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Anubis - The God of Embalming

by Günther Eichhorn
He was the God of Embalming, Guide and Friend of the Dead in the Afterlife (see Mythology). He had yielded the throne of the Underworld to Osiris. He helped and guided the dead on their way to the weighing of the heart by Osiris. He was usually shown as a man, black, with the head of a jackal. The Egyptians would have noticed the jackals around the necropolis, and therefore associated the jackal with the dead. Anubis was shown black, because the embalmed body turned black. He was the protector of embalming and guardian of both the mummy and the tombs. He was thought to be the son of Nephtys and Osiris. Isis raised him, since Seth would have killed the illegitimate son of his wife Nephtys.

Egypt 0672 Relief of Anubis (center), Thoth (left) and the Pharaoh Ramesses II (right) in the Luxor Temple. They may be on the way to ceremony of the Weighing of the Heart, to which Anubis guides the deceased, and Thoth records the result. (413k) Egypt 0674 Relief of Anubis in the Luxor Temple. (366k) Egypt 0671 Close-up of the head of Anubis in the Luxor Temple. (322k)


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