Anubis (/əˈnuːbᵻs/ or /əˈnjuːbᵻs/; Ancient Greek: Ἄνουβις) or Anpu is the Greek name of a god associated with mummification and the afterlife in ancient Egyptian religion, usually depicted as a canine or a man with a canine head. Archeologists identified the sacred animal of Anubis as an Egyptian canid, that at the time was called the golden jackal, but recent genetic testing has caused the Egyptian animal to be reclassified as the African golden wolf.
Like many ancient Egyptian deities, Anubis assumed different roles in various contexts. Depicted as a protector of graves as early as the First Dynasty (c. 3100 – c. 2890 BC), Anubis was also an embalmer. By the Middle Kingdom (c. 2055 – 1650 BC) he was replaced by Osiris in his role as lord of the underworld. One of his prominent roles was as a god who ushered souls into the afterlife. He attended the weighing scale during the “Weighing of the Heart,” in which it was determined whether a soul would be allowed to enter the realm of the dead. Despite being one of the most ancient and “one of the most frequently depicted and mentioned gods” in the Egyptian pantheon, Anubis played almost no role in Egyptian myths.
Anubis was depicted in black, a color that symbolized both rebirth and the discoloration of the corpse after embalming. Anubis is associated with Wepwawet (also called Upuaut), another Egyptian god portrayed with a dog’s head or in canine form, but with grey or white fur. Historians assume that the two figures were eventually combined. Anubis’ female counterpart is Anput. His daughter is the serpent goddess Kebechet.
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Author: Wikipedia
Keywords: Anubis, Egyptian religion, religion of Egypt, Egypt, idolatry, idols, myth, Egyptian myth, Gods of the Nile, Gods of Egypt, Egyptian gods, Egyptian deity, Egyptian deities, Egyptian idolatry, idols of Egypt, false gods
Bible reference(s): Exo 12:12, Exo 32:1, Exo 32:4, Exo 32:8, Exo 32:23, Exo 32:31, Num 33:4, Jer 43:12-13
Source: This article uses material from the Wikipedia article “Anubis,” which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.
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