amayanocturna:

Anubis

One of the more iconic and well known of the Egyptian gods, Anubis is the Greek name associated with the notorious god of mummification and the afterlife. Portrayed as a man with a canine head (most likely jackal), Anubis played quite a few roles in ancient Egyptian religion. As early as the First Dynasty in Egypt ( c. 3100- c. 28900 BC), Anubis played the role of the embalmer– which is highly likely as to why his head is black much like what happens to the body in this process. By the time of the Middle Kingdom (c. 2055-1650 BC), Anubis was replaced as the lord of the underworld by Orisis (who is believed to be his father in some cases). However, Anubis was given the role to weigh hearts on a scale. What did that mean? That meant that he would judge whether or not if a soul could enter the realm of the dead. In a way, he was the judge of the underworld. He was also the guide of souls to the afterlife at one point in time. Regardless of which role(s) he played, Anubis was and is the icon of the underworld and afterlife in Egyptian mythology. Statues of him can be found in countless tombs of past pharaohs of Egypt in countless pyramids and hieroglyphs (and even in graves of many others) as he is also the protector of tombs.   

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