In various times and places, Anubis was known
by the namesAnpu,Imeut,Am Ut,Khent Sehet,
Tep-Tu-f,Yinepu,Khenty Amentiu, andSekhem
Em Pet. He is also called the Lord of the
Necropolis, Lord of Passage, Guardian of the Veil,
and Opener of Ways.Anubis has been combined
with several other gods over time for various rea-
sons. The combination of Anubis and Horas can
be found. The Greek association of Anubis with
Hermes resulted in Hermanubis/Heru-em-Anpu.
Although Anubis is often mistaken for Ap-uat,
they are distinct deities. Leading to this confusion
could be the fact that both Anubis and Ap-uat
have been depicted as Jackals.
Anubis has several patronages where his pro-
tection and guidance is invoked. Besides the
patron of embalming and mummification, he is
also the patron of orphans, the lost, the wander-
ing, and victory over enemies for Pharaohs.
LineageAnubis’s mother is Nephthys or Nebt-het, the
Kemetic goddess associated with the portion of the
sky or heavens where certain gods dwell. Like her
brother Ausar and sister Auset, she began life as a
human in a royal house of a Pharaoh. Nebt-het is
mostly linked with death, but also life and resurrec-
tion. The twin sister of Auset, she is credited with
helpingAusetgather the missing pieces of Ausar.
Nebt-het is the daughter ofSebandNutand sibling
to Ausar, Auset, and Set. In some instances, where
Nebt-het and Set are a formal couple, it was thought
that Set might murder Anubis because the latter was
Nebt-het’s illegitimate son fathered by Ausar. In
such instances, Auset is credited with raising Anubis
as her own son, with influence from Ausar.
As one of the oldest Kemetic gods, Anubis has
a long history of worship across varied geograph-
ical areas—Greece, Rome, and Italy—and several
Gods have been credited with fathering him.
Generally, his paternity has been attributed toSet,
Ra, orAnsar.Set/Sutekh/Setesh/Seth, the Kemetic
God often associated with foreigners and foreign
lands, is credited with Auset’s murder. Set is sib-
ling to Nebt-het, Ausar, and Auset. Associated
with love, war, and kingship, he is often referred
to as the God of Chaos and Storms.Ra/Reis the
oldest and the first of the Kemetic Gods, called the
Sun God; he is credited with taking his barge
across the sky every day to pilot the Sun.
Ausar/Osiris was the first pharaoh and the son of
Seb and Nut. He was sibling to Ausar, Nebt-het,
and Set. Ausar was murdered bySetand resur-
rected by Auset with the help of Nebt-het and
Anubis. He then supplanted Anubis as God of the
afterlife and underworld.
Anubis has a daughter,Kabechet/Kebehut. She
is considered the Goddess of purification and
assists her father in overseeing the embalming
process. Kabechet is credited with providing water
to wash the entrails of the dead during mummifi-
cation by Anubis. She is also said to give drinking
water to the dead awaiting judgment. Kabechet
appears several times in passages from the
KemeticBook of the Coming Forth/Going by Day.Nashay M. PendletonSee alsoAnukis; ApepFurther Readings
Kees, H. (1977).Aicnent Egypt:A Cultural Topography.
Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Kemp, B. (1989).Ancient Egypt:Anatomy of a
Civilization. New York: Routledge.ANUKIS
In ancient Nubia, the name Anuket, in Greek
Anukis, stood for the patron deity of the Nile
River. This deity is normally depicted as a beauti-
ful woman wearing a crown of reeds and ostrich
feathers in the company of a gazelle.
Like many of the deities who found their way
into the Egyptian pantheon from the South, the
goddess Anuket was conceived of as a Nubian
deity who was adopted by the Egyptians as one of
the most important of the deities associated with
the Nile River. For many ancient Egyptians, the
Nile River seemed to originate at the sixth
cataract (inaccurately called the first cataract)
because of the vast cauldron of water that swirled
around the huge stones in the river. There was a
magnificent drop in the river as it made its way
downstream from Upper Egypt, and the water
appeared to boil in rushing waves and speedy
rapids that churned out of the complex of rocks.
Other ancient Egyptians knew that the river came
from much farther south and that the name of the
deity most responsible for it had to be Nubian.Anukis 63