Anubis is associated with his brother Wepwawet, another Egyptian god portrayed with a dog's head or in canine form, but with grey or white fur. Historians assume that the two figures were eventually combined.
Why is Anubis a dog?
Anubis is the Greek name for the god of death, mummification, afterlife, tombs, and the underworld in the ancient Egyptian religion. It is usually depicted as a dog or a man with a dog's head. Archaeologists have concluded that the animal that was revered as Anubis was an Egyptian canine, the African jackal.
Is Anubis a breed of dog?
The Basenji is the most often cited as the inspiration for the image of Anubis, one of the principal gods of the dead who guided the soul to judgment in the afterlife (although the Greyhound, Pharoah, and Ibizan are also contenders).
Is Anubis a cat or dog?
Anubis, also called Anpu, ancient Egyptian god of the dead, represented by a jackal or the figure of a man with the head of a jackal. In the Early Dynastic period and the Old Kingdom, he enjoyed a preeminent (though not exclusive) position as lord of the dead, but he was later overshadowed by Osiris.
Is Anubis a dog or wolf?
FACTS & FUN. The Egyptian jackal, which may have been the inspiration for the god Anubis, is actually not a jackal at all but a wolf! Originally classified as a type of golden jackal, genetic research has shown that this animal is, in fact, close kin to the European and North American gray wolf.
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