What does Anubis look like? Anubis is an ancient Egyptian deity with the head of a jackal, god of death

Name

"Anubis" is the Greek pronunciation of the Egyptian name of this god. During the period of the Old Kingdom (from 2686 BC to 2181 BC), his name was transmitted as a combination of sounds inpw, followed by the hieroglyph for "jackal" above the sign htp (hotep– lit. "peace be upon him")

However, in the end Ancient kingdom appeared new form entries of this name end with the sign “jackal on a high stand.” She remained normal in the future.

Akkadian(Mesopotamian) alphabetic transcriptions (in the Amarna letters) rendered Anubis' name as "Anapa".

History of the cult

At the beginning of the dynastic period of Egyptian history (c. 3100 - c. 2686 BC), Anubis was depicted entirely as an animal, having not only a “jackal” head, but also the same body. The "Jackal God" (probably Anubis) is mentioned in stone inscriptions from the reigns of Hor-Aha, Djer and other pharaohs of the first dynasty. In the predynastic period, when Egyptians buried their dead in shallow graves, jackals and wild dogs were closely associated with cemeteries, for these scavengers would dig up the bodies of the dead and eat their meat.

The oldest known textual reference to the name "Anubis" is found in the Pyramid Texts of the Old Kingdom era (c. 2686 - c. 2181 BC), in connection with the burial of the pharaohs.

During the Old Kingdom period, Anubis was the most important of the gods of the dead. But during the Middle Kingdom (2000-1700 BC) he was pushed into the background by Osiris. During the Roman era (from 30 BC), funerary paintings depicted Anubis holding the hand of the dead and leading them to Osiris.

Information about Anubis's "family background" also varies depending on time and sources. In the early Egyptian mythology, he was recognized as the son of Ra. In the Sarcophagi Texts, written during the First Intermediate Period (c. 2181-2055 BC), Anubis is the son of either the cow-goddess Hesat or the cat-headed goddess Bastet. Another tradition portrays him as the son of the goddess Nephthys. The Greek Plutarch (c. 40-120 CE) argued that Anubis was considered the illegitimate son of Nephthys and Osiris, who was adopted by Osiris' wife, Isis:

...When Isis found out that Osiris had an affair with her sister Nephthys, confusing her with herself, and when she saw proof of this in the form of a garland of clover, left by him to Nephthys - she began to look for the child, whom Nephthys abandoned immediately after his birth out of fear of her husband Seth. When Isis, after many difficulties, found the child with the help of dogs, she took him, and he became her guardian and ally, receiving the name Anubis...

Some see this story as "an attempt to incorporate the independent god Anubis into the pantheon of Osiris." An Egyptian papyrus from the period of Roman rule (30-380 AD) calls Anubis “son of Isis.”

Ancient Egyptian god Anubis

Anubis(in Egyptian Inpu) - the god of Ancient Egypt, who was depicted with the head of a jackal and human body, a guide to the afterlife. During the Old Kingdom, he appeared to people in the form of the god Duat. In ancient Egyptian mythology, he is the son of the goddess Nephthys. Spouse Anubis the goddess Inut was considered.

Most widely Anubis revered in the capital of the 17th Egyptian nome - the city of Kinopol. The Osiris Cycle describes how he helped Isis search for the parts of Osiris scattered across the earth.

During the period of animistic ideas Anubis was a black dog. Starting from a certain period of development of the Egyptian religion in Ancient Egypt, Anubis began to be depicted as a man with a dog's head, while all the functions of God were preserved. The city of Kinopol has always been a center of worship to Anubis. Egyptologists claim that in the early period the cult Anubis spread with incredible speed. In the Ancient Kingdom, the god Anubis was the master of the underworld and was called Khentiamentiu. In addition, before the cult of Osiris appeared in Egypt, he was the main god of the entire West. According to some books Khentiamentiu was the name of the location of some temple in which a given god was worshiped.

According to one of the translations, this epithet was “The very first Westerner.” After the rise of the cult of Osiris, how supreme god, epithet of the king of the Duat and certain functions Anubis go to Osiris himself (during the Old Kingdom he was the personification of the deceased pharaoh). Myself Anubis became a guide of the dead through the region of the Duat (Amenti), through which the soul had to pass to the judgment of Osiris.

One of the sections of the Egyptian Book of the Dead, which is given on the Papyrus of Ani, describes in detail the Egyptians' ideas about the afterlife. This section was written around the time of the 18th Dynasty. One of the chapters gives a description of the Great Judgment of Osiris, at which the god Anubis placed the heart of the deceased on the Weight of Truth. The heart was placed in the left bowl, and the feather of the Egyptian goddess Maat, which was supposed to symbolize truth, was placed in the right bowl.

In the study of Egyptian mythology, starting with historians of Ancient Greece and ending with historians of modern times, some ideas about the situation were formed Anubis in the Egyptian pantheon. Anubis was the god of the Duat, and until the very end of the Old Kingdom period he was its king and judge of the dead. Subsequently, his functions pass to Osiris, and he himself becomes the deity of funerary mysteries and necropolises. At the Judgment he helps Osiris judge the dead.

Anubis

Playing multiplayer games in your city (and not only) with friends and signing with a pseudonym Anubis, encountered multiple examples of human illiteracy and narrow-mindedness. People kept asking me: “What is Anubis?”... As soon as this ancient and noble name was not distorted. Today I decided to take and correct this disastrous state of affairs... So it’s your turn, dear gentlemen, to find out who he is Anubis.

ANUBIS(Greek) - INPU(Egyptian). In Egyptian mythology, the patron god of the dead, the keeper of poisons and medicines, the “Master of the sacred land” (i.e., the necropolis) and “the one who is in front of the hall of the gods” (in which mummification was carried out). As a patron of magic, he had the gift of foresight. Anubis was considered the judge of the gods. The center of the cult of Anubis throughout the history of Ancient Egypt was the city of Kassa, the capital of the 17th Upper Egyptian nome ( Greek name city ​​- Kinopol, that is, "Dog City"), but his veneration spread very early throughout Egypt. During the period of the Old Kingdom, Anubis was considered the god of the dead, his main epithets are “Khentiamenti”, i.e. the one who is ahead of the country of the West (the kingdom of the dead), “the lord of Rasetau” (the kingdom of the dead), “standing in front of the palace of the gods”. According to the Pyramid Texts. Anubis was the main god in the kingdom of the dead, he counted the hearts of the dead (while Osiris mainly personified the deceased pharaoh, who came to life like a god). Starting from the period of the Middle Kingdom (2100 BC), the functions of Anubis pass to Osiris, who was assigned his epithets, and Anubis, along with other gods (Upuatom, Khentiamenti, etc.), who have similar iconography, is included in the circle of gods associated with the mysteries of Osiris (Anubis introduces the dead and weighs the heart and feather of Maat on the scales of justice; nearby is the terrible dog Anud, who eats the heart of the deceased if it is burdened with sins). One of the most important functions of Anubis was preparing the body of the deceased for embalming and turning it into a mummy (the embalmer, in the process of mummifying the corpse, put on a mask of the jackal-headed god Anubis). Anubis was credited with laying his hands on the mummy and transforming the deceased with the help of magic into ah ("enlightened", "blessed"), who came to life thanks to this gesture; Anubis placed children around the deceased in the burial chamber of Horus and gave each a canopic jar with the entrails of the deceased for their protection. Anubis is closely associated with the necropolis at Thebes, the seal of which depicts a jackal lying over nine captives. At night, Anubis guarded the mummies from evil forces. On the doors of numerous tombs a black dog is depicted lying down; it is the guarding god.
In iconography revered in the form of a lying black jackal or a wild dog Sab. He was depicted as a jackal (dog) or as a man with the head of a jackal or a dog (moreover, the zoological species, be it a dog or a jackal, was not definitely noted by the Egyptian, but presumably it is a mixed creature - a cross between a wild dog, a wolf-jackal and a human) holding in his hand the hieroglyph "ank" ("life"). This divine guardian of the path to the kingdom of the dead is depicted in black, i.e., has the color of sacred embalming resin, which symbolizes the belief in the continuation of life in the other world.

Son Osiris and Nephthys, Brother god Bata, father Kebhut.
Sacred animal: Jackal.
Identification: Khentiamenti, Upuaut (wolf god Upuat), Isdes. IN Ancient Greece- Hermes, Kron.

In a later period Anubis (Anpu), the Egyptian psychopomp (guide of souls), began to be confused with Thoth, although the Energies of both archetypes are very different and each has its own sphere of application (from the point of view of mythology and human psychology). Anubis was the patron deity of travelers, both inside and outside the body. As an intermediary between this world and the next, Anubis is often depicted as a jackal or black hunting dog with a bushy tail (and the latter option, according to Budge, is more accurate). Anubis could travel unhindered throughout all the nooks and crannies of the late kingdom, which naturally made him an ideal companion for the spirit of the deceased, passionately wanting to get to a certain area of ​​​​the kingdom of the dead. As with Thoth, Anubis' connections to the family of Isis are unmistakable. Despite the fact that in the Pyramid Texts he is called the fourth son of Ra. Anubis is more commonly known as the offspring of Nephthys and Osiris; Here we are again dealing with a case where the psychological meaning of the allegory involving Osiris becomes obvious. Neftis, Secretive, Revealer, with psychological point view, is seen as deeply unconscious; originally she was the wife of Set (Chaos). Their relationship was purely platonic, which is understandable. The fruit of her union with Osiris (Stability, Order) became Anubis - Defender of the soul in darkness. This implies that chaos is not scary to someone who has mastered the hidden aspects of the deeply unconscious - to someone who is able to look at the face of a terrifying reality, without which the discovery of truth and harmony is impossible. Anubis was (and remains - for the information of those who want to evoke his energy) the patron saint of anesthesiologists, psychiatrists and psychologists; it can also help in finding anything lost or missing. This god was also called the “Opener of Paths,” and in this capacity Anubis was summoned by those who wanted to get out of the labyrinth of earthly existence or who were tired of wandering in the darkness of doubt and uncertainty.

But what an interesting point of view on why Anubis was represented as a man with the head of a jackal/dog I found in Theosophical Dictionary:
GERMANUBIS(Greek) Or Hermes Anubis, “revealing the secrets of the lower world” - not Hell or Hades, as it is presented, but our Earth (the lower world of the sevenfold chain of worlds) - as well as the secrets of sex. Kreuzer must have guessed the truth of the correct interpretation, since he calls Anubis-Thoth-Hermes "the symbol of science and the world of the mind." He was always depicted with a cross in his hand - one of the earliest symbols of the mystery of generation, or generation on this earth. In the Chaldean Kabbalah (Book of Numbers) the symbol Tat, or +, is regarded as Adam and Eve - the latter being a transverse or horizontal line drawn from the side (or edge) of Hadam, a perpendicular line. In fact, in esoteric meaning Adam and Eve, representing the early third Root Race - those who, while still devoid of reason, imitated the animals and humiliated themselves with the latter - were also a double symbol of the sexes. Hence Anubis, the Egyptian god of generation, is depicted with the head of an animal - a dog or a jackal - and is also considered the "Lord of the Underworld" or "Hades", into which he introduces the souls of the dead (reincarnating entities), for Hades is in one sense the womb, as is clear show some writings of the Church Fathers.

Anubis - mysterious ancient egyptian god, patron of the kingdom of the dead, was considered one of the judges in the kingdom. In the early period of the formation of religion in Egypt, Anubis was perceived by the Egyptians as a black jackal, devouring the dead and guarding the entrance to their kingdom.

Later, in the minds of the Egyptians, the god Anubis retained only individual features of his jackal origin. As the god of the kingdom of the dead in the ancient city of Siut, Anubis obeyed only the main deity of Siut - Upuatu - a god in the guise of a wolf. Anubis was considered the guide of the souls of the dead to the kingdom of the dead. The newly arrived soul ended up in the chamber of the god Osiris, where its future fate was decided. In Chamber 42, the god-judges made a decision whether to send the soul to the Fields of Iala or to commit a painful, irrevocable and final spiritual death.

From secret magic spells, compiled by the priests of those times for the pharaohs of the fifth and sixth dynasties, who were later included in the Book of the Dead is seen as the creator himself of the most full version of this book - the Egyptian Ani and his wife bowed before the divine judges. In the chamber of Siut there are scales, for which Anubis is responsible. In the left pan of the scales is the heart of Ani, in the right bowl is the feather of Maat, which is a symbol of Truth, infallibility and righteousness of human actions.

Another name of the god Anubis in ancient Egyptian mythology is Anubis-Sab, translated as judge of the gods, patron of magic, and had the ability to foresee the future.

Anubis' duties included preparing the body of the deceased for embalming followed by mummification. It was believed that Anubis transformed the deceased into AH with the help of magic. Anubis placed children around the deceased in the funeral tomb, each of whom gave a vessel with internal organs deceased for the purpose of protection. When performing the ritual of embalming a body, the Egyptian priest wore a jackal mask, thereby acting as Anubis. It was believed that at night Anubis guarded the bodies of the embalmed Egyptians from evil forces.

With the development of the Egyptian cults of Serapis and Isis in the Roman Empire, the Greco-Romans began to perceive Anubis as a servant and companion of these gods. The Romans compared Anubis to the god Hermes, whose nickname was Psychopomp.

Anubis is also the patron saint of anesthesiologists, psychologists and psychiatrists. It is believed that Anubis can provide assistance to a person in finding something lost or missing. Anubis was called the Opener of the Way; a person who cannot find the right path in some labyrinth can ask him for help.

Ancient Egyptian god Anubis

Anubis- the god of Ancient Egypt, who was depicted with the head of a jackal and a human body, a guide to the afterlife. During the Old Kingdom, he appeared to people in the form of the god Duat. In ancient Egyptian mythology, he is the son of the goddess Nephthys. Spouse Anubis the goddess Inut was considered.

Most widely Anubis revered in the capital of the 17th Egyptian nome - the city of Kinopol. The Osiris Cycle describes how he helped Isis search for the parts of Osiris scattered across the earth.

During the period of animistic ideas Anubis was a black dog. Starting from a certain period of development of the Egyptian religion in Ancient Egypt, Anubis began to be depicted as a man with a dog's head, while all the functions of God were preserved. The city of Kinopol has always been a center of worship to Anubis. Egyptologists claim that in the early period the cult Anubis spread with incredible speed. In the Ancient Kingdom, the god Anubis was the master of the underworld and was called Khentiamentiu. In addition, before the cult of Osiris appeared in Egypt, he was the main god of the entire West. According to some books Khentiamentiu was the name of the location of some temple in which a given god was worshiped.

According to one of the translations, this epithet was “The very first Westerner.” After the heyday of the cult of Osiris as the supreme god, the epithet of the king of the Duat and certain functions Anubis move on to Osiris himself. Myself Anubis became a guide of the dead through the region of the Duat, through which the soul had to pass to the judgment of Osiris.

One of the sections of the Egyptian Book of the Dead, which is given on the Papyrus of Ani, describes in detail the Egyptians' ideas about the afterlife. This section was written around the time of the 18th Dynasty. One of the chapters gives a description of the Great Judgment of Osiris, at which the god Anubis placed the heart of the deceased on the Weight of Truth. The heart was placed in the left bowl, and the feather of the Egyptian goddess Maat, which was supposed to symbolize truth, was placed in the right bowl.

While researching Egyptian mythology. starting from the historians of Ancient Greece and ending with the historians of our time, some ideas about the situation have formed Anubis in the Egyptian pantheon. Anubis was the god of the Duat, and until the very end of the Old Kingdom period he was its king and judge of the dead. Subsequently, his functions pass to Osiris, and he himself becomes the deity of funerary mysteries and necropolises. At the Judgment he helps Osiris judge the dead.

Bronze, New Kingdom period, 16th-11th centuries BC

Anubis, in Egyptian mythology, the god and patron of the dead, the son of the god of vegetation Osiris and Nephthys, sister of Isis. Nephthys hid the newborn Anubis from her husband Set in the swamps of the Nile Delta. The mother goddess Isis found the young god and raised him.

Later, when Set killed Osiris, Anubis, organizing the burial of the deceased god, wrapped his body in fabrics impregnated with a special composition, thus making the first mummy. Therefore, Anubis is considered the creator of funeral rites, the patron of necropolises, and is called the god of embalming. Anubis helped preserve the body of Osiris. Anubis also helped judge the dead and accompanied the righteous to the throne of Osiris. Anubis was depicted as a wolf, jackal or wild dog Sab, black in color. Kebkhut was considered the daughter of Anubis, who poured libations in honor of the dead.

Rite of Anubis. The god Anubis removes the heart of the deceased to weigh it at the court of Osiris. Painting from the tomb of Sennejem, 13th century BC

The earliest mention of Anubis is found in the Pyramid Texts during the Old Kingdom in the 23rd century BC, where he was associated exclusively with royal burials.

In the Hellenistic era, Anubis was united by the Greeks with Hermes in the syncretic image of Hermanubis. This god is mentioned as a magician in Roman literature. There were also references to it in the Hermetic texts until the Renaissance. Some scholars see traits of Anubis in St. Christopher and in medieval stories about Cynoscephali.

Anubis- patron of the dead, in Egyptian mythology the son of the god Osiris and Nephthys. At birth, Nephthys hid Anubis from her husband Seth in the swamps of the Nile Delta. Isis found the young god and raised him as her own. Later, when Set killed the god Osiris, his son Anubis conducted the burial of the deceased god. He wrapped his body in fabrics that were impregnated with a special composition, and that’s how the first mummy appeared. That is why the god Anubis began to be considered the creator of funeral rites and began to be called the god of embalming. Anubis also helped judge the dead, and accompanied the righteous to the throne of Osiris. Anubis was depicted as a wild dog or black jackal.

Illegitimate son of Osiris and god of embalming

According to the myths of Ancient Egypt. recorded by Plutarch, Anubis was born from the connection of the goddess Nephthys with the god Osiris. Nephthys hid the newborn Anubis from her husband Set in the swamps of the Nile Delta. Her sister, the goddess Isis. found the young god and raised him.

Anubis helped Isis collect parts of the body of Osiris, her husband, after the treacherous Set killed Osiris and scattered his body throughout Egypt. Anubis, organizing the burial of the deceased god, wrapped his body in fabrics impregnated with a special composition, thus making the first mummy. Therefore, Anubis is considered the creator of funeral rites and is called the god of embalming. He had the function of preparing the body of the deceased for embalming and turning it into a mummy.

Also, thanks to the magical actions of Anubis, the deceased turned into an ah, coming to life for further life in the afterlife. Anubis is the conductor of the soul of the deceased in the kingdom of the dead, introduces it into the hall of two truths, where it is judged, and as the “Guardian of Divine Justice” weighs the heart of the deceased on the Scales of truth.

Anubis placed around the deceased in the burial chamber of Amset. Hapi, Kebeksenuf and Duamutef and gave each a canopic jar with the entrails of the deceased for their protection.

Sources: www.anubis-sub.ru, mithology.ru, godsbay.ru, vsemifu.com, piramidavorever.ru

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From time immemorial, all beliefs associated with the afterlife have been imbued with reverence and mysticism. Anubis was responsible for an important ritual in ancient Egyptian culture. He prepared the body for embalming and mummification. Images of Anubis are preserved on many tombs and burial chambers. Statues of the god of the dead decorate the temple of Osiris and the catacomb tombs in Alexandria, and on the seal ancient city Thebes is depicted above the nine captives.

An amulet with a picture of a dog symbolizes magic other world and guards the soul on its final journey.

The image of Anubis next to the body of the deceased was necessary for the further journey of the soul. It was believed that the dog-headed god met the human soul at the gates of the underworld and escorted it to the courtroom. There, the embodiment of the soul - the heart - was weighed on special scales, on the other side of which lay the feather of the goddess of truth Maat.

City of Dogs

The city of Kinopolis (from Greek - “city of the dog”) was dedicated to Anubis. The wife of Anubis, Input, was also revered there. She was also depicted with a dog's head.

In this city, dogs were protected by law; they could enter any house, and no one could lay a hand on them. For killing a dog the punishment was the death penalty. If a resident of another city killed a dog from Kinopol, this could serve as a reason for declaring war.

The Pharaoh Hound still exists today, and its characteristic pointed muzzle with large erect ears is very similar to ancient depictions of Anubis.

They loved it not only in Kinopol. Herodotus testified that the Egyptians plunged into deep water in the event of the death of a domestic dog, shaved their heads and refused to eat. The embalmed body of the dog is on a special one, and the funeral ceremony was accompanied by loud sobs.

It is no coincidence that the dog has become a symbol of peace. The Egyptians believed that dogs could sense death. A dog howling in the night that Anubis is preparing to guide someone's soul to the afterlife. It was believed that dogs saw ghosts as clearly as living ones, so in the underworld dogs guarded the gates, preventing the souls of the dead from escaping back.

The role of Anubis in the ancient Egyptian pantheon was similar - he guarded and protected the gods. No wonder his name is “Standing in front of the palace of the gods.” Anubis also held court among the gods, and even the executioner in ancient Egypt wore a mask with the head of a wild dog, symbolizing the hand of God in carrying out the sentence.