What was the god Anubis responsible for? What does Anubis look like?
Ancient Egyptian culture is special, it is still interesting to people and researchers all over the world, its legacy is definitely great throughout the planet.
A separate and significant part of it is given to all sorts of deities, the diversity of which is considerable. Everyone knows such a character, as he was revered everywhere, rituals were performed in his honor and majestic buildings were built. However, no less attention should be paid to Anubis, the Egyptian god of death, because his influence and authority were also not questioned.
This god patronized the dead, accompanying them to the main court, and he was also responsible for the appropriate burial places. The process of mummification, as well as, in general, everything that was somehow related to death, was in the zone of influence of Anubis.
He is considered the son of another great god - Osiris, who was seduced by the goddess Nephthys. And at the same time, his cult was earlier, it originated in the era of about 2,500 BC, the place where his veneration began was the Egyptian city of Kinopolis, which forever secured the title of the center of the worship of Anubis. From here throughout Egypt, such a belief spread quickly.
IN ancient times Anubis, Egyptian god death, single-handedly ruled this area of life:
- owned the afterlife;
- kept count of the hearts of the dead.
At first he was depicted as an animal (or some mixture of animals):
- wild dog;
- black jackal;
- hunting dog.
This image did not arise by chance; residents were wary of jackals, as they tore up graves. To change this, it was decided to deify this animal, associating it with the name of Anubis. It was also believed that stray dogs and jackals would be able to protect the graves. In addition, they lived in deserts, considered the beginning of another, afterlife.
Over time, the image of Anubis acquired a human form, only he still had the head of one of these animals, most often a jackal. This was the meaning of the Egyptian god of death Anubis:
- connection with the afterlife;
- protection;
- loyalty;
- hunting;
- devotion.
Usually his images were saturated with black, which was always found at the funerals of great rulers. The myths indicate that it was Anubis who invented funerals and mummification.
However, other colors are also inherent in this deity:
- white - symbolizes bandages;
- green - symbolizes rebirth.
Everyone who was associated with the rituals of his worship and funeral used the appropriate attributes, which expressed respect for Anubis:
- jackal mask;
- rod with dog skin;
- staff with the image of a jackal's head.
Respect for symbolic animals reached the point that a dog or a jackal was kept at the temples; when this sacred animal died, its body was embalmed and left in the same temple.
Anubis, the meaning of the Egyptian god of death in culture
The first meaning of the Egyptian god of death Anubis was associated with mummies and their protection. Then Osiris began to take the leading role in the pantheon, slightly shifting the rights of his son, who became a servant and assistant. He continued to deal with the dead, escorting souls to the afterlife and delivering them to the court, where he himself weighed the hearts, measuring the amount of conscience.
According to a pure heart, it should be as light as the feather of the goddess Maat, who was responsible for truth and justice. If the soul weighed by Anubis was like this, then the deceased was sent to heaven, otherwise the sinner was immediately eaten by a formidable beast named Amat, who had a mixed appearance (lion’s body, crocodile’s head).
In general, the Egyptian god of death Anubis had different meanings, but they are all directly related:
- lord of the sacred land;
- the first person to meet the deceased;
- grave keeper;
- tomb manager;
- executor of Osiris' orders.
The greatest popularity of the worship of Anubis was recorded during the New Kingdom, when his image was present in almost all tombs, not only of the pharaohs, but also of their subordinates.
In addition to the direct duties described, Anubis, the Egyptian god of death, was also associated with magical knowledge; magicians called on him to receive protection and the gift of prediction.
His fame and influence spread to all regions of Egypt, and even spread throughout the Mediterranean. There are references in the ancient works of both the Egyptians and the Greeks, who also worshiped this god of the underworld, uniting him with Hermes. They wrote about him:
- Plutarch;
- Strabo;
- Virgil.
The worship of this god became so widespread because the Egyptians were much more interested in the afterlife than in mortal life on Earth. Therefore, Anubis was revered sincerely and completely in order to pass the judgment of the dead with honor and then return to his body, which would remain intact thanks to the embalming invented by the same deity.
Anubis is an ancient Greek version of the name of one of the deities Ancient Egypt. The Egyptians themselves called him Inpu and depicted him with a human body and the head of a dog or jackal. The sacred animal of this god was considered an ordinary jackal (according to modern classification). His fur is dark red and resembles gold in color. And the inhabitants of Egypt always treated the yellow noble metal with great reverence and associated it with the gods.
Egyptian civilization existed for several millennia. Therefore, the god of Egypt Anubis performed different roles at different times. But he constantly had an inextricable connection with the underground kingdom of the dead. During the Early Kingdom (3000-2700 BC), this deity was depicted not only with the head, but also with the body of a jackal.
During this period, jackals were inextricably linked with cemeteries, as the dead were buried in shallow graves. Predators tore them apart and ate the dead flesh. Therefore, the priests created the image of a divine jackal, and he, in accordance with mythology, began to protect the buried from other jackals.
During the Old Kingdom (2700-2180 BC), Anubis continued to serve as the protector of tombs. He was considered one of the most important gods of the dead. Gradually, his responsibilities expanded, and he became not only a protector, but also a guide to the dead into the kingdom of the dead. Accordingly, the images of God also changed. He was given a human body, but the head remained that of a jackal.
Later he began to reign in underground world, and only in the era of the Middle Kingdom (2055-1760 BC) Anubis was replaced by Osiris. It was the latter who began to reign supreme over the dead, and the god with the head of a jackal led the dead to him, holding his hand.
Osiris sits on the left, Anubis stands in front of him and holds the hand of the deceased
Who, according to mythology, was the father of Anubis? In early Egyptian texts he was called the son of Ra, without specifying his mother. Then Nephthys, the great-granddaughter of Ra, became the mother. In addition, the goddess Bast was considered the mother. She was depicted with the head of a cat. However, the ancient Greek philosopher Plutarch made his own clarifications that have survived to this day.
He was considered an expert on Ancient Egypt, its myths, legends, and traditions. According to this well-respected philosopher, the Egyptian god Anubis was the son of Nephthys and Osiris. Nephthys and Osiris are sister and brother. But Nephthys was married to Set, and Osiris was married to Isis. Therefore, the jackal-headed god was the illegitimate son of Osiris. And Nephthys’s mother turned out to be absolutely indifferent to the child. Fearing a scandal with her husband, she threw the baby into the reeds. Isis found him and raised him. That is, she was his actual mother.
When Anubis grew up, he became a guide to the world of the dead. Meanwhile, Set killed Osiris and began to rule Egypt. Isis brought the remains of her husband to Anubis, and he made the first mummy from them on the banks of the Nile. After this, Isis became pregnant from the mummy and gave birth to a son, Horus. He defeated Set and revived Osiris. Further, according to myths, Horus remained to rule the world of the living, and Osiris went to rule the kingdom of the dead, and thereby began to collaborate with Anubis.
Judgment of Osiris: Anubis (left) and Thoth (right with the head of an ibis) weighing the heart of the deceased. The monster Amat with the head of a crocodile and the body of a lion sits near the scales
The Book of the Dead describes the judgment of Osiris over the dead. Anubis and the god of wisdom and knowledge Thoth help him in this. The latter are engaged in weighing the conscience of the deceased on the scales in the form of a heart. On one side of the scales there is the heart itself, and on the other the truth, represented in the form of a feather taken from the headdress of the goddess of truth Maat.
If the deceased lived his life righteously and honestly, then the feather outweighed the heart or weighed the same as it. The god of Egypt, Anubis, brought the righteous man to Osiris, and he poisoned the lucky man into the fields of Ialu. Eternal life and bliss awaited him there. But if the heart outweighed the feather, then such a deceased person fell into the category of sinners. He was eaten by the monster Amat located near the scales. He was depicted with the body of a lion and the head of a crocodile.
Greek writers who lived during the Roman period described Anubis as a guide of souls to the kingdom of the dead. They associated him with the god Hermes, who in ancient times Greek mythology performed a similar role. But they presented Osiris as the ruler of the underworld, which he actually was, according to the myths of Ancient Egypt.
The mythology of Ancient Egypt is interesting and is largely connected with numerous gods. People for every important event or natural phenomenon came up with their patron, but they differed in external signs and.
The main gods of Ancient Egypt
The country's religion is distinguished by the presence of numerous beliefs, which directly affected appearance gods, who in most cases are represented as a hybrid of human and animal. Egyptian gods and their meaning were of great importance to people, as evidenced by numerous temples, statues and images. Among them are the main deities who were responsible for important aspects of the life of the Egyptians.
Egyptian god Amon Ra
In ancient times, this deity was depicted as a man with the head of a ram or completely in the form of an animal. In his hands he holds a cross with a loop, which symbolizes life and immortality. It combines the gods of Ancient Egypt Amun and Ra, so it has the power and influence of both. He was favorable to people, helping them in difficult situations, and therefore was presented as a caring and fair creator of all things.
And Amon illuminated the earth, moving across the sky along the river, and at night transferring to the underground Nile to return to their home. People believed that every day at midnight he fights with a huge snake. Amon Ra was considered the main patron of the pharaohs. In mythology, one can notice that the cult of this god constantly changed its significance, sometimes falling, sometimes rising.
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Egyptian god Osiris
In Ancient Egypt, the deity was represented in the form of a man wrapped in a shroud, which added to the resemblance to a mummy. Osiris was the ruler of the underworld, so his head was always crowned. According to the mythology of Ancient Egypt, this was the first king of this country, so in his hands are symbols of power - a whip and a scepter. His skin is black and this color symbolizes rebirth and new life. Osiris is always accompanied by a plant, such as a lotus, a vine and a tree.
The Egyptian god of fertility is multifaceted, meaning Osiris performed many duties. He was revered as the patron of vegetation and the productive forces of nature. Osiris was considered the main patron and protector of people, and also the ruler of the underworld, who judged dead people. Osiris taught people to cultivate the land, grow grapes, treat various diseases and perform other important work.
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Egyptian god Anubis
The main feature of this deity is the body of a man with the head of a black dog or jackal. This animal was not chosen at all by chance, the whole point is that the Egyptians often saw it in cemeteries, which is why they were associated with the afterlife. In some images, Anubis is represented entirely in the form of a wolf or jackal, which lies on a chest. In ancient Egypt, the jackal-headed god of the dead had several important responsibilities.
- Protected graves, so people often carved prayers to Anubis on tombs.
- He took part in the embalming of gods and pharaohs. Many depictions of mummification processes featured a priest wearing a dog mask.
- A guide for dead souls to the afterlife. In Ancient Egypt, they believed that Anubis escorted people to the judgment of Osiris.
Weighed the heart of a deceased person to determine whether the soul was worthy of entering afterlife. A heart is placed on the scales on one side, and the goddess Maat in the form of an ostrich feather is placed on the other.
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Egyptian god Set
They represented a deity with the body of a man and the head of a mythical animal, which combines a dog and a tapir. Another one distinguishing feature- heavy wig. Set is the brother of Osiris and, in the understanding of the ancient Egyptians, is the god of evil. He was often depicted with the head of a sacred animal - a donkey. Seth was considered the personification of war, drought and death. All troubles and misfortunes were attributed to this god of Ancient Egypt. They did not renounce him only because they were considered the main defender of Ra during the night battle with the serpent.
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Egyptian god Horus
This deity has several incarnations, but the most famous is a man with the head of a falcon, on which there is certainly a crown. Its symbol is the sun with outstretched wings. The Egyptian sun god lost his eye during a fight, which became important sign in mythology. It is a symbol of wisdom, clairvoyance and eternal life. In ancient Egypt, the Eye of Horus was worn as an amulet.
According to ancient ideas, Horus was revered as a predatory deity who latched onto his prey with falcon talons. There is another myth where he moves across the sky on a boat. The sun god Horus helped Osiris to resurrect, for which he received the throne in gratitude and became the ruler. Many gods patronized him, teaching him magic and various wisdom.
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Egyptian god Geb
Several original images found by archaeologists have survived to this day. Geb is the patron of the earth, which the Egyptians sought to convey in an external image: the body is elongated, like a plain, arms raised upward - the personification of the slopes. In Ancient Egypt, he was represented with his wife Nut, the patroness of heaven. Although there are many drawings, there is not much information about Geb's powers and purposes. The god of the earth in Egypt was the father of Osiris and Isis. There was a whole cult, which included people working in the fields to protect themselves from hunger and ensure a good harvest.
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Egyptian god Thoth
The deity was represented in two guises and in ancient times, it was an ibis bird with a long curved beak. He was considered a symbol of dawn and a harbinger of abundance. In the later period, Thoth was represented as a baboon. There are gods of Ancient Egypt who live among people, and one of them is He, who was the patron of wisdom and helped everyone learn science. It was believed that he taught the Egyptians writing, counting, and also created a calendar.
Thoth is the god of the Moon and through its phases he has been associated with various astronomical and astrological observations. This was the reason for his transformation into a deity of wisdom and magic. Thoth was considered the founder of numerous religious rites. In some sources he is ranked among the deities of time. In the pantheon of gods of Ancient Egypt, Thoth occupied the place of scribe, vizier of Ra and secretary of judicial affairs.
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Egyptian god Aten
The deity of the solar disk, who was represented with rays in the form of palms, reaching towards the earth and people. This distinguished him from other humanoid gods. The most famous image is presented on the back of Tutankhamun's throne. There is an opinion that the cult of this deity influenced the formation and development of Jewish monotheism. This sun god in Egypt combines masculine and feminine traits at the same time. In ancient times they also used the term “silver of Aten”, which meant the Moon.
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Egyptian god Ptah
The deity was represented in the form of a man who, unlike others, did not wear a crown, and his head was covered with a headdress that looked like a helmet. Like other gods of Ancient Egypt associated with the earth (Osiris and Sokar), Ptah was clothed in a shroud that exposed only the hands and head. External similarity led to a merger into one common deity Ptah-Sokar-Osiris. The Egyptians considered him a beautiful god, but many archaeological finds refute this opinion, since portraits were found where he is represented as a dwarf trampling animals underfoot.
Ptah is the patron saint of the city of Memphis, where there was a myth that he created everything on earth with the power of thought and word, so he was considered a creator. He had a connection with the earth, the burial place of the dead and sources of fertility. Another purpose of Ptah is the Egyptian god of art, which is why he was considered a blacksmith and sculptor of humanity, and also the patron of artisans.
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Egyptian god Apis
The Egyptians had many sacred animals, but the most revered was the bull - Apis. He had a real embodiment and was credited with 29 signs that were known only to the priests. They were used to determine the birth of a new god in the form of a black bull, and this was a famous holiday in Ancient Egypt. The bull was placed in the temple and was surrounded with divine honors throughout his life. Once a year, before the start of agricultural work, Apis was harnessed and the pharaoh plowed a furrow. This ensured a good harvest in the future. After death, the bull was solemnly buried.
Apis, the Egyptian god who protects fertility, was depicted with a snow-white skin with several black spots, and their number was strictly determined. It is presented with different necklaces that corresponded to different holiday rituals. Between the horns is the solar disk of the god Ra. Apis could also take human form with the head of a bull, but this idea was widespread in the Late Period.
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Pantheon of Egyptian Gods
Since the birth of ancient civilization, belief in a Higher Power arose. The Pantheon was populated by gods who had different abilities. They did not always treat people favorably, so the Egyptians built temples in their honor, brought gifts and prayed. The pantheon of Egyptian gods has more than two thousand names, but less than a hundred of them can be classified as the main group. Some deities were worshiped only in certain regions or tribes. Another important point is that the hierarchy could change depending on the dominant political force.
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17.06.2017
Anubis - or in other versions Inpu - one of the most famous gods of the civilization of Ancient Egypt. According to the beliefs of the ancient Egyptians, he accompanied the souls of the dead on their journey to their final refuge in the afterlife.
Appearance and attributes of Anubis
On frescoes, vases and other objects found during archaeological excavations, Anubis was depicted with the head of a jackal and the body of a man. Sometimes he was depicted simply as a lying black jackal, or as wild dog. This is precisely what explains the choice of animals identified with God - they live in the deserts surrounding the kingdom of Ancient Egypt, which the Egyptians considered the beginning of the path to the afterlife.
As a rule, he was depicted with black skin. This is an uncharacteristic color for the skins of dogs and jackals. In all likelihood, this choice of skin color was determined by the role assigned to Anubis in the rituals. Black is the color of the attributes of ritual rites during the funeral of pharaohs, whose patron and creator was God. In particular, the black color is the resin on the basis of which the composition for mummification was made.
Other colors characteristic of his images were white, the color of the bandages that were used to wrap mummies, and green, a symbol of rebirth.
Very often, Anubis is depicted holding a staff with a carved jackal's head at the end or with a staff wrapped in dog skin. The same attributes were used by the priests who carried out dedicated to god rituals. Also, at the temples of the deity there always lived a dog or a jackal, which were considered sacred. After the animals died, their bodies were mummified and continued to be kept in the temple.
History of the development of the cult of Anubis
About 2.5 thousand years BC, the cult of Anubis originated in one of the nomes - regions - of Ancient Egypt. The center of greatest veneration was the city of Kasa, or Kinopolis, as it was called in Greece. From there, the cult of Anubis spread throughout the entire territory of Ancient Egypt for a fairly short time.
In the first period of its development during the Old Kingdom (approximately 2.3 thousand years BC), it was Anubis who was the god of the dead and it was he, and not Osiris, who ruled the world of the dead and counted the hearts of dead people. Osiris was revered only as the personification of the pharaoh after his death. However, over time, around the beginning of the second millennium BC, Anubis began to become secondary to Osiris, and it was the latter who became associated with the ruler world of the dead and began to be called epithets that previously referred to Anubis. Such as, for example, “Hentiamenti” - the one who leads the countries of the West (as the world of the dead was then called).
Other epithets of the god that remained relevant to him even after the exaltation of the cult of Osiris were: the ruler of the sacred country (that is, the owner of the necropolis), standing in front of the hall of the gods (as the hall in which the mummification ceremony was held was called), the son of the cow Hesat and a number of others.
Anubis became second in importance after Osiris in the cult of honoring the dead. He took an important part in the mysteries surrounding Osiris and the beliefs associated with them. Anubis began to play an important role in ritual rites and he began to be revered as the god of embalming and burial rites, the patron and guardian of burial places. Also, according to myths, it was Anubis who was considered the creator of the art of mummification.
According to myths relating to this period of time, Anubis begins to accompany the dead to the posthumous court, at which he removed the heart of the deceased and weighed it, comparing it with the feather of the ancient Egyptian goddess of justice and truth, Maat. If the heart, which was a symbol of a person’s conscience, outweighed the feather, then this spoke of his sinfulness. In this case, the beast Amat, who looked like a lion with a crocodile's head, ate the sinner. If the heart was no heavier than the feather of Maat, the deceased went to heaven.
Myths associated with Anubis
According to the legends, traditions and myths of Ancient Egypt, Anubis is the son of Osiris, the god of rebirth, and his sister Nephthys, who, according to most versions of myth researchers, was the goddess of death.
Osiris was the ruler of Egypt and the husband of his sister Nephthys, the goddess of fertility, femininity and patroness of motherhood. Nephthys herself was the wife of Set - the god of war, rage, death and sandstorms. Nephthys, who secretly loved Osiris, once could not restrain her feelings, took the form of her sister and seduced her husband. As a result of this double betrayal, the baby Anubis was born.
Nephthys was afraid of possible revenge for betrayal on the part of her furious husband Seth and in a panic threw the boy into the thicket of Nile reeds (or hid him, if you believe other versions of the myth). In these thickets, the baby Anubis was found by Isis, who took him in and became his adoptive mother. This is how a baby, abandoned by his mother, suddenly found himself adopted by his own father.
Years later, Osiris was killed by Set, who was jealous of his power and did not hesitate to kill his own brother. He killed and dismembered the body of Osiris and scattered the remains throughout the land of all Egypt. And then it was Anubis who helped the stepmother find and collect his father’s body. He put the collected body parts together and wrapped them in fabrics soaked in a special infusion. So Anubis first created the mummy of the pharaoh and became the god - guardian of necropolises. Anubis did not find only one part of his father's body - his genital organ, since it was thrown into the Nile by Set and eaten by a fish or crocodile.
But it’s okay, the resourceful dowager goddess was not at a loss, but molded the missing part of the body from clay. And after that, she not only guessed to attach it to its original place, but even managed to get pregnant, giving birth to a son, Horus, from whom all the pharaohs of Ancient Egypt subsequently descended.
Horus took his birthright place on the throne, displacing his usurper uncle, and after that, with the help of magic and the spells of Anubis, he resurrected his father. But the resurrected Osiris did not want to sit on the throne again and went to the kingdom of the dead, becoming its ruler. Anubis became his advisor at the posthumous Judgment and the guide of souls after the death of their bodies.
Deities associated with Anubis
Anubis was quite widely known outside of Egypt. Mentions of it are found in the works of such well-known authors as the Greek scientists Strabo and Plutarch who lived in the 1st century BC. In the famous poem Aeneid by the ancient Roman author Virgil, the image of Anubis was on the shield of the main character - the Trojan hero-demigod Aeneas.
Anubis was revered in Ancient Greece, where his cult was combined with the cult of Hermes, who performed similar functions in Greek mythology. In Egypt itself, in later periods, Anubis was identified with a number of other deities. One of them was Isdes, who in the early years of Ancient Egypt acted as one of the independent gods of the kingdom of the dead.
Another example is the goddess Input. She usually acted as the wife of Anubis, but in some areas of Egypt she was considered his female essence. In her honor, a nome was named - an administrative region - of the ancient Egyptian state, in which the cult of Anubis was most revered. Like Anubis, she was depicted with the head of a dog, but on a female body.
Another god associated with him was Upuaut, the patron saint of war and scouts. Since he was depicted as a man with a wolf's head and, in some way, was also a guide to the killed warriors in afterworld he and Anubis began to be taken as one person.
Conclusion: Anubis in the modern world
Nowadays, when tourism is one of the most actively developing sectors of the world economy, ancient legends and myths tend to be used as actively as possible as advertising. Products created on their basis are in constant demand and are successfully sold. Egypt in this regard is in no way inferior to Greece or Italy. Egypt strives to develop its tourism market not only through beautiful beaches, but also through warming up to its ancient and distinctive culture.
In light of this, Anubis has long become a popular global brand. Images of God, found during archaeological research, are in many famous museums. Moreover, not only Egypt, but also many other countries.
Ordinary tourists are happy to buy a variety of souvenirs with the image of Anubis - be it small copies of real images and monuments, or stylized drawings by modern authors. Copies of masks depicting the head of a deity are also popular.
Anubis is known as the god of death and is the oldest and most popular of the ancient Egyptian deities.
The ancient Egyptians held Anubis in high esteem because they believed that he held great power over their physical and spiritual selves when they died.
His fame continued until the dawn of the Middle Kingdom. It was originally called by the ancient Egyptians: Inpu or Anpu.
Although the ancient Egyptian word for a royal child is inpu, it is more likely that this god's name comes from the word "imp", which means "to decay."
The Form of Anubis
Anubis looked like a man with the head of a jackal or completely in the form of a jackal.
In ancient times, animals like jackals ruled cemeteries. They dug up the freshly buried corpses, tore their flesh and ate it.
Historians believe that this is what prompted the ancient Egyptians to depict God afterlife like a jackal. New genetic research shows that the ancient Egyptian jackal was not a jackal at all, but an ancient wolf.
Anubis's skin is often depicted as black, while jackals are usually brown. The reason is that the color black is a symbol of death, but it is also a symbol of the fertile and black soil of the Nile.
Anubis's area of responsibility
IN ancient history Anubis was known as the absolute ruler of the underworld (called the Duat). Later, this role passed to Osiris.
"Keeper of the Scales": One of his many roles, his task was to determine the fate of the souls of the dead. As depicted in the Book of the Dead, Anubis weighed the heart of the dead on feather scales.
The feather represents lies or truth. If the scale of justice was directed towards the heart, the dead person would be consumed by Ammit, a female demon dubbed the "devourer of the dead".
And if the scale of justice had tipped the scales, Anubis would have led the deceased to Osiris, who would have helped him ascend to heaven for a dignified existence. God of Embalming and Mummification: Anubis held an important role in overseeing the embalming and mummification of the dead.
Anubis's daughter (Kebeshet) is often seen as his assistant in the process of mummifying the dead. The ancient Egyptians believed that Anubis smeared the bodies of the dead so that they retained the sweet smell of herbs and plants.
Anubis also assisted in the "opening of the mouth" ritual to ensure good burial. This ritual was performed so that the dead person could eat and speak in the afterlife.
Protector of the Tomb: As the god of Egypt responsible for protecting the dead, many of Anubis' prayers were carved into the graves of the dead.
The history of mythology varies, but according to legend: Osiris's brother (Set) killed Osiris by luring him into a bizarre coffin, nailed it and pushed it into the Nile.
The wife and sister of Osiris (Isis) returned Osiris's body to the Phoenician shore, but the angry Set cut Osiris's body into pieces and scattered it throughout Egypt.
Anubis, Isis and Nephsis collected all the pieces (with the exception of the reproductive organ of Osiris).
Another Egyptian god, called Thoth, helped restore the body, and Anubis wrapped Osiris in linen, the effect of which gave him the title "He who practices embalming."
Anubis's parents
There are several versions of how Anubis appeared:
The son of Nephsis and Osiris is the most popular version. As the Goddess of Darkness, Nephsis would naturally be the mother of the god who supervised the embalming process as well as guiding souls to the afterlife.
Son of Nephsis and Seth: Seth is also implied to be the father of Anubis. In this version, it is believed that Nephsis disguised herself as Osiris' beautiful sister, Isis, in order to bear a son for Horus. Since Set is the God of darkness, storms and destruction, it is easy to see how Anubis could be his son.
Son of Nephsis and Ra: According to early mythological texts (Sun God) was depicted as the father of Anubis, and his mother was supposedly Bastet, the cat-headed goddess or Nephsis.
Anubis's wife was called Antup: she had the body of a woman and the head of a jackal. They also had a daughter named Kebeshet, who was the goddess of purification.
Temple of Anubis
Anubis was worshiped by all of Egypt, and his cult center was in Zinopolis, located in the 17th city (in the province) of Upper Egypt.
Cynopolis translates to “city of dogs,” a name that suits it well due to the close relationship between jackals and dogs, and the fact that some scientists believe that Anubis was indeed an ancient wolf.
In 1922, a shrine to Anubis was discovered in the tomb of King Tut. It was made of wood, plaster, lacquer and gold leaf: the statue depicts Anubis in animal form in a recumbent position, just as he is in his hieroglyph.
As evidence indicated, this sanctuary was likely used at the funeral of the great pharaoh and was aimed at helping the pharaoh in the afterlife.
Anubis in art
In addition to the statue of Anubis discovered in the tomb of King Tut, his image is often found in ancient Egyptian art.
In museums today there exist masks and figurines of Anubis dating back to the early and late Ptolemaic period (332-30 BC).
Facts about Anubis
- Anubis was the god of the dead and the underworld until the Middle Kingdom, until this role was taken over by Osiris.
- He is one of the oldest gods, dating back to the Old Kingdom.
- Anubis is the inventor and god of embalming and mummification.
- He presided over death in the underworld (the so-called Duat).
- Anubis was the Guardian of Libra, accustomed to weighing hearts dead souls. His high level anatomical knowledge thanks to embalming made him the patron of anesthesiology.
- A bedside statue of Anubis occupies a central place in the tomb.
- The priests who embalmed dead corpses wore a jackal mask.
- Greek mythology confuses with Anubis, from whom the god Hermanubis emerged.
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