Imentet

Imentet greeting Pharaoh Horemheb in his tomb (KV57)

Imentet (Ament, Amentent or Imentit, meaning "She of the West"^[1]) was a goddess in ancient Egyptian religion representing the necropolises west of the Nile.

She was the consort of Aqen, a god who guided Ra through parts of the underworld. Although she was never officially worshipped, she was mentioned in various hymns and passages of the Book of the Dead.^[2]

Role[]

Part of a series on
Ancient Egyptian religion
show Beliefs Afterlife Duat Ma'at Mythology Numerology Philosophy Soul
show Practices Funerals Offering formula Temples Priestess of Hathor Pyramids
show Deities (list)
show Locations Aaru Benben Duat Land of Manu The Indestructibles
show Symbols and objects Aani Abtu Ankh Atef Atet Book of Thoth Cartouche Crook and flail Deshret Djed Egyptian obelisk Egyptian pool Eye of Horus Eye of Ra Griffin Hedjet Hemhem crown Hennu Hieracosphinx Imiut fetish Khepresh Kneph Matet boat Medjed Menat Nebu Nemes Neshmet Ouroboros Pschent Scarab Seqtet boat Serekh Serpopard Set animal Shen ring Sphinx Tyet Uraeus Ushabti Was-sceptre Winged sun
show Texts Funerary texts (Amduat • Books of Breathing • Book of Caverns • Book of the Dead • Book of the Earth • Book of Gates)
show Related religions Atenism Hermeticism Thelema Kemeticism (Kemetic Orthodoxy • Church of the Most High Goddess)
Ancient Egypt portal
v t

As goddess of the deceased, she lived in a tree looking out at the entrance to the Duat (Underworld).^[1] Her main job, other than being a minor fertility goddess, was to offer food and drink to the newly dead, which would restore their spirits enough to travel to the "field of reeds" which was essentially paradise in ancient Egyptian religion, however, she was so closely linked with Hathor and Isis in their afterlife roles that she may be less an independent deity than an alternate form of those two goddesses.^[3]

Appearance[]

She was usually depicted as a queen in robes^[2] wearing the hieroglyph for "west" on her head and a sceptre and an ankh in her hands. She often appears in tombs welcoming the deceased into the afterlife, sometimes with wings, and sometimes as a Kite because of her connection to Isis and Nephthys.^[1]

Name[]

Her title "She of the West" is not just a statement related to geography, but also related as her role in mythology because, as the sun sets towards the west, it was to be accompanied by death, which was where Imentet usually reigned. Additionally, amenti (or amentet) was thought to be where the sun set, and where the entrance to the Underworld was located, although later the term began to associate itself with graveyards and tombs as well.^[1]

References[]

This article about Egyptology or subjects relating to Ancient Egypt is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by .

• v
• t