Ȧnpu , or Anubis

It has been said above that Nephthys gave birth to a son called Ȧnpu, or Anubis, and that his father was, according to some, Osiris, and according to others, Set; from another point of view he was the son of Rā. The animal which was at once the type and symbol of the god was the jackal, and this fact seems to prove that in primitive times Anubis was merely the jackal god, and that he was associated with the dead because the jackal was generally seen prowling about the tombs. His worship is very ancient, and there is no doubt that even in the earliest times his cult was general in Egypt; it is probable that it is older than that of Osiris. In the text of Unȧs (line 70) he is associated with the Eye of Horus, and his duty as the guide of the dead in the Underworld on their way to Osiris was well defined, even at the remote period when this composition was written, for we read, “Unas standeth with the Spirits, get thee onwards, Anubis, into Ȧmenti (the Underworld), onwards, onwards to Osiris.” In the lines that follow we see that Anubis is mentioned in connexion with Horus, Set, Thoth, Sep, and Khent-ȧn-maati. From another passage of the same text we find (line 207 ff.) that the hand, and arms, and belly, and legs of the deceased are identified with Temu, but his face is said to be in the form of that of Anubis, https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9780203040713/0679aeac-0ac5-4de4-8323-4903ae48a861/content/page261_02.tif"/>. The localities in which Anubis was specially worshipped are Ābt, the Papyrus Swamps, https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9780203040713/0679aeac-0ac5-4de4-8323-4903ae48a861/content/page261_03.tif"/>, Sep, https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9780203040713/0679aeac-0ac5-4de4-8323-4903ae48a861/content/page261_04.tif"/>, Re-āu, https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9780203040713/0679aeac-0ac5-4de4-8323-4903ae48a861/content/page261_05.tif"/>, Ḥeru-ṭi, https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9780203040713/0679aeac-0ac5-4de4-8323-4903ae48a861/content/page261_06.tif"/>, Ta-ḥetchet, https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9780203040713/0679aeac-0ac5-4de4-8323-4903ae48a861/content/page261_07.tif"/> Saiut, 262 https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9780203040713/0679aeac-0ac5-4de4-8323-4903ae48a861/content/page262_01.tif"/> (Lycopolis), Sekhem, https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9780203040713/0679aeac-0ac5-4de4-8323-4903ae48a861/content/page262_02.tif"/> (Leto-polis), ¹ etc. In the Theban Recension of the Book of the Dead he plays some very prominent parts, the most important of all being those which are connected with the judgment and the embalming of the deceased. Tradition declared that Anubis embalmed the body of Osiris, and that he swathed it in the linen swathings which were woven by Isis and Nephthys for their brother; and it was believed that his work was so thoroughly well performed under the direction of Horus and Isis and Nephthys, that it resisted the influences of time and decay. In the vignette of the Funeral Procession the mummy is received by Anubis, who stands by the side of the tomb door; and in the vignette to Chapter cli. of the Book of the Dead the god is seen standing by the side of the mummy as it lies on its bier, and he lays his protecting hands upon it. In the speech which is put into the mouth of Anubis, he says, “I have come to protect Osiris.” In the text of Unȧs (line 219) the nose of the deceased is identified with the nose of Anubis, but in the xliind Chapter of the Book of the Dead the deceased declares, “My lips are the lips of Ȧnpu.” From various passages it is clear that in one part of Egypt at least Anubis was the great god of the Underworld, and his rank and importance seem to have been as great as those of Osiris. (See Chapter liii.)