Anubis

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Anubis

Anubis is the Greek

Greek language

Greek is an Indo-European languages native to the southern Balkan peninsula, the language of the Greek people. It forms an independent branch within Indo-European....
name for a jackal

Jackal

A jackal is a member of any of three small to medium-sized species of the family Canidae, found in Africa, Asia and southeastern Europe. Jackals fill a similar ecological niche to the coyote in North America, that of predators of small to medium-sized animals, scavengers, and omnivores....
-headed god

Deity

A deity is a postulated preternatural or supernatural immortal being, who may be thought of as holy, divinity, or sacred, held in high regard, and respected by human beings....
associated with mummification

Mummy

A mummy is a corpse whose skin and organs have been preserved by either intentional or incidental exposure to chemicals, extreme coldness, very high humidity, or lack of air when bodies are submerged in bogs....
and the afterlife in Egyptian mythology

Egyptian mythology

Ancient Egyptian religion encompasses the various religious beliefs and rituals practiced in ancient Egypt over at least 3,000 years, from the Predynastic Egypt until the adoption of Coptic Christianity in the early centuries Common Era....
. In the ancient Egyptian language, Anubis is known as Inpu, (variously spelled Anupu, Ienpw etc.). The oldest known mention of Anubis is in the Old Kingdom

Old Kingdom

The Old Kingdom is the name commonly given to that period in the 3rd millennium BCE when Ancient Egypt attained its first continuous peak of civilization in complexity and achievement ? this was the first of three so-called "Kingdom" periods, which mark the high points of civilization in the lower Nile Valley ....
pyramid texts

Pyramid Texts

The Pyramid Texts are a collection of Ancient Egypt religious text from the time of the Old Kingdom. The pyramid texts are the oldest known religious texts in the world....
, where he is associated with the burial of the king. At this time, Anubis was the most important god of the Dead but he was replaced during the Middle Kingdom by Osiris

Osiris

Osiris was an Egyptian mythology, usually called the god of the Afterlife.Osiris is one of the oldest gods for whom records have been found; one of the oldest known attestations of his name is on the Palermo Stone of around 2500 BC....
.

He takes various names in connection with his funerary role, such as He who is upon his mountain, which underscores his importance as a protector of the deceased and their tombs, and the title He who is in the place of embalming, associating him with the process of mummification.

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Portrayal

Anubis was the god to protect the dead and bring them to the afterlife. He was usually portrayed as a half human, half jackal, or in full jackal form wearing a ribbon and holding a flail

Flail

A flail is an agricultural implement for threshing.Several tools operate similarly to the agricultural implement and are also called flails:...
in the crook of its arm. The jackal was strongly associated with cemeteries in ancient Egypt, since it was a scavenger which threatened to uncover human bodies and eat their flesh The distinctive black color of Anubis "did not have to do with the jackal [per se] but with the color of rotting flesh and with the black soil of the Nile valley, symbolizing rebirth."

Anubis is depicted in funerary contexts where he is shown attending to the mummies of the deceased or sitting atop a tomb protecting it. In fact, during embalming, the "head embalmer" wore an Anubis costume. The critical weighing of the heart scene in Book of the Dead

Book of the Dead

"The Book of Dead" is the common name for the ancient Egyptian funerary text known as "Spells of Coming" "Forth By Day". The book of dead was a description of the ancient Egyptian conception of the Duat and a collection of hymns, spells, and instructions to allow the deceased to pass through obstacles in the afterlife....
also show Anubis performing the measurement that determined the worthiness of the deceased to enter the realm of the dead (the underworld

Underworld

In the study of mythology and religion, the underworld is a generic term approximately equivalent to the lay term afterlife, referring to any place to which newly the dead souls go....
). New Kingdom

New Kingdom

The New Kingdom, sometimes referred to as the Egyptian Empire, is the period in ancient Egyptian History of Ancient Egypt between the 16th century BC and the 11th century BC, covering the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt, Nineteenth dynasty of Egypt, and Twentieth dynasty of Egypt....
tomb-seals also depict Anubis atop nine bows

Nine bows

The nine bows is a term used in Ancient Egypt to represent the traditional enemies of Egypt. The peoples covered by this term changed over time, as enemies changed, and there is no true list of the nine bows....
that symbolize his domination over the foes of Egypt.

Anubis and Other Gods

Originally, in the Ogdoad

Ogdoad

In Egyptian mythology, the Ogdoad were eight deities worshipped in Hermopolis during what is called the Old Kingdom, the third through sixth dynasties, dated between 2686 to 2134 B.C....
system, he was god of the underworld

Duat

In Egyptian mythology, Duat is the underworld.This was the region through which the sun god Ra traveled from west to east during the night, and where he battled Apep....
. He was said to have a wife, Anput (who was really just his female aspect, her name being his with an additional feminine suffix

Affix

An affix is a morpheme that is attached to a word stem to form a new word. Affixes may be derivation , like English -ness and pre-, or inflectional, like English plural -s and past tense -ed....
: the t), who was depicted exactly the same, though feminine. He is also said to have taken to wife the feminine form of Neheb Kau, Nehebka, and Kebechet

Kebechet

In Egyptian mythology, Kebechet was the deification of embalming liquid, her name meaning cooling water. Such liquid was seen as the child of Anubis, in the area where Kebechet was considered to exist, and consequently Kebechet was seen as his daughter....
, the goddess of purification of body organs specially placed in canopic jar

Canopic jar

Canopic jars were used by the Ancient Egyptians during the mummy process to store and preserve the viscera of their own for the afterlife. They were commonly either carved from stone or were made of pottery....
s during mummification

Mummy

Kebechet

In Egyptian mythology, Kebechet was the deification of embalming liquid, her name meaning cooling water. Such liquid was seen as the child of Anubis, in the area where Kebechet was considered to exist, and consequently Kebechet was seen as his daughter....
is also shown as his daughter in some places. Anubis was the son of Osiris

Osiris

Nephthys

In Egyptian mythology, Nephthys is the Greek form of an epithet . Nephthys, therefore, is a member of the Great Ennead of Heliopolis , a daughter of Nut and Geb....
, Set's sister and wife. Nephthys and Isis tricked Osiris one night. Nephthys never liked Seth(Set), but she always had a "thing" for Osiris.Since Nephthys and Isis were twins,they were able to trick Osiris into sleeping with Nephthys one night instead of Isis.As a result, Anubis was born.Nephthys was very angry since Set killed Osiris

Osiris

ISIS

ISIS is an industry standard interface for technologies, developed by Pixel Translations in 1990 .ISIS is an open standard for scanner control and a complete image-processing framework....
, Osiris's wife and Nephthys ran away with her son, Anubis.

Embalmer

Following the merging of the Ennead

Ennead

Ennead , an ancient Greek translation of the Egyptian word, Pesedjet, consists of a grouping of nine deity, most often appearing in the context of Egyptian mythology....
and Ogdoad belief systems, as a result of the identification of Atum

Atum

Atum is an important deity in Egyptian mythology, whose cult centred on the city of Heliopolis . His name is thought to be derived from the word 'tem' which means to complete or finish....
with Ra, and their compatibility, Anubis became a lesser god in the underworld, giving way to the more popular Osiris

Osiris

Osiris was an Egyptian mythology, usually called the god of the Afterlife.Osiris is one of the oldest gods for whom records have been found; one of the oldest known attestations of his name is on the Palermo Stone of around 2500 BC....
during the Middle Kingdom. However, "Anubis was given a place in the family of gods as the...son of Osiris and Nephthys, and in this role he helped Isis mummify his dead father." . Indeed, when the Myth of Osiris and Isis emerged, it was said that when Osiris had died, Osiris' organs were given to Anubis as a gift. With this connection, Anubis became the patron god of embalmers: during the funerary rites of mummification

Mummy

Book of the Dead

"The Book of Dead" is the common name for the ancient Egyptian funerary text known as "Spells of Coming" "Forth By Day". The book of dead was a description of the ancient Egyptian conception of the Duat and a collection of hymns, spells, and instructions to allow the deceased to pass through obstacles in the afterlife....
often show a priest wearing the jackal mask supporting the upright mummy.

Later perception

Since he was more associated with beliefs concerning the weighing of the heart than had Osiris, Anubis retained this aspect, and became considered more the gatekeeper and ruler of the underworld, the "Guardian of the veil" (of "death"). Consequently, he was said to protect souls as they journeyed there, and thus be the patron of lost souls (and consequently orphan

Orphan

An orphan is a child whose natural parents are absent or dead. One legal definition used in the USA is someone bereft through "death or disappearance of, abandonment or desertion by, or separation or loss from, both parents"....
s). Anubis was frequently depicted in editions of the Book of Dead as performing the "Opening of the Mouth" ceremony on the mummy and statues of the deceased, as well as escorting the spirit of the deceased into the presence of Osiris in the underworld. Subsequently, the god is often shown weighing the heart of the deceased against the feather of truth (Ma'at

Maàt

Maat or Mayet, thought to have been pronounced as * , was the Ancient Egyptian concept of truth, balance, order, law, morality, and justice-? sometimes personified as a goddess....
) in the presence of Thoth

Thoth

Thoth, , though variations are accepted , was considered one of the more important god of the Egyptian pantheon, often depicted with the head of an Sacred Ibis....
(as scribe, writing down the recordings) and Osiris (as judge). Rather than god of death, he had become god of dying, and consequently funeral arrangements. It was as the god of death that his identity merged with that of Wepwawet

Wepwawet

In late Egyptian mythology, Wepwawet was originally a war deity, whose cult centre was Asyut in Upper Egypt . His name means, opener of the ways....
, a similar jackal-headed god, associated with funerary practice, which had been worshiped in Lower Egypt

Lower Egypt

Lower Egypt is the northern-most section of Egypt. It refers to the Fertile Crescent Nile Delta region, which stretches from the area between El-Aiyat and Zawyet Dahshur, south of modern-day Cairo, and the Mediterranean Sea....
, whereas Anubis' cult was centered in Upper Egypt

Upper Egypt

File:Ancient Egypt map-en.svgUpper Egypt is a narrow strip of land that extends from the Cataracts of the Nile section of Upper Egypt, between El-Ayait and Asyut is sometimes known as Middle Egypt....
.

However, as lesser of the two gods of the underworld, he gradually became considered the son of Osiris, but Osiris' wife, Isis

ISIS

ISIS is an industry standard interface for technologies, developed by Pixel Translations in 1990 .ISIS is an open standard for scanner control and a complete image-processing framework....
, was not considered his mother, since she too inappropriately was associated with life. Instead, his mother became considered to be Nephthys

Nephthys

In Egyptian mythology, Nephthys is the Greek form of an epithet . Nephthys, therefore, is a member of the Great Ennead of Heliopolis , a daughter of Nut and Geb....
, who had become strongly associated with funerary practice, indeed had in some ways become the personification of mourning

Mourning

Mourning is, in the simplest sense, synonymous with grief over the death of someone. The word is also used to describe a cultural complex of behaviours in which the bereaved participate or are expected to participate....
, and was said to supply bandages to the deceased. Subsequently, this apparent infidelity of Osiris was explained in myth, in which it was said that a sexually frustrated Nephthys had disguised herself as Isis in order to appeal to her husband, Set

Set (mythology)

In Ancient Egyptian religion, Set is an ancient god, who was originally the god of the desert, Storms, Darkness, and Chaos. Because of the developments in the Egyptian language over the 3,000 years that Set was worshipped, by the Greek period, the t in Seth was pronounced so indistinguishably from th that the Greeks spelled it a...
, but he did not notice her as he was infertile

Infertility

Infertility primarily refers to the biological inability of a person to contribute to fertilization. Infertility may also refer to the state of a woman who is unable to carry a pregnancy to full term....
. However, Isis' husband Osiris mistook Nephthys for his wife, which resulted in Anubis' birth. Other versions of the myth depict Set as the father

Father

The father is defined as the male parent of an offspring. The adjective "paternal" refers to father, parallel to "maternal" for mother.According to the anthropologist Maurice Godelier, the parental role assumed by human males is a critical difference between human society and that of humans' closest biological relatives - chimpanzees and b...
, and it remains unclear as to whether Set was truly infertile or not.

Perception outside Egypt

In later times, during the Ptolemaic

Ptolemaic Egypt

Ptolemaic Egypt began when Ptolemy I Soter declared himself Pharaoh of Egypt in 305 BC and ended with the death of queen Cleopatra VII of Egypt and the Aegyptus in 30 BC....
period, as their functions were similar, Anubis came to be identified as the Greek

Greek mythology

Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the Ancient Greece concerning their List of Greek mythological figures#Immortals and Greek hero cult, Cosmology#Metaphysical cosmology, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices....
god Hermes

Hermes

Hermes is the messenger of the gods in Greek mythology. An Twelve Olympians, he is also the patron of boundaries and of the travelers who cross them, of shepherds and cowherds, of thieves and road travelers, of orators and wit, of literature and poets, of athletics, of weights and measures, of invention, of general commerce, and of the cunni...
, becoming Hermanubis

Hermanubis

In classical mythology, Hermanubis was a god who combined Hermes with Anubis . Hermes and Anubis's similar responsibilities lead to the god Hermanubis....
. The centre of this cult

Cult (religious practice)

In traditional usage, the cult of a religion, quite apart from its sacred writings , its theology or mythologys, or the personal faith of its believers, is the totality of external religious practice and observance, the neglect of which is the definition of impiety....
was in uten-ha/Sa-ka/ Cynopolis

Cynopolis

Cynopolis was the name for two ancient Egyptian cities....
, a place whose Greek name simply means "city of dogs". In Book XI of "The Golden Ass

The Golden Ass

The Metamorphoses of Apuleius, which Augustine of Hippo referred to as The Golden Ass , is the only Latin novel to survive in its entirety....
" by Apuleius

Apuleius

Lucius Apuleius Platonicus was a Roman Empire Berber people who described himself as "half-Numidian half-Gaetulian", remembered most for his ribaldry Picaresque novel Latin novel, the Metamorphoses, otherwise known as The Golden Ass or, in Latin, the Asinus Aureus ....
, we find evidence that the worship of this god was maintained in Rome

Ancient Rome

Ancient Rome was a civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC....
at least up to the 2nd century. Indeed, Hermanubis also appears in the alchemical

Alchemy

Alchemy , a part of the Occult Tradition, is both a philosophy and a practice with an aim of achieving ultimate wisdom as well as immortality, involving the improvement of the alchemist as well as the making of several substances described as possessing unusual properties....
and hermetical

Hermeticism

Hermeticism is a set of philosophy and Religion beliefs based primarily upon the Hellenistic Egyptian Pseudepigrapha attributed to Hermes Trismegistus who is the representation of the congruence of the Egyptian god Thoth and the Greek Hermes....
literature of the Middle Ages

Middle Ages

File:Karl 1 mit papst gelasius gregor1 sacramentar v karl d kahlen.jpgThe Middle Ages of European history are a period in history which lasted for roughly a millennium, commonly dated from the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century to the beginning of the Early Modern Period in the 16th century, marked by the division of Western Christi...
and the Renaissance

Renaissance

The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe....
.

Although the Greeks and Romans typically scorned Egypt's animal-headed gods as bizarre and primitive (they mockingly called Anubis the "Barker"), Anubis was sometimes associated with Sirius

Sirius

Sirius is the list of brightest stars in the night sky with a visual apparent magnitude of −1.46, almost twice as bright as Canopus, the next brightest star....
in the heavens, and Cerberus

Cerberus

Cerberus is the name given to the entity which, in Greek mythology and Roman mythology, is a multi-headed dog which guards the gates of Hades, to prevent those who have crossed the river Styx from ever escaping....
in Hades

Hades

Hades refers both to the ancient Greek underworld, the abode of Hades, and to the god of the underworld. Hades in Homer referred just to the god; the genitive case , Haidou, was an elision to denote locality: "[the house/dominion] of Hades"....
. In his dialogues (e.g. Republic 399e, 592a), Plato has Socrates utter, "by the dog" (kai me ton kuna), "by the dog of Egypt","by the dog, the god of the Egyptians" (Gorgias, 482b), for emphasis.

Anubis

Portrayal

Anubis and Other Gods

Embalmer

Later perception

Perception outside Egypt

External links