Egyptian God Anubis – The Jackal
His figure is one of my favorites, and he is quite popular with tourists too. You won't find a souvenir shop that doesn't sell Anubis statues. He is usually depicted as a dog or jackal. Either fully, or only the head and the rest of the body is human. This may have come about when the ancient Egyptians observed dogs around their graveyards (either digging for bones and corpses, or just eating the offerings). And contrary to what many people think, he was actually a benevolent God rather than an evil one. Of course, as God of Death he still maintains quite a frightening role, but it is not an evil one. He is the son of the Goddess Nephthys, who was the God Seth's wife. And although Seth should have been his father, he was not. He was actually the son of Osiris when Nephthys had an affair with him. And although Nephthys was his "biological" mother, she had deserted him because she was afraid of Seth's wrath. To make things even more dramatic, Osiris's lawful wife Isis is the one who rescued and raised him as her own... ...Eat your heart out Days of Our Lives! As her adopted son, Anubis was a protector (like a watch-dog) to Isis. He also assisted in putting together the body of Osiris for a resurrection. Unlike many other Egyptian Gods and Goddesses, Anubis was not a shape-shifter. He kept his usual form and roles pretty much the same throughout the span of ancient Egyptian mythology.
Anubis’s Function and Worship
His main function is caring for the bodies of the recently deceased. He greeted the dead into the underworld, and helped in the embalming and mummification process. This is the reason why the priests that embalmed the dead wore jackal masks. They were his representatives.
He was also the one who judged the result of the "Weighing-of-the-Heart" ceremony.
He also supported a mummy to keep it upright during the "Opening of the Mouth". Anubis was worshiped throughout ancient Egypt, painted on tomb and temple wall, and carved into so many beautiful statues. One of the most famous representations you can see for him is his statue in the Cairo Museum, part of King Tutankhamun's collection. He is also very present in the Book of the Dead and many other papyri. The ancient Egyptians had so much affection for this God, kind of like how we feel about dogs today :-)
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