Khenti-Amentiu

Khenti-Amentiu, also Khenti-Amenti, Kenti-Amentiu and many other spellings, is a divine name or title from Ancient Egyptian mythology. It means 'Foremost of the Westerners' or 'Chief or the Westerners', where 'Westerners' refers to the dead.

Khenti-Amentiu was the name of a jackal-headed deity at Abydos in Upper Egypt, who stood guard over the city of the dead. This god is attested early at Abydos, perhaps even earlier than the unification of Egypt at the start of the Old Kingdom period. The Abydos area is also associated with Osiris, and with Wepwawet who was a wolf- or jackal-headed god of nearby Sayawt (Asyut, Lycopolis).

As early as the Old Kingdom, Khenti-Amentiu is associated with Osiris (see Eye of Horus).

At times Khenti-Amentiu was associated with Yinepu (Anubis), who is also jackal-headed and is associated with Wepwawet in various ways.

It is unclear whether Khenti-Amentiu was originally the name or title of a separate god, or has always simply been the epithet of one of the more well-known gods.