Anubis resides in the region of the mummy,
The overseer of the Divine house, he
lays his hands upon the Lord of life and ensures
everything he needs. . .
Despite our lack of understanding of the mysterious land of Kem (Egypt), we have always been drawn to its secrets. These include, of course, pyramids, the Sphinx, temples, and its deities.
One of the most mysterious deities is undoubtedly Anubis. This is what the Greeks called him, and we still know him by that name today, while the Egyptians called him Anpu. An ancient papyrus scroll states that his name comes from the word “to purify.”
Anubis is depicted as a man with the head of a jackal or dog, or as a jackal lying on a coffin similar to those found in the tombs of pharaohs, priests, and high officials. He is rarely shown in a completely human form, as in the case of the temple of Ramses II in Abydos. He is most commonly represented with a staff (uas) in hand, which he uses to navigate through the invisible world. The top part of the staff is a simplified depiction of his head, while the remainder of the staff is adorned with symbolic imagery.
The lower part of the branch is divided into two parts, representing the feet of a goose that can walk through the mire and overcome the chaos, enemies… In the other hand, he usually holds an ankh (the key of eternal life) or a whip with which he drives away the enemies of the deceased as they pass through the underworld.
He was most revered in Kinopolis (City of the Dog), where one of his most famous sanctuaries was located, as well as in Abydos. His sanctuaries were mainly located in the most secluded parts of temples.
With Osiris, Anubis was born, but after his birth, she leaves him out of fear of her husband Seth’s revenge. Isis adopts him, and he becomes her companion and guardian. That’s why he is often depicted as the guardian of sacred places, symbolizing vigilant attention.
Anubis was considered the lord of the dead and the lord of the Western Mountain. In the biography of the priest Heruef from the Old Kingdom, it is written: “The sacrifice given by the king, the sacrifice given by Anubis, who is on top of the mountain, the lord of the necropolis…”
The cult of Anubis was secretive until the time of Ramesses II, when flags with his likeness were flown in the Battle of Kadesh (1309 BC) against the Hittites, which was a sign of the popularization of the cult and the loss of its mystical and sacred aspects.
Anubis’ Role in the Afterlife
Depending on the role he had in various stages of passing through the afterlife, Anubis was identified with deities such as Horus, Seth, Thoth, and others. For example, in the Pyramid Texts of Pharaoh Unas, he is identified with Horus’ eye.
Anubis guards and guides the The souls of the deceased go to the Court of Osiris, where the “weighing of the soul” takes place. After bringing the soul to the scale, Anubis takes his place next to it and it is his duty to adjust the pointer accurately and determine whether the soul of the deceased is lighter or heavier than the feather of the goddess Maat – justice, which is located on the other tray of the scale.
In the final stage of passing through the realms of the other world, before stepping onto the Fields of Peace (Sekhet-hetepu), the deceased must pass through the Hall of the Mummy, where Anubis will embalm them, just as he did with Osiris. In the Nebseni Papyrus, a part of the text says:
What the gods hate are lies and godlessness,
and the one who passes through the place of purification in Mesktet
is Anubis who is next to the coffin in which the inner Osiris stands.
Priests of Anubis
For every deity in Egypt, there were priests who maintained their cult. Anubis also had his own priests who were divided into “Priests of the Anubis Alliance” and “Priests of Anubis who lie on top of nine enemies”.
“Priests of the Anubis Alliance” were responsible for mummification and funeral ceremonies, thus doing the same as Anubis himself does with the priests in the afterlife, according to Egyptian beliefs. All these ceremonies are interconnected and serve to enable the deceased to “see” and “speak” in the afterlife.
First, mummification was performed. In this process, one of the priests wore a mask of the god Anubis, symbolically indicating his presence. The body of the deceased was cleansed with fats from eight vessels (nemset), and then incense was burned to remove Bad smells from the body were eliminated and then the body was coated with oil (henna) in order to preserve it.
“The priests of Anubis, who lies on nine enemies”, were gathered in brotherhoods and resided in parts of cities where the dead were buried. (For example, they were located in the Valley of the Kings, Valley of the Queens, and Valley of the Nobles.) They gathered under the banner of the lying jackal and placed seals with the “jackal lying on nine enemies” on fake walls representing the entrance to the tomb. One of their duties was to oversee armed guards and trained animals who guarded the tombs from desert raiders. In front of the tomb entrance, they placed Anubis in the form of a lying jackal on a coffin containing scrolls of papyrus with secrets of passage through the realms of the afterlife. Additionally, they placed protective amulets and sacred metals to ward off raiders.
The jackal-headed guide of souls
In the Greco-Roman world, the cult of Anubis spread during the Hellenistic period (4th century BC). Although historically associated with the preservation of the dead and the process of mummification, Anubis eventually became known as the psychopomp, guiding souls through the afterlife. There was no equivalent to Anubis in either Greece or Rome. In Greece, he was compared to Prometheus, the bringer of mental spark to humankind, to Hermes, who also escorted the souls of the dead, and, according to one source, to the goddess Hecate, who was considered the ruler of the underworld and protector of secret magical teachings. The Roman philosopher, rhetorician, and priest Apuleius mentions him in his work “The Golden Ass,” portraying him as leading the procession of Isis: First came the fearsome god who mediates between the upper and lower worlds; he held his half-black, half-golden face high; this was Anubis with a long dog-like neck; in his left hand, he held a caduceus, and in his right, a green palm branch…
Plutarch conveys a similar account: Anubis is depicted as a dog due to his ability to see equally well during the night as during the day. It seems that the Egyptians attribute to him the same qualities as the Greeks do to Hecate, as he simultaneously belongs to the underworld and the celestial world… Anubis is also commonly referred to as Hermanubis. The first name of this god reflects his connection to the upper realms.
The funerary ritual in which Anubis plays a key role binds the destiny of the deceased to the cycle of sunset and sunrise and the constantly renewing force of life. The West, as the place of the setting sun, symbolizes death, the afterlife, and the world ruled by Anubis by analogy. However, The soul of the deceased, accompanied by Anubis, embarks on a journey through the underworld, full of trials, in order to be rejuvenated like the Sun in the East and to return to life once again. By guiding the cycle of birth and death, Anubis closes the eternal circle of life.