The Egyptian god Anubis in the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut, Luxor (New Kingdom)
Wolf head and black color
Anubis was the way ancient Greek historians like Herodotus wrote the Egyptian word Inpu. Inpu, or Anubis, was an Egyptian god, the son of Ra. He was the god of the dead and the underworld in Old Kingdom Egypt.
Old Kingdom Egypt
Egyptian religion
All our Egypt articles
Because African wolves went to cemeteries, attracted by the smell of dead people’s bodies, Anubis is often shown with the head of an African wolf, or entirely in the form of an African wolf. His head is black because black was the color of death and of the black dirt in the Nile valley, the symbol of rebirth.
(Not a jackal but a wolf: recent DNA evidence)
The history of wolves and dogs
What was the Nile valley like?
Anubis weighing the souls of the dead
Weighing the soul
Anubis was important throughout the process of getting a dead person ready to be buried. When the embalmers were making the dead body into a mummy, the head embalmer wore an Anubis costume.
Egyptian mummies
Weighing the heart
Then people also thought of Anubis as the god who weighed your heart to see if you were good or bad after you died.
Anubis as the son of Osiris
By the time of the Middle Kingdom, people had stopped thinking of Anubis as the main god of the dead.
What was the Middle Kingdom?
Who was Osiris?
Instead, they put Osiris in that position. People gradually began to think of Anubis as the son of Osiris, and Osiris’ assistant in dealing with the dead. Or, sometimes they thought of him as the son of Osiris’ brother Set.
Learn by doing: Egyptian afterlife project
More about ancient Egyptian gods
Bibliography and further reading about the Egyptian god Anubis:
Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt, by Leonard Fisher (1999). For younger kids.
The Egypt Game (Yearling Newbery), by Zilpha Keatley Snyder (reprinted 1985). A great kids’ story about kids who pretend to be Egyptian gods and goddesses.
Religion in Ancient Egypt: Gods, Myths, and Personal Practice, by John Baines, David Silverman, and Leonard Lesko (1991). Pretty hard going, but it will tell you everything you need to know about Egyptian religion.
Did the Egyptians capture evil sprits and place them in boxes topped with a statue of Anubus to seal it inside?
Not that I know of, sorry, but it’s possible.
same i thought that anubis was the son of set/seth
I thought Anubis was a child of set or Seth. I know about three mythology,Egypt, Greek and Norse. I read about all of them Rick riordan. I’m only ten. I now want to go to Greece and Egypt. Thank you for making this page it is very helpful.
Well, Carson, you’re not wrong: in other Egyptian stories, Anubis is sometimes the son of Set. Remember these aren’t real people; they’re more like ideas. So you might think of courage as the child of ambition, in one sense, and then another day you might think of courage as the child of love, or anger. It depends on the situation and what you choose to emphasize.
I hope you will get to go to Greece and Egypt soon! A lot of colleges have study abroad programs in those places.
geez Karen, he’s only ten
hi
Hi Jeff! Thanks for using Quatr.us Study Guides!
I am in 1st grade
What traits does Anubis have I need three
I’m not really sure what your teacher means by “traits”? Three facts about Anubis? I am pretty sure there are more than three facts about Anubis in this article.
This really helped with my homework!
Happy to hear it, Lily!
it really help with my assessment, so thanks a lot
Happy to hear it!
Thx for the information
You’re welcome! Thanks for visiting!
Hi
Hi! Thanks for stopping by.
Thanks for all the great info! Really help!
-Kylee
Thanks, Kylee! I’m glad we could help!
I loved this website!
So happy to hear it! Thanks for commenting.