26 July: Anubis

In Pharaoh Egyptian astrology (one of two known systems), this time of year comes under the sign of Anubis, the Ancient Egyptian God associated with death, the afterlife and the mummification process. 10 things you might not know about this Egyptian deity:

1. His name in ancient Egypt was “Anpu” or “Inpu” rather than Anubis. The name meant "to decay", signifying his association with death. When the Greeks arrived in Egypt he evolved into a composite of Anpu and Hermes, known as “Hermanubis”. The Greek god Hermes had a similar role of guiding souls to the afterlife. Hence the name Anubis is Greek rather than Egyptian.
2. He is usually depicted as having the head of a god, or jackal. This may have come about as a result of his role of guarding graves. Jackals were scavengers which sometimes dug up newly buried bodies and ate them, so historians concluded a jackal form was used to scare them off. However, more recent studies suggest that these animals were a type of wolf rather than jackals.
3. At one point Anubis was the chief god of the underworld, but eventually Osiris took on that role and Anubis ended up being a sort of gatekeeper. His job was to weigh the Heart of each deceased person against Maat’s “feather of truth”. If a person's heart was lighter than the feather, they were in. If the heart was heavier, though, the demoness Ammut would eat it and that would be the end of that person's afterlife.
4. Anubis is usually pictured either tending to a dead king, presiding over a funeral or holding golden scales, in the process of weighing a person's heart. He is usually Black, because black is a symbol of death, and also of the Nile’s fertile soil.
5. Accounts differ as to who his parents were. Some say his parents were Nephthys and Osiris. Nephthys was a goddess of darkness, so that made sense. If Osiris was his father that would explain why the two were allies. Other accounts say that Set, god of darkness, storms and destruction was his father. Others say his parents were the sun god Ra and either Hesat the cow goddess or Bastet the cat goddess was his mother. The stories agree that Anubis married Anput, goddess of funerals and mummification, and that their daughter was the serpent goddess Kebechet, a goddess of purification.
6. There aren't many stories about Anubis. He plays a part in the story of Osiris as the one who helps restore him to his body. This is probably why he is known as the god of embalming. Other than that, he doesn't feature much at all, except sometimes as a looming figure at the end, rather like the personification of Death in more modern stories.
7. In spite of that, Anubis was one of the most popular gods in the Egyptian pantheon. He was often depicted in art and had a cult following of worshippers. It may be that Egyptians thought it important to butter Anubis up while they were alive so they'd be sure of a fair judgement when they died.
8. Priests performing the embalming of corpses wore jackal masks to imitate Anubis.
9. Probably the most famous depiction of Anubis is a life sized wooden statue of him which was placed at the entrance to Tutenkhamen's tomb. It showed him as completely in jackal form, crouching protectively. It's painted black and has a collar and a scarf. The fact that he was placed there to protect the tomb of the boy king against mortals who might desecrate it led to the belief that the tomb was cursed. When the tomb of Tutankhamen was discovered, several people who entered the tomb died. Anubis, it was said, had the power to curse people who violated tombs.
10. When Anubis appears in modern stories (such as Stargate SG1 or American Gods) he's usually depicted as much more malicious and Satanic than the Egyptians believed him to be.

My Books:

If you like stories about:

• Superheroes
• Psychic detectives
• Romance
• Alternative dimensions
• Time travel 
• Secrets
• Friendship
• Family relationships
• Ghosts
• Adventure
• Crime

If you want to read about superheroes who aren't the usual Marvel/DC staples, who don't all live in the USA.

If you like quirky tales.

If you like to support independent self published authors.

Check out my books page.