The root of the name in ancient Egyptian language means "a royal child." Inpu has a root to "inp," which means "to decay." The god was also known as "First of the Westerners," "Lord of the Sacred Land," "He Who is Upon his Sacred Mountain," "Ruler of the Nine Bows," "The Dog who Swallows Millions," "Master of Secrets," "He Who is in the Place of Embalming," and "Foremost of the Divine Booth." The positions that he had were also reflected in the titles he held such as "He Who Is upon His Mountain," "Lord of the Sacred Land," "Foremost of the Westerners," and "He Who Is in the Place of Embalming."
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.
His daughter is the serpent goddess Kebechet. Historians assume that the two figures were eventually combined. Anubis is associated with his brother Wepwawet, another Egyptian god portrayed with a dog's head or in canine form, but with grey or white fur. Īnubis was depicted in black, a color that symbolized regeneration, life, the soil of the Nile River, and the discoloration of the corpse after embalming. Despite being one of the most ancient and "one of the most frequently depicted and mentioned gods" in the Egyptian pantheon, Anubis played almost no role in Egyptian myths. He attended the weighing scale during the "Weighing of the Heart", in which it was determined whether a soul would be allowed to enter the realm of the dead. One of his prominent roles was as a god who ushered souls into the afterlife. 2055–1650 BC) he was replaced by Osiris in his role as lord of the underworld. Depicted as a protector of graves as early as the First Dynasty (c. Like many ancient Egyptian deities, Anubis assumed different roles in various contexts. As a result, Anubis is often referred to as having a "jackal" head, but this "jackal" is now more properly called a "wolf". The African wolf was formerly called the "African golden jackal", until a 2015 genetic analysis updated the taxonomy and the common name for the species. Archeologists have identified Anubis's sacred animal as an Egyptian canid, the African golden wolf. Are you obsessed with Egyptian culture? Did you just get a new pooch? If so, this is a prime opportunity to outfit your new canine with an Egyptian-inspired dog name!Įgyptians are known for their admiration of cats, but don’t forget that the revered Egyptian god Anubis is depicted as a human body with a dog (or – rather – a jackal) head.Anubis or Inpu, Anpu in Ancient Egyptian ( / ə ˈ nj uː b ɪ s/ Ancient Greek: Ἄνουβις, Egyptian: inpw, Coptic: ⲁⲛⲟⲩⲡ Anoup) is the Greek name of the god of death, mummification, embalming, the afterlife, cemeteries, tombs, and the Underworld, in ancient Egyptian religion, usually depicted as a canine or a man with a canine head.