ABSTRACT
THEterm'Canopic',asappliedtothecontainersemployedbythe Egyptianstocontaintheembalmedinternalorgansofthedeceased, derivesfromacaseofmistakenidentity.Accordingtoancient writers,theGreekhero,Kanopos,helmsmanofMenelaos,wasworshipped atCanopus<Abukir)intheformofahuman-headedjar,beingregarded asaformofOsiris. 1Thus,whenearlysavantscameacrossthefirst examplesofjarswithstopperscarvedintheshapeofhumanand animalheads,thisprototypesuppliedthemwithanameforthegenre. Althoughthetermhasnoconnexionwiththejars'truepurpose,the namecontinuestobeusedtothisday,andhasbeenextendedtocover allkindsofvisceralcontainers,notjusttheclassicjar.
