ANUBIS (in Egyptian Anap, written Inpw in hieroglyphs)

This article appears in Volume V02, Page 157 of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: ANC-APO

ANUBIS (in Egyptian Anap, written Inpw in hieroglyphs) , the name of one of the most important of the Egyptian gods. There were two types of canine divinities in

Egypt

EGYPT

, their leading representatives being respectively Anubis and Ophois (Wp-w:-wt, " opener of the ways ") : the former type is symbolized by the
recumbent animal , the other by a similar animal (in a
stiff

standing

STANDING

attitude), carried as an emblem on a standard in war or in religious processions. The former comprised
two beneficent gods of the necropolis; the latter also were beneficent, but warlike, divinities. They thus corresponded, at any rate in some measure, respectively to the fiercer and milder aspects of the dog-tribe. In

late

LATE

days the Greeks report that Kbves (dogs) were the sacred animals of Anubis while those of
Ophois were XbKoL (wolves). The above figure is coloured
black as befits a funerary and nocturnal animal: it is more
attenuated than even a greyhound, but it has the bushy tail of
the fox or the jackal. Probably these were the

original

ORIGINAL

genii of
the necropolis, and in fact the same lean animal figured passant
is s;b " jackal " or " fox." The domestic dog would be
brought into the sacred circle through the increased veneration for animals, and the more pronounced view in later times of Anubis as servant, messenger and custodian of the gods.
Anubis was the

principal

PRINCIPAL

god in the capitals of the XVIIth and XVIIIth nomes of Upper

Egypt

EGYPT

, and secondary god in the XIIIth and probably in the XIIth nome; but his cult was universal. To begin with, he was the god of the dead, of the cemetery, of all supplies for the dead, and therefore of embalming when that became customary. In very early

inscriptions

INSCRIPTIONS (from Lat. inscribere, to write upon)

the funerary prayers in the tombs are addressed to him almost exclusively, and he always took a leading place in them. In the scene of the weighing of the soul before Osiris, dating from the New-kingdom onwards, Anubis attends to the

balance

BALANCE (derived through the Fr. from the Late Lat. bilantia, an apparatus for weighing, from bi, two, and lanx, a dish or scale)

while Thoth registers the result. Anubis was believed to have been the embalmer of Osiris: the mummy of Osiris, or of the deceased, on a bier, tended by this god, is a very common subject on funerary tablets of the

late

LATE

periods. Anubis came to be considered especially the attendant of the gods and conductor of the dead, and hence was commonly identified with Hermes (cf. the name Hermanubis) ; but the role of Hermes as the god of eloquence, inventor of arts and recorder of the gods was taken by Thoth. In those days Anubis was considered to be son of Osiris by

Nephthys

NEPHTHYS

; earlier perhaps he was son of Re, the sun-god. In the 2nd century A. D. his aid was " compelled " by the magicians and necromancers to fetch the gods and entertain them with food (especially in the ceremony of gazing into the bowl of oil), and he is invoked by them some-times as the " Good Ox-herd." The cult of Anubis must at all times have been very popular in Egypt, and, belonging to the Isis and Serapis cycle, was introduced into

Greece

GREECE

and Rome.
See

Erman

ERMAN, PAUL (1764-1851)

, Egyptian Religion; Budge, Gods of the Egyptians; Meyer, in Zeits. f. Aeg. Spr. 41-97. (F. LL. G.)

End of Article: ANUBIS (in Egyptian Anap, written Inpw in hieroglyphs)

If you wish, you can link directly to this article.

<a href="http://jcsm.org/StudyCenter/Encyclopedia/ANC_APO/ANUBIS_in_Egyptian_Anap_writte.html">
ANUBIS (in Egyptian Anap, written Inpw in hiero...
</a>

(Previous)
ANU

(Next)
ANURADHAPURA

JCSM was founded in 1997 and exists to help the community and bring people into a life-changing and productive relationship with Jesus Christ. JCSM offers over 200,000 free web pages, including its weekly inspirational emails that were sent continuously for over a decade.

Jesus Christ Saves Ministries
P.O. Box 9297
San Diego, CA 92169
1-888-887-0417 or Email