"One of the roles of Anubis was "Guardian of the Scales". Deciding the weight of "truth" by weighing the Heart against Ma'at, who was often depicted as an ostrich feather, Anubis dictated the fate of souls. In this manner, he was a Lord of the Underworld, only usurped by Osiris."
The jackal-god of
mummification, he assisted in the rites by which a dead man was admitted to the underworld. Anubis was worshipped as the inventor of embalming and who embalmed the dead
Osiris and thereby helping to preserve him that he might live again.
Anubis is portrayed as a man with the head of a jackal holding the divine sceptre carried by kings and gods; as simply a black jackal or as a dog accompanying
Isis.
Anubis had
three important functions. He supervised the embalming of bodies. He received the mummy into the tomb and performed the Opening of the Mouth ceremony and then conducted the soul in the Field of Celestial Offerings. Most importantly though, Anubis monitored the
Scales of Truth to protect the dead from deception and eternal death.
Early in Egyptian history, Anubis was a
god of the dead. This role was usurped by Osiris as he rose in popularity.
Anubis was the son of
Nephthys, and his father was Osiris. One myth says that Nephthys got Osiris drunk and the resultant seduction brought forth Anubis. Yet another says she
disguised herself as Isis and seduced Osiris and subsequently gave birth to Anubis.
.jpg)
