6,484
edits
Difference between revisions of "Anubis"
no edit summary
Occultwiki (talk | contribs) |
Occultwiki (talk | contribs) |
||
| (2 intermediate revisions by the same user not shown) | |||
| Line 19: | Line 19: | ||
The parentage of Anubis varied between myths, times and sources. In early mythology, he was portrayed as a son of [[Ra]]. In the Coffin Texts, which were written in the First Intermediate Period (c. 2181–2055 BC), Anubis is the son of either the cow goddess Hesat or the cat-headed Bastet. Another tradition depicted him as the son of Ra and [[Nephthys]]. Plutarch (c. 40–120 AD) reported a tradition that Anubis was the illegitimate son of Nephthys and Osiris, but that he was adopted by Osiris's wife [[Isis]]. | The parentage of Anubis varied between myths, times and sources. In early mythology, he was portrayed as a son of [[Ra]]. In the Coffin Texts, which were written in the First Intermediate Period (c. 2181–2055 BC), Anubis is the son of either the cow goddess Hesat or the cat-headed Bastet. Another tradition depicted him as the son of Ra and [[Nephthys]]. Plutarch (c. 40–120 AD) reported a tradition that Anubis was the illegitimate son of Nephthys and Osiris, but that he was adopted by Osiris's wife [[Isis]]. | ||
In the Ptolemaic period (350–30 BC), when Egypt became a Hellenistic kingdom ruled by Greek pharaohs, Anubis was merged with the Greek god [[Hermes Trismegistus|Hermes]], becoming Hermanubis. The two gods were considered similar because they both guided souls to the afterlife. The center of this cult was in Cynopolis, a place whose Greek name means "city of dogs." In Book XI of ''The Golden Ass'' by Apuleius, there is evidence that the worship of this god was continued in Rome through at least the 2nd century. Indeed, Hermanubis also appears in the [[alchemy|alchemical]] and [[hermetic|hermetical]] literature of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. | In the Ptolemaic period (350–30 BC), when Egypt became a Hellenistic kingdom ruled by Greek pharaohs, Anubis was merged with the Greek god [[Hermes Trismegistus|Hermes]], becoming Hermanubis. The two gods were considered similar because they both guided souls to the afterlife. The center of this [[cult]] was in Cynopolis, a place whose Greek name means "city of dogs." In Book XI of ''The Golden Ass'' by Apuleius, there is evidence that the worship of this god was continued in Rome through at least the 2nd century. Indeed, Hermanubis also appears in the [[alchemy|alchemical]] and [[hermetic|hermetical]] literature of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. | ||
Although the Greeks and Romans typically scorned Egyptian animal-headed gods as bizarre and primitive (Anubis was mockingly called "Barker" by the Greeks), Anubis was sometimes associated with [[Sirius]] in the heavens and Cerberus and Hades in the underworld. In his dialogues, Plato often has Socrates utter oaths "by the dog" (Greek: ''kai me ton kuna''), "by the dog of Egypt," and "by the dog, the god of the Egyptians," both for emphasis and to appeal to Anubis as an arbiter of truth in the underworld. | Although the Greeks and Romans typically scorned Egyptian animal-headed gods as bizarre and primitive (Anubis was mockingly called "Barker" by the Greeks), Anubis was sometimes associated with [[Sirius]] in the heavens and Cerberus and Hades in the underworld. In his dialogues, Plato often has Socrates utter oaths "by the dog" (Greek: ''kai me ton kuna''), "by the dog of Egypt," and "by the dog, the god of the Egyptians," both for emphasis and to appeal to Anubis as an arbiter of truth in the underworld. | ||
| Line 49: | Line 49: | ||
===Guide of souls=== | ===Guide of souls=== | ||
By the late pharaonic era (664–332 BC), Anubis was often depicted as guiding individuals across the threshold from the world of the living to the afterlife. Though a similar role was sometimes performed by the cow-headed [[Hathor]], Anubis was more commonly chosen to fulfill that function. Greek writers from the Roman period of Egyptian history designated that role as that of "psychopomp," a Greek term meaning "guide of souls" that they used to refer to their own god Hermes, who also played that role in Greek religion. Funerary art from that period represents Anubis guiding either men or women dressed in Greek clothes into the presence of Osiris, who by then had long replaced Anubis as ruler of the underworld. | By the late pharaonic era (664–332 BC), Anubis was often depicted as guiding individuals across the threshold from the world of the living to the afterlife. Though a similar role was sometimes performed by the cow-headed [[Hathor]], Anubis was more commonly chosen to fulfill that function. | ||
Greek writers from the Roman period of Egyptian history designated that role as that of "psychopomp," a Greek term meaning "guide of souls" that they used to refer to their own god Hermes, who also played that role in Greek religion. Plutarch believed Anubis filled a similar role as [[Hecate]], saying, "Anubis seems to be of much the same power and nature as the Grecian Hecate, a deity common both to the celestial and infernal regions." | |||
Funerary art from that period represents Anubis guiding either men or women dressed in Greek clothes into the presence of Osiris, who by then had long replaced Anubis as ruler of the underworld. | |||
===Weigher of hearts=== | ===Weigher of hearts=== | ||
| Line 55: | Line 59: | ||
==Portrayal in art== | ==Portrayal in art== | ||
Anubis was one of the most frequently represented deities in ancient Egyptian art. He is depicted in royal tombs as early as the First Dynasty. The god is typically treating a king's corpse, providing sovereign to mummification rituals and funerals, or standing with fellow gods at the Weighing of the Heart of the Soul in the Hall of Two Truths. One of | Anubis was one of the most frequently represented deities in ancient Egyptian art. He is depicted in royal tombs as early as the First Dynasty. The god is typically treating a king's corpse, providing sovereign oversight to mummification rituals and funerals, or standing with fellow gods at the Weighing of the Heart of the Soul in the Hall of Two Truths. | ||
One of the most common representations is Anubis with the body of a man and the head of a jackal with pointed ears, standing or kneeling, holding a gold scale while a heart of the soul is being weighed against Ma'at's white truth feather. | |||
[[Category:Deities]] | [[Category:Deities]] | ||