The weighing of the heart

Description

This relief represents the ceremony of the weighing of the heart in the hall of judgement after death. The deceased is introduced into the hall of judgment by the jackal-headed God Anubis. His or her heart is placed in one of the pans of a scale to be weighed against the feather of truth of the Goddess Maat. Anubis then adjusts the plummet while Thoth, generally shown as Ibis-headed, writes down the verdict. Nearby a demon, the “Eater of Hearts, a composite of crocodile, lion and hippopotamus waits for a verdict against the deceased, when the heart will then be thrown to it. Upon a satisfactory verdict the deceased is then led by Horus before Osiris. The deceased is presented as one “true of voice, justified and a suitable candidate to be admitted into the joys of the netherworld.