of the dead. This sustenance revitalised them and
prepared them for the rebirth of their souls and the trials they would face on
their way to the "field of reeds" (paradise).
She was sometimes merged with Hathor, Isis and Neith, Mut, and Nut.
She was also
closely related to Nephthys and Ma´at, and according to some myths was the
daughter of Horus and Hathor.
She was often
depicted as a queen occassionally carrying a sceptre and the ankh of life. On
her head she wears the sign representing the west (a semi circle on top of one
long and one short pole) and a feather and or a hawk. In the depictions in
coffins she is often given wings, and in her association with Isis and Nepthys
she was depicted as a kite.
The goddess was sometimes paired with Ra-Horakthy, who represented the rising sun while she represented the setting sun. She also appears with Iabet, (the goddess of the eastern desert) in the Book of the Earth. Her main centres of worship were the western Delta, Memphis, Abydos and Luxor and Karnak
Tomb KV 17 Valley
of the Kings at Thebes
King Seti I
presented by Horus to Osiris
Horus presents King Seti I to Osiris and Hathor -
Painting
Valued Opinions
Abeer Mohamed
"Here (Paiting) Hathor ( Amentet ), has her name inscribed on the
top of her head hat-hor , means house of Horus, but she take the form of the
goddess of Imentet (Ament, Amentit, Imentet & Hathor ) that
means the West ."
Sarah Scott
Amentet : Goddess of the
3rd Lower Egyptian Nome
Wallis
Budge sees her as the counterpart of Amun.
A nome was a subnational administrative division of ancient Egypt .
Amun-Ra Egyptology
Amentet is depicted sometimes with the hieroglyphs for the concept "West" on her head, on which the hawk or ostrich feather rests. Her name means "She of the West", as she is regarded as a personification of the direction West. In Ancient Egypt, the West is the where the dead enter the underworld and Amentet is believed to be the goddess who welcomes their entrance into the Kingdom of Osiris.
Sources :
- "Ancient Egypt online "
http://www.ancientegyptonline.co.uk/amentet.html
- Own research and the help of the persons mentioned :
