Ancient Egyptian Gods Anubis

Anubis is the greek version of his name the ancient egyptians knew him as anpu or inpu.

Ancient egyptian gods anubis. The ancient name of anubis inpu means that of the jackal. In the early dynastic period and the old kingdom he enjoyed a preeminent though not exclusive position as lord of the dead but he was later overshadowed by osiris. The ancient egyptians revered anubis highly because they believed he had tremendous power over both their physical and spiritual selves when they died. Anubis is known as the god of death and is the oldest and most popular of ancient egyptian deities.

Before the greeks arrived in egypt around the 7th century bc the god was known as anpu or inpu. Anubis is a greek rendering of this god s egyptian name. In ancient egyptian religion anubis is the god predominantly associated with death. The root of the name in ancient egyptian language means a royal child inpu has a root to inp which means to decay.

He also guides souls into the afterlife. Anubis was an extremely ancient deity whose name appears in the oldest mastabas of the old kingdom and the pyramid texts as a guardian and protector of the dead. He was first god of the dead and was relegated to the background when the cult of osiris gave him the leading role in the hereafter. Anubis is one of the most iconic gods of ancient egypt.

Anubis also called anpu ancient egyptian god of the dead represented by a jackal or the figure of a man with the head of a jackal. He is also often pictured in black a symbol of death and the color of a corpse after it is embalmed. In egyptian hieroglyphs he is usually depicted as a canine jackal or dog or as a man with the head of a canine. As an embalmer he is associated with mummification and viewed as a protector of graves.