In Egyptian mythology, Anubis is the jackal-headed god of mummification and the dead.
Anubis was associated with funerary rites, embalming, cemetery protection, and guiding the deceased into the afterlife. His jackal or canine form reflects the ancient Egyptian concern that wild scavengers could disturb shallow graves. By portraying a canine deity as a guardian, Egyptians symbolically turned a threat to the dead into their protector.
In the Osiris tradition, Anubis helped prepare the murdered god’s body for burial. This story reinforced Anubis’s role as patron of embalmers and the divine expert in preserving the dead. He was also present during the Weighing of the Heart, helping judge whether a deceased person had lived according to maat, the principle of truth and order.
A common mix-up is calling Anubis the main Egyptian god of the underworld. Osiris increasingly held that position by the Middle Kingdom, while Anubis remained chiefly the embalmer, tomb guardian, and guide of souls. His black color symbolized both embalming and fertile Nile soil.