Anubis miniature statue

Description:	Ancient Egyptians believed in an elaborate set of Gods, all interrelated in complex stories and events. These Gods often appeared in human form with characteristics of a specific animal or in half human/half animal form. They also had the power to transform themselves into many different things. Anubis, God of the Dead, appeared as a man with the head of a jackal. Probably due to the tendency of jackals, natural scavengers, to congregate near dead creatures in search of food. The God Osiriss second son (with sister Nephthys) and the God Horuss half brother (son of Isis), Anubis was the undertaker of the Ancient Egyptian mythological world. His job was to prepare the dead for their journey to eternal life, conduct their funerals, and accompany them to their tombs, where his father, Osiris, greeted them. Everything done at the funeral of an Ancient Egyptian was done in the name of Anubis. It is said that he embalmed and wrapped in bandages the dead Osiriss body (before his resurrection), making the first mummy. Based upon ancient Egyptian imagery, it is believed that priests who prepared bodies for burial wore jackal-shaped masks to impersonate the God Anubis.
Source:	http://www.digitalindy.org/cdm/ref/collection/tcm/id/465
Collection:	The Children's Museum of Indianapolis
Rights:	https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/;
Copyright:	Creative Commons (CC By-SA 3.0);
Geography:	Egypt
Subjects:	Anubis (Egyptian deity) Egypt -- Social life and customs -- To 332 B.C. Egypt -- Civilization -- To 332 B.C. Egypt -- Antiquities

Further information on this record can be found at its source.