I'm on the pacific coast of the US. In Gladstone, Oregon.

You can get it of Amazon:



Don't however do the Budge Dictionary part I deal as well. If you buy part one then you'll need part two and I fell for that trick and now have both parts of the dictionary. It is very outmoded, but has incredibly useful appendices with all of the kings of Egypt in more or less correct order along with their cartouches (praenomen and nomen only).

It also contains a 1000 page dictionary with 1000s of words, about 10% of which are completely wrong. Any opinions from anyone who has it?

I didn't want to make another topic so here's my question that's been buggin' me. A yes or no answer will be fine.

Is Ammit, [the part crocodile, hippopotamus, lion] considered a god?

You know it isn't like me to give a straight yes or no answer! So here is my confusing and unclear one:

I would consider him more of a mythological beast than a god. Although he undoubtedly played a key role in the weighing of the heart ceremony I think that he didn't really have god-like powers.
He was divine though, and then you start slipping into philosophy: What is a god? Webster's dictionary says:

God
1)A being conceived as the perfect, omnipotent, omniscient originator and ruler of the universe, the principal object of faith and worship in monotheistic religions.
2)The force, effect, or a manifestation or aspect of this being.
3)A being of supernatural powers or attributes, believed in and worshiped by a people, especially a male deity thought to control some part of nature or reality.
4)An image of a supernatural being; an idol.
5)One that is worshiped, idealized, or followed: Money was their god.
6)A very handsome man.
7)A powerful ruler or despot.

Ammit certainly was a being of supernatural power, but he did not entail all of the modern conotations and ideas that come with being a god. I say he is a mythological beast/creature, but this is open for dscussion. Certainly, if he was worshipped then I think that he could be called a god, but as far as I am aware he did not have any temples or cult centres etc.

any other ideas?

Thanks. So it's pretty much along the same line as the Ba and Ka?

I am unsure about this. The Egyptian version of the word God is far more general than the one we use today. The Chrisitan ideology says that god is an immutable, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent being who is timeless and formless. However, we know that Horus was not Omnipotent as he died of a scorpion bite as a child. Seth wasn't immutable as he changed. Ra was not omnisicient as he was decieved by Isis. Sekhmet was not Omnipresent as she was removed from the world after she nearly detroyed humanity.
This shows that the Egyptian idea of a god is vastly different from our own ideas. Be careful when you discuss what is or isn't a god'goddess with regard to Egyptian beleif.

I would say that meanings 3 and 4 roughly define the Egyptian gods. I feel that my answer was not incorrect, just rather vague:

3)A being of supernatural powers or attributes, believed in and worshiped by a people, especially a male deity thought to control some part of nature or reality.
4)An image of a supernatural being; an idol.