Anubis, one of the better-known members of the Egyptian Pantheon. He was a powerful deity
whose role shifted over time from God of the dead to the God of mummification whilst he
plays an integral role in the stories of Osiris, Isis and Set. So who was Anubis, and what
was his legend? Let’s find out together, right now.
One of the most iconic Egyptian deities, Anubis possessed several distinctive features. While
he had a human body (like most Egyptian gods), he also had a jackal’s head and tail. He
was typically all black, and was often portrayed in a seated position. Like many Egyptian gods,
Anubis was capable of shapeshifting. Anubis’s origin and role as god of the dead
were directly linked to his depiction as a jackal or jackal-headed man. Jackals were
scavengers who would frequent burial sites and uncover shallow graves. The Egyptians
may have enshrined the jackal’s behaviour in order to make it seem benevolent.
Alternatively, Anubis worship may have developed as a means to exercise supernatural control
over jackals. If Anubis was worshipped properly, the jackals might not disturb the venerated
dead. Early on in Egyptian history, Anubis was worshiped
as a god of the dead. After Osiris rose to prominence, Anubis’s role changed. He became
a god of embalming and psychopomp who escorted the dead on their journey to the afterlife.
The origin story of Anubis is a fascinating one and where his mythology truly comes to
life. Following Osiris’s murder at the hands of
his brother Set, his wife Isis set out in search of his body. It was during this search
that she learned her sister Nephthys had born a child with Osiris.
Fearing that her husband, Set, would discover her infidelity, Nephthys abandoned the newborn
child. Isis, known for her maternal benevolence, found the child and adopted him. She named
the child Anubis, and he thereafter served as her loyal protector.
Following his murder, Osiris’s body was ultimately destroyed. Whether or not it was
chopped into pieces or simply subject to natural decomposition is irrelevant. What is significant,
however, is that after Osiris’s body was recovered, it was embalmed. The cultural practice
of mummification was derived from this first embalming, and was intended to emulate Osiris’s
journey to the afterlife. After Isis had recovered her husband’s body,
the sun god Ra asked Anubis to assist with the embalming process. With some assistance
from Horus and Thoth, he wrapped the body in cloth and completed what would become known
as the Opening of the Mouth ritual. This rite was meant to ensure that the mummified person’s
senses would continue to work in the afterlife. While Set had succeeded in killing Osiris,
he still needed to destroy his brother’s body in order to defeat him completely. After
Osiris’s body was recovered by Isis, Set plotted to steal it back and complete its
destruction. During the embalming process, Osiris’s body
was kept in the wabet, or place of embalming. Noting that Anubis left the wabet every night,
Set devised a plan. Transforming himself into Anubis, he strolled past the unsuspecting
guards and stole Osiris’s body. Set would not be able to make it far, however,
before Anubis discovered the theft and set out in pursuit. In an attempt to ward off
his pursuer, Set turned himself into a bull. The jackal-god was not intimidated, however.
Upon capturing Set, Anubis castrated him and imprisoned him in Saka, the 17th nome of Egypt.
Not one to be deterred, Set escaped his imprisonment and continued his mission. This time, Set
attempted to steal his brother’s body in the form of a great cat. The plan failed,
and Anubis caught him once more; the jackal-headed god punished Set by branding him with hot
irons. This myth thus explained how leopards became spotted.
Anubis then flayed Set and wore his skin as a warning against evil-doers who would desecrate
the tombs of the dead. Priests who attended to the dead wore leopard skin in order to
commemorate Anubis' victory over Set. In later years Anubis would become synonymous
with guiding individuals across the threshold from the world of the living to the afterlife.
He also took on a key role as ‘Guardian of the scales’ where he performed a measurement
that determined whether the person was worthy of entering the realm of the dead. By weighing
the heart of a deceased person against Ma'at (or "truth"), who was often represented as
an ostrich feather, Anubis dictated the fate of souls. Souls heavier than a feather would
be devoured by Ammit, and souls lighter than a feather would ascend to a heavenly existence
Thus his legend was secured. The famous jackal God Anubis, Lord of death and mummification.