Anubis and Osiris: Gods of the Dead in Ancient Egypt

Nov 06, 2025 0

In the heart of ancient Egyptian mythology lies the mysterious underworld, a realm where souls journey after death.

Known as the Duat, this enigmatic domain was believed to be a place of trials, judgment, and rebirth. Who stands as its guardian? This article delves into the roles of Anubis and Osiris, exploring their significance in Egyptian mythology, their relationship, and how they shaped the ancient Egyptians' understanding of the afterlife.

Anubis: Guardian of the Underworld

Anubis, often depicted as a jackal or a man with a jackal’s head, is one of the most recognizable gods in Egyptian mythology. "Anubis" is a Greek rendering of this god's Egyptian name. Before the Greeks arrived in Egypt, around the 7th century BC, the god was known as Anpu or Inpu.

Known as the Egyptian God of the Underworld, Anubis was revered as the protector of graves and the guide of souls. Several epithets attached to his name in Egyptian texts and inscriptions referred to that role.

His role is reflected in such epithets as “He Who Is upon His Mountain” (i.e., the necropolis), “Lord of the Sacred Land,” “Foremost of the Westerners,” and “He Who Is in the Place of Embalming.”

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One of Anubis' most crucial functions was to serve as a psychopomp-a guide for souls making the perilous journey through the underworld. Anubis acted as a knowledgeable and protective escort, using his keen senses and familiarity with the underworld to steer souls safely through its twists and turns. He warded off evil spirits and monsters that might try to impede a soul's progress.

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. By the Middle Kingdom (c. 2055-1650 BC) he was replaced by Osiris in his role as lord of the underworld.

Anubis was depicted in black, a color that symbolized regeneration, life, the soil of the Nile River, and the discoloration of the corpse after embalming.

Anubis is associated with Wepwawet, another Egyptian god portrayed with a dog's head or in canine form, but with grey or white fur. Historians assume that the two figures were eventually combined. Anubis's female counterpart is Anput.

The canid which Anubis was modeled upon has frequently been stated to have been the golden jackal, though the African variant of this animal present in Egypt was reclassified in 2015 as a separate species now known as the African wolf, which was found to be more closely related to wolves and coyotes than to the jackal.

Nevertheless, ancient Greek texts about Anubis consistently refer to the deity as having the head of a dog rather than that of any wild canid, and there is still uncertainty as to what species represents Anubis.

Like many ancient Egyptian deities, Anubis assumed different roles in various contexts. Depicted as a protector of graves as early as the First Dynasty (c. 3100 - c. 2890 BC), Anubis was also an embalmer.

The Weighing of the Heart

One of Anubis’s most important duties was overseeing the Weighing of the Heart ceremony. This ritual determined whether a soul was worthy of entering the afterlife. The heart of the deceased was weighed against the feather of Ma'at, the goddess of truth and justice. If the heart was lighter than the feather, the soul could proceed.

Perhaps Anubis' most famous role was his part in the "Weighing of the Heart" ceremony, a pivotal moment in a soul's journey through the afterlife. This ceremony highlights Anubis' role not just as a guide but as an impartial judge and enforcer of cosmic justice.

By weighing the heart of a deceased person against ma'at, who was often represented as an ostrich feather, Anubis dictated the fate of souls.

The critical scene depicting the weighing of the heart, in the Book of the Dead, shows Anubis performing a measurement that determined whether the person was worthy of entering the realm of the dead (the underworld, known as Duat).

Before reaching the Hall of Judgment for the Weighing of the Heart, souls had to navigate through twelve gates, each guarded by fearsome entities. Throughout these trials, Anubis served as a knowledgeable guide and protector, helping souls to avoid pitfalls and overcome challenges.

Anubis as Embalmer

Beyond his role in the Weighing of the Heart, Anubis was also known as the embalmer of the dead. He was believed to have embalmed the body of Osiris, the first mummy, setting the standard for all future mummification practices.

His particular concern was with the funerary cult and the care of the dead; hence, he was reputed to be the inventor of embalming, an art he first employed on the corpse of Osiris.

Anubis was intimately connected with the mummification and embalming practices that were so central to Egyptian funerary customs. The god's association with jackals, scavengers known to dig up corpses, may seem at odds with this role. However, by adopting the jackal as his symbol, Anubis transformed a potential threat into a powerful protector.

Embalmers would often wear masks depicting Anubis during their work, symbolically channeling his divine power and protection. As jmy-wt (Imiut or the Imiut fetish) "He who is in the place of embalming", Anubis was associated with mummification.

Indeed, when the Osiris myth emerged, it was said that after Osiris had been killed by Set, Osiris's organs were given to Anubis as a gift.

The Opening of the Mouth ceremony being performed on a mummy before the tomb. Anubis attending the mummy of the deceased.

As lord of the underworld and master of funerary rites, Anubis was believed to possess secret knowledge about death, the afterlife, and the preservation of the body and soul. Many spells and incantations in the Book of the Dead invoke Anubis, calling upon his power and knowledge to protect the deceased and ensure their safe passage to the afterlife.

Anubis' role didn't end with guiding souls to judgment.

Protector of Graves and Cemeteries

Anubis was a protector of graves and cemeteries. Khenty-Amentiu, which means "foremost of the westerners" and was also the name of a different canine funerary god, alluded to his protecting function because the dead were usually buried on the west bank of the Nile.

He took other names in connection with his funerary role, such as tpy-ḏw.f (Tepy-djuef) "He who is upon his mountain" (i.e.

The Jumilhac papyrus recounts another tale where Anubis protected the body of Osiris from Set. Set attempted to attack the body of Osiris by transforming himself into a leopard. Anubis stopped and subdued Set, however, and he branded Set's skin with a hot iron rod. Anubis then flayed Set and wore his skin as a warning against evil-doers who would desecrate the tombs of the dead.

Priests who attended to the dead wore leopard skin in order to commemorate Anubis's victory over Set. Anubis's protective nature extended to the living as well.

Parentage and Evolution of Anubis

The parentage of Anubis varied between myths, times and sources. In early mythology, he was portrayed as a son of Ra.

In the Coffin Texts, which were written in the First Intermediate Period (c. 2181-2055 BC), Anubis is the son of either the cow goddess Hesat or the cat-headed Bastet.

Another tradition depicted him as the son of Ra and Nephthys. More commonly, however, he is recognized as the offspring of Osiris and Isis.

In later periods, particularly during the Ptolemaic era, Anubis was sometimes described as the son of Isis and Serapis, a Hellenized form of Osiris designed to appeal to Egypt's growing Greek population.

The worship of Anubis and his position in the Egyptian pantheon evolved significantly throughout ancient Egyptian history. During the Old Kingdom period (c. 2686-2181 BCE), Anubis held a preeminent position as the god of the dead.

The Middle Kingdom (c. 2055-1650 BCE) saw a shift in the religious landscape, with Osiris rising to greater prominence.

The evolution of Anubis' role throughout ancient Egyptian history reflects the dynamic nature of religious thought and practice in the ancient world.

The Weighing of the Heart: Ancient Egyptian Afterlife Judgment Explained

Osiris: Lord of the Underworld

"Usire" redirects here. For the 2001 film, see Usire (film). "Aser" redirects here.

Osiris (, from Egyptian wsjr)[a] was the god of fertility, agriculture, the afterlife, the dead, resurrection, life, and vegetation in ancient Egyptian religion. He was classically depicted as a green-skinned deity with a pharaoh's beard, partially mummy-wrapped at the legs, wearing a distinctive atef crown and holding a symbolic crook and flail.

Osiris, one of the most important gods in Egyptian mythology, was the god of the afterlife, resurrection, and fertility. Often depicted as a mummified king with a crook and flail, Osiris symbolized the cycle of life, death, and rebirth.

Osiris was the judge and lord of the dead and the underworld, the "Lord of Silence"[11] and Khenti-Amentiu, meaning "Foremost of the Westerners".

In the Old Kingdom (2686-2181 BC) the pharaoh was considered a son of the sun god Ra who, after his death, ascended to join Ra in the sky.

The first evidence of the worship of Osiris is from the middle of the Fifth Dynasty of Egypt (25th century BC), though it is likely he was worshiped much earlier;[16] the Khenti-Amentiu epithet dates to at least the First Dynasty, and was used as a pharaonic title.

Most information available on the Osiris myth is derived from allusions in the Pyramid Texts at the end of the Fifth Dynasty, later New Kingdom source documents such as the Shabaka Stone and "The Contendings of Horus and Seth", and much later, in the narratives of Greek authors including Plutarch[17] and Diodorus Siculus.

Osiris is a Latin transliteration of the Ancient Greek Ὄσιρις IPA: [ó.siː.ris], which in turn is the Greek adaptation of the original name in the Egyptian language. In Egyptian hieroglyphs the name appears as wsjr, which some Egyptologists instead choose to transliterate as ꜣsjr or jsjrj[citation needed].

Several proposals have been made for the etymology and meaning of the original name; as Egyptologist Mark J.

Osiris is represented in his most developed form of iconography wearing the Atef crown, which is similar to the White crown of Upper Egypt, but with the addition of two curling ostrich feathers at each side. He also carries the crook and flail.

The crook is thought to represent Osiris as a shepherd god. The Pyramid Texts describe early conceptions of an afterlife in terms of eternal travelling with the sun god amongst the stars.

Amongst these mortuary texts, at the beginning of the Fourth Dynasty, is found: "An offering the king gives and Anubis".

Osiris is the mythological father of the god Horus, whose conception is described in the Osiris myth (a central myth in ancient Egyptian belief). The myth describes Osiris as having been killed by his brother Set, who wanted Osiris's throne. His wife, Isis, finds the body of Osiris and hides it in the reeds where it is found and dismembered by Set. Isis retrieves and joins the fragmented pieces of Osiris, then briefly revives him by use of magic. This spell gives her time to become pregnant by Osiris. Isis later gives birth to Horus.

As the sun was thought to spend the night in the underworld, and was subsequently "reborn" every morning, Ptah-Seker-Osiris was identified as king of the underworld, god of the afterlife, life, death, and regeneration.