Jackals, are wolves native to Africa and were often seen around cemeteries. When a jackal arrive near a tomb, Ancient Egyptians it to be a god in an animal skin, who has come to protect the dead. It is with this association, the god Anubis is depicted with the body of a man and a head of a black jackal. Before the influence of the Greeks, the god was known as Inpu or Anpu. Ancient Egyptian often used the word inpu to describe a royal child. But here the word is considered to stem from the word “imp”, which means “to decay.” Under the influence of the Greeks, his name changed to Anubis.
The parents of Anubis varied between myths, times and sources. In early mythology, he was portrayed as a son of Ra. But the most popular parents of Anubis are Nephthys and Osiris. The Greek Plutarch stated Anubis as the illegitimate son of Nephthys and Osiris. Nephthys was the wife of Seth, and the sister of Isis, who is the consort of Osiris. Nephthys abandoned Anubis, for fear that her husband Set would discover her infidelity. Isis later found the abandoned child and adopted him.
In some texts, Anubis is simply referred to as the son of Isis. Isis and Anubis is said to have a strong bond between each other, much stronger than the bond he had with his own father. Anubis always tried to fulfill Isis’s wishes.
Even though Nephthys tried to hide her disloyalty from Seth, he manages to learn her involvement with his brother Osiris. With rage he confront Osiris and murdered him. He chopped up Osiris’ body and scattered it throughout Egypt. With the help of Anubis, Isis manages to retrieve the parts of her husband. Anubis wrapped Osiris in linen, so he could get his sense back in the afterlife. Through this act Anubis gained recognition as the god of Embalming.
Even though Seth manages to kill him, he had to destroy his brother’s body to completely defeat him. On knowing that Isis managed to retrieve Osiris’s body, Seth devised many plans to steal it and destroy. In one of his attempts, he transforms himself into a huge cat, but Anubis manages to defeat him and punish him by branding him with hot irons.
This punishment caused black spots on him and hence was identified his appearance not as a cat, but a leopard. Seth kept on trying to steal the body, so Anubis killed him and burned his body as well. He took Set’s skin and wore it to warn against evil-doers, who would desecrate the tombs of the dead. Then onwards, the priests who attended to the dead wore leopard skin, in order to commemorate Anubis' victory over Set.
Anubis took Osiris to the underworld. He made sure that his father is journeyed respectfully. Even though the jackal-headed god was identified as the god of dead and the god of the underworld, he stepped down from his throne and gave it to his father. So in later part of the dynasty Osiris is identified as the god of the underworld. With this change, the role of Anubis slightly altered. Instead of performing his roles as the god of the underworld, Anubis became the god of mummification. He protects the tomb of the dead and escort souls to the underworld where they meet his father’s judgment. Though a similar role was sometimes performed by the cow-headed Hathor, Anubis was more commonly chosen to fulfill that function.
For souls to enter the realm of the dead, they have to face a judgment where their heart is weigh against the feather of truth. Both Osiris and Ammit, the demon who devour human souls, stand to witness the trial. The souls that are lighter than the feather are allowed to enter into the realm of the dead where Osiris await them. If not, the souls get devoured by Ammit. Since Anubis is the one weighing the soul, he is considered as the guardian of the scale. After the arrival of Greeks to Egypt, Anubis was merged with Hermes, who is the Greek god who escort dead to the underworld and was known as Hermanubis.
Anubis is one of those few gods who do not seek glory, but fulfill his tasks with utmost responsibility. Even though he stepped down from his throne, Anubis continued to care for the souls until they met their judgment. He is even willing to fight against gods, who interrupt with his duties. Even though he has a daunting looks, Anubis does seem to have a loyal heart towards those he love. This could clearly see in his relationship with Isis where he searched the ends of the world to fulfill Isis’s wishes. So Anubis is surely is a god worthy of respect.
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