Imsety

Imsety is a figure in ancient Egyptian religion known as one of the Four Sons of Horus, the funerary guardians associated with the mummified deceased. He is depicted with a human head and is specifically linked to the liver, which he guards in the canopic jars used during mummification. Alongside his brothers, Imsety embodies a key component of the ancient Egyptian belief in preserving the body and ensuring continued protection in the afterlife.

As part of the Four Sons of Horus, Imsety stands alongside Hapy (lung guardian, baboon-headed), Duamutef (stomach guardian, jackal-headed), and Qebehsenuef (intestines guardian, falcon-headed). Each son is connected to a particular organ and jar, forming a protective quartet that accompanied the deceased. The guardianship of the organs was integrated into broader funerary practices and belief in the restoration and safeguarding of the body and its functions in the afterlife.

In iconography, Imsety’s human head distinguishes him from the other jar guardians, and his role is primarily functional within the canopic storage system rather than a separate mythic narrative. The Four Sons of Horus appear in tomb art and canopic triple and mural scenes across the Middle and New Kingdom periods and later eras, reflecting a long-standing tradition in Egyptian funerary ritual.

See also: Canopic jars, Four Sons of Horus, Egyptian mythology, Mummification.