Like most Egyptian deities, Anubis was a complex god with varied associations and whose importance and domains evolved and changed from early dynastic to Greco-Roman times. Anubis was the original Egyptian god of the dead and one of the oldest known deities, but later relinquished his position to Osiris and became a god more closely associated with mummification. He is now best known for his role in the Osiris myth and importance in the funerary rituals that ensured that life continued after death for the ancient Egyptians.
Origins of the Cult of Anubis
Anubis was one of the oldest known ancient Egyptian gods. He can be traced back to the Predynastic period and frequently features in inscriptions of the First Dynasty pharaohs. In the earliest renditions of the god, he appears in animal form as a jackal. He was later anthropomorphized into the jackal-headed deity that is familiar today.
Anubis’s connection to jackals stems from the fact that jackals were commonly found in and around cemeteries, scavenging and consuming dead bodies not buried deep enough. Experts suggest that the concept of a jackal god arose either from attempts to control the jackals and prevent this behavior, or to comfort family members by suggesting that the bodies were being devoured by the gods.
Interestingly, jackals are predominantly brown, but Anubis is portrayed as a black jackal. Black was the color of the fertile soil deposited by the Nile that was essential in crop cycles. Therefore, the Egyptians associated black with the cycle of birth, death, and renewal.
The name Anubis comes to us from the Greeks. The Egyptians called him Anpu or Inpu. The etymology of the name shows close connections to the word inp, meaning “to decay,” and inpu, meaning “royal child.” This makes sense as in most Egyptian mythologies Anubis was the adopted son of the king of the gods, Osiris.
Anubis had many epithets, such as “Foremost of the Westerners” (Westerners refers to the dead), “Counter of Hearts,” “Chief of the Necropolis,” and “Dog Who Swallows Millions.”
Anubis was more significant in the early pantheons of Egyptian gods, especially in Upper Egypt, where he was originally considered the principal god of the dead. His mythology was then merged with that of Osiris, who was popular in Lower Egypt. While different narratives survive, Anubis ultimately becomes the god of mummification, cemeteries, and funerary rituals. By the Middle Kingdom, he is also a guide for souls traveling to the underworld.
As well as Osiris, Anubis shared a close connection with the god Wepwawet, or “the Opener or the Ways,” a gray wolf-headed deity, who was occasionally depicted as a gray jackal-headed deity. The cult of Wepwawet also originated in Upper Egypt with similar responsibility for funerary rites and guiding the dead. But Wepwawet’s attributes were largely absorbed by Anubis early in Egyptian history. He became a scout-like deity with an important part in royal processions and the military.
The fact that Anubis’ cult flourished while those of other gods were diminished, especially in the face of the rising popularity of the Ennead of Heliopolis (nine key Egyptian deities including Osiris and Isis) at the start of the Middle Kingdom, attests to his importance.
Anubis Mythology
Egyptian mythology is complicated because it is not built on a single accepted canon of events. Multiple conflicting myths can be accepted at the same time, and the mythology of Anubis is an example of this. Anubis is best known for his role in the afterlife created for Osiris, but his role differs in different versions of the myth.
In some versions, Isis finds an abandoned infant Anubis while she is searching for the body parts of her murdered husband Osiris. She learns that her sister Nephyths had a child with Osiris but cast him aside in fear that her husband, Set, Osiris’s murderer, would discover her adultery. Alternatively, Anubis was born long before the death of Osiris, and Isis intentionally set out with a pack of dogs to find him after hearing of his abandonment by Nephyths. Together, this is the most common narrative for the birth of Anubis. But earlier sources suggest that he was the son of Ra and Hesat. Others claim he was the son of Set, but was kidnapped by Isis. Others declare Anubis’s real mother was Bastet.
Regardless of the circumstance of his birth, Anubis is essential to the Osiris myth. Loyal to Isis, he assisted in developing the embalming practice and performed the Opening of the Mouth Ceremony that made Osiris the first mummy.
In some variations of the myth, the still-young Anubis aids Isis in the embalming of Osiris with further help from Thoth, the god of healing. In other accounts, Anubis was already a firmly established deity. For example, in the Pyramid Texts of Unas, Anubis acted as a guide in finding the body parts of Osiris. Some stories claim that when Osiris was reborn in the underworld, Anubis stepped down from his position as god of the dead to show respect to Osiris. This narrative may have come from loyal followers of Anubis to preserve the god’s reputation when Osiris became more popular.
In the Jumilhac Papyrus, a Ptolemaic era funerary manuscript, Anubis’s importance in the Osiris myth is demonstrated further. In this narrative, Anubis repeatedly defeated Set while he was trying to steal Osiris’s body from the wabet, where the body is embalmed. On his first attempt, Set transformed himself into Anubis to get past the guards. But when Set left with the body, Anubis went after Set and showed no fear when Set transformed himself into a bull. Eventually, the incident would lead to Anubis castrating Set and returning to the wabet with Osiris’s body.
On another occasion, Set transformed himself into a large cat, but again he was defeated by Anubis, who branded him with hot irons. This myth also explains how leopards got their spots. On Set’s final attempt, Anubis killed Set and then wore his flayed skin.
Role of Anubis in the Afterlife
His important role in the Osiris myth was key to Anubis’ prevalence and longevity in Egyptian religion. He would feature heavily in rituals and ideology concerning the afterlife. Anubis assumed the position of god of embalming, and was also a guardian of the dead and a guide for souls.
Priests wore Anubis masks when they prepared the body of the deceased for its final resting place and priests of the cult of Anubis were skilled in herbal healing. The use of fragrant herbs in the embalming process was said to help Anubis find the deceased to guide and protect them. His use of the sense of smell reflected his canine characteristics.
After the funeral rites had been performed by the living, including the Opening of the Mouth Ceremony, which enabled the deceased to breathe, see, eat, and drink again, Anubis would be the first deity to meet the deceased and lead them into the Duat and to the Hall of Truth. The deceased would then wait with other souls outside the hall where they would be comforted by Qehebut, Anubis’s daughter and a goddess of purification.
During the Weighing of the Heart Ceremony, Anubis was front and center when it came to helping Osiris judge the souls of the deceased. In this ceremony, the heart of the deceased was weighed against the feather of Ma’at (goddess of order and truth), and if it balanced the scales, the deceased was able to advance to the A’aru, the Field of Reeds or the Egyptian afterlife (often conflated with Christian heaven). The scales would only balance if the person had been good throughout their lifetime. If their heart was heavier than the feather, it would be thrown to the floor and devoured by the monster Ammut, and the soul of the deceased would cease to exist.
The preservation of the Khat or human body as part of the soul after death was essential in Egyptian afterlife beliefs. The deceased required a connection to the earthly realm to absorb the offerings left by the living in a supernatural way that would sustain the soul. Hence, a guardian of cemeteries, the role Anubis took on, was an indispensable part of the Egyptian pantheon.
A Tale of Two Brothers
A completely different myth about Anubis appears in the Tale of Two Brothers. It describes Anubis as the older brother of Bata, a lesser-known local Egyptian bull-god. The Papyrus D’Orbiney dated to the 19th Dynasty is the only known copy of the story.
It begins with the semi-divine brothers living on a farm along with Anubis’s wife, where the age difference means that the couple acts more like parents towards Bata. While Anubis is absent, his wife attempts to seduce Bata. But when he angrily rejects her, the wife tells Anubis that Bata attacked her. Anubis attempts to kill Bata in revenge, but he swears his innocence. To prove it, he cuts off his penis and throws it into a crocodile-infested lake.
Anubis returns home and kills his wife. Meanwhile the gods take pity on Bata and create a wife for him. Sadly, Bata’s new wife leaves him to be with a pharaoh, but Bata devises a cunning plan. Bata disguises himself as a tree, which his wife orders to be cut down. But on her order, a splinter flies into her mouth which impregnates her and Bata is reborn from her. Upon his ascension to the throne, he appoints his brother as his successor and the two brothers are reunited as friends.
It has been suggested that the tale was a political satire and uses the gods as allegorical figures. An overt theme is the connection between kingship and divinity. At the start of the story the narrator declares that a “god’s virility is within” Bata. It is a divine spark, in the form of a splinter, that impregnates Bata’s unfaithful wife and gives birth to the next ruler.
Kingship is even at the center of the confusing position of Bata’s wife, who also becomes his mother. She is suggestive of how royal women are essential as both wives and mothers and transition between the roles. Historian Susan Hollis also suggests the story is representative of the power struggle after the reign of Merneptah in the 19th Dynasty when his sons, Seti II and Amenmesse, both attempted to succeed him.
Anubis After Egypt
Between the Late Period (664-332 BCE) and the Ptolemaic Period (332-30 BCE), Anubis became increasingly associated with necromancy and could be summoned to communicate with the dead. The Greeks and Romans were fascinated with him and he was the only Egyptian deity worshiped outside of Egypt in his animal form.
Anubis was connected to the Greek god Hermes during the Greco-Roman period to create Hermanubis, a god of guidance and who led souls to the underworld. Anubis or Hermanubis was worshiped in the Roman world until the 2nd century CE and was portrayed most frequently on gems or amulets. He has also been found on terracotta lamps, and effigies of Anubis have been found in Pompeii. Prominent Roman writers such as Virgil and Lucian mention Anubis, albeit rather critically.
Anubis was popular with philosophers and alchemists in Medieval Europe. This was likely because the Egyptians, or at least the Ptolemaic Egyptians, established many beliefs within alchemy, thus later alchemists followed their studies. However, increasingly by the Renaissance, Thoth and his counterpart association with Hermes, named Hermes Trismegistos, replaced Anubis.
In pop culture, Anubis appears frequently, but is usually not very accurately portrayed. Despite being a cult favorite and important deity in ancient Egypt, in modern media, Anubis is typically presented as an evil god of the dead. In The Mummy franchise, Anubis is an overarching villain. In the acclaimed Spelunky 2 video game, the player must fight Anubis for his scepter. Despite not physically appearing, in Nickelodeon’s TV series House of Anubis, the “curse of Anubis” brings about death. Mr Jaquel in Neil Gaiman’s American Gods is perhaps a more accurate portrayal as he appears as a calm man trying to make a living by running a funeral home.
