(West Asian mythology)

The jackal-headed funerary god of Egypt. Before the rise of Osiris, the other great god of the dead, Anubis was considered the chief deity to whom mortuary prayers were to be made. He acted as the patron of embalming and guardian of the tomb.

Another dog-manifested god was Wepwawet, ‘the Opener of the Ways’, who was regarded as a helper and guide of the dead. From earliest times the standard of Wepwawet was always carried before the Egyptian ruler in battle and afterwards at victory celebrations.

A Dictionary of World Mythology. Copyright © Arthur Cotterell 1979, 1986, 2003. All rights reserved.