Most ancient tombs had inscriptions honoring Anubis and praying that he would accompany the soul of the deceased into the next life. Unlike real wolves, who desecrated graves, Anubis was a protector of tombs and cemeteries. 2) The roles of Anubis A) The Egyptian protector of tombs To thank her, as he grew up, Anubis became her guardian and ally, protecting her from Set during the assassination of Osiris. Saddened by this abandonment and helped by jackals, Isis miraculously found the young Anubis left in the middle of the desert and raised him like her son. Anubis is said to have been abandoned by Nephthys fearing the wrath of Set if he learns about the existence of Anubis. Indeed, Nephthys would have seduced Osiris by disguising herself as Isis, the wife Osiris. 40-120 AD), who states that Anubis was the illegitimate son of Osiris and Nephthys, the wife of Set. Nevertheless, the most famous version of the story of Anubis is described by the Greek Plutarch (c. Another tradition depicts him as the son of Ra and Nephthys. 2181-2055 BC) found on sarcophagi, Anubis is the son of the cow-goddess Hesat or of the cat-goddess Bastet. In the texts written in the first intermediate period (c. In primitive mythology, he was represented as a son of the creator god Ra. He can be seen in many funerary paintings, depicting him holding the hands of the dead to guide them to Osiris.Īnubis, the fascinating wolf-headed god who watches over the resting of the dead and judges their souls with perfect fairness.Īnubis' family situation has varied according to myths, eras, and sources. In spite of this considerable increase in importance of Osiris, Anubis always completely retained his mission as guide of the dead's souls.
However, Anubis was gradually replaced in this role by Osiris during the Middle Kingdom's period (2000-1700 BC). In the Old Kingdom of Egypt (2700-2000 BC), Anubis was the most important god of death. B) Variations in the history of Anubis through time He is usually depicted as a wolf or as a man with a wolf's head.Īrchaeologists have identified Anubis' sacred animal as belonging to a breed of Egyptian dog: the African golden wolf. To put their minds at ease, the ancient Egyptians created from scratch the wolf god Anubis to "fight" his congeners.Īnubis (or Anpu in ancient Egyptian, "Anubis" being the Greek name of Anpu ) is the god of the dead, mummification, tombs, embalming, the Afterlife, and the Underworld in the ancient Egyptian religion. This desecration of tombs was a great cause for concern because the burial of bodies could impede access to eternal life for recently dead ancient Egyptians. 4000 BC), where the poorest citizens were buried in shallow tombs, wolves and jackals were strongly associated with cemeteries, being scavengers who desecrated graves to eat the dead. Let's start this article with the "myth of Anubis"! 1) The Egyptian history of Anubis A) The myth of Anubis What Anubis has become in our modern culture todayĪrrived at the bottom of this page, you will know everything about the most famous of the Egyptian gods.The roles attributed to Anubis according to Egyptian mythology.The origin of Anubis in Egyptian civilization.
The myth of Anubis in Egyptian civilization.It is also Anubis who judges the sins of the dead during the "weighing of the heart." Jackal or wolf Egyptian god of death according to the times, Anubis is the god of all embalmers, the protector of the tombs, and the guide of Egyptian souls. Want to know more about the very popular Egyptian god of the death? Want to know the origin of the Anubis' myth? Or would you like to discover the different roles he plays in the Egyptian pantheon?Īs enthusiasts of the myths of ancient Egypt, we will make you discover these wonderful subjects!