Anubis (deity)

Symbol: Jackal head; black fur; headless animal skin tied to a pole

Culture: Ancient Egypt

Father: Osiris/Ra

Mother: Nephthys

Children: Kebehwet/Kebechet

Worshipped in ancient Egypt, Anubis was the canine-headed god whose domain was cemeteries and embalming. This deity was often associated with the cults that worshipped Osiris and the sun god Ra, both of whom were popular figures in ancient Egyptian mythology. Anubis was also known as lord of the mummy wrappings because Egyptian myths revealed him to be the inventor of the mummification rites. The ancient funerary ceremony known as the Opening of the Mouth was performed with priests wearing jackal masks meant to invoke the spirit of Anubis. In this ceremony, the mouth of the dead person would be cut open so that he or she could continue to eat and breathe in the afterlife.

The oldest records that have survived to the present contain evidence that Anubis was a deity who was worshipped during Egypt’s earliest days. He was so important that the mortuary rituals were deemed to be incomplete without him. In fact, Egyptians believed that the departed souls could find safe passage through the underworld after death only if they worshipped Anubis, so the ancient funerary customs made this worship mandatory. Eventually, the creation myths replaced Anubis with Osiris, who became ruler of the underworld; this change in status made Anubis a much less popular god in the Egyptian pantheon. Anubis is usually depicted as a crouching dog or jackal with black fur; he is shown wearing a collar possessing magical properties. Black symbolized fertility in Egyptian culture, and the representation of black fur in an underworld deity such as Anubis symbolized a close connection between death and regeneration.

In Mythology

The Greek historian Plutarch recorded an origin myth about Anubis that suggested he was the son of the Egyptian goddess Nephthys. According to Plutarch, it was Nephthys’s illicit liaison with Osiris that led to the birth of Anubis. Abandoned by Nephthys, Anubis was subsequently found and raised by Isis, Osiris’s own wife. Eventually, Anubis grew up and fought beside Osiris in the battle against the evil Seth. It was also Anubis who guarded the chests that contained the viscera (that is, the internal organs) of Osiris after he was killed by the god Seth. In addition to serving as a protector deity who escorted the dead into the afterlife by helping them cross into the underworld, Anubis also played an important role in the Weighing of the Heart ceremony. In this ceremony, he sat in judgment to determine whether he should grant the deceased an afterlife. Only those who had upheld the ideals of justice, truth, and morality while alive would be allowed to survive after death. Anubis would weigh the heart to see if it was heavy with wrongdoing, and if it were, a demon would devour the man or woman, who would cease to exist.

Although many of the other deities in the Heliopolis pantheon play a more important role than Anubis in Egyptian mythology, he is still a presence in the culture’s myths. For example, he is the son of Nephythys in the creation stories of both the sun god cults and the underworld cults. Other existing stories say that Anubis was the son of the ancient cow goddess Hesat, one of the immortals who were worshipped in Egypt. Egyptian mythology also suggests that Anubis fathered the celestial snake goddess Kebehwet, the deity who purifies and refreshes the pharaoh. Later, during the Roman occupation of Egypt between 30 BCE and 395 AD, Anubis was re-imagined as a cosmic deity who ruled over the sky and the earth. During this period, he assumed a new, more active role in Egyptian mythology. Now he was celebrated as the bringer of light to humanity and as a warrior god with the body of a snake.

Origin and Cults

Egyptians originally looked upon Anubis as the defender of the dead. In this role, he protected the deceased from the scavenging desert hounds that fed on the corpses buried in Egypt’s ancient burial grounds. Although Anubis was the focus of many early Egyptians rituals, myths about this god would eventually link him to Osiris and Ra, deities who would in time become much more prominent figures in the Egyptian pantheon. As a result, only those cults that worshipped these other deities would continue to honor him. However, despite his less prominent status, Anubis didn’t disappear entirely from Egyptian mythology. By the end of the Fourth Dynasty (2613–2494 BCE), he was being mentioned in the funeral inscriptions placed on Egyptian tombs. Furthermore, Egyptians acknowledged him as a guardian deity in the royal tombs located in the Valley of the Kings at Thebes. Archaeologists working in this area, for example, have discovered paintings depicting nine bows that symbolize the hostile underworld forces dominated by this god. In Abydos was a cult center dedicated to Anubis, and some believe that it was this god who eventually replaced the canine deity Khenti-Amentiu.

Before Osiris emerged as one of the more important gods in the Egyptian pantheon, it was Anubis who served as the deity who reigned over the dead in the afterlife. However, once supplanted by Osiris, Anubis was relegated to the role of a necropolis god, one who was associated mainly with embalming rituals. Now he was no longer such an important figure in some of the origin myths that had earlier linked him to the sun god. Anubis’s association with embalming—it was said that he actually invented the process—led Egyptians to call him the Foremost of the Burial Chamber. It was this link to the embalming arts that made him such an important figure for the Egyptian royal family. By the time of the Fourth Dynasty, the pharaohs had already embraced the practice of mummification, and according to myth, Anubis employed mummification to prevent the decay of the dead pharaohs. The tomb of a pharaoh typically contained everything a mortal man might require in the afterlife to be comfortable, including an unlimited supply of food. Ancient Egyptians wrote down special formulae in hieroglyphics that were addressed to Anubis in hopes that he would protect the dead in the afterlife. Egyptians continued to worship Anubis throughout ancient history, even during periods of foreign occupation, demonstrating that his influence endured.

Bibliography

Bunson, R. Margeret. Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt. Rev. ed. New York: Facts On File, 2002. Print.

Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. "Anubis." Encyclopaedia Britannica. Encyclopaedia Britannica Online. Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2015. Web. 2 Dec. 2015. <http://www.britannica.com/topic/Anubis>.

Hart, George. The Routledge Dictionary of Egyptian Gods and Goddesses. 2nd ed. London: Routledge, 2005. Print.

Jordan, Michael. Dictionary of Gods and Goddesses. 2nd ed. New York: Facts On File, 2004. Print