Anubisأنوبيس

Anubis was shown as a black jackal, or a man with a jackal's head. The choice was no accident: jackals roamed the desert edges and cemeteries where the dead were buried, so the Egyptians cast their guardian in the form of the very animal that haunted those places — turning a potential threat to graves into their divine protector. His black colour symbolised both the rich, fertile soil of rebirth and the appearance of mummified flesh, marking him out as the great lord of the tomb.

According to myth, it was Anubis who first embalmed the body of Osiris — creating the very first mummy — and so he became the patron of mummification ever after. The Egyptian embalmers who preserved the dead worked under his protection, and the priest who led the sacred rites often wore an Anubis mask. As "He who is upon his mountain," Anubis kept watch over the necropolis and ensured that the dead were properly prepared for their eternal journey.

Anubis was also the guide of souls, leading the dead through the dangers of the underworld to the hall of judgement. There he performed his most famous role: at the weighing of the heart, Anubis carefully balanced the heart of the deceased against the feather of Ma'at, truth itself, before Osiris. Centuries later, in Greco-Roman times, he was still revered — appearing, remarkably, dressed as a Roman soldier in the famous Catacombs of Kom el Shoqafa in Alexandria.

• Who he is: the jackal-headed god of mummification and the dead.
• Arabic name: أنوبيس (Anubis).
• Shown as: a black jackal, or a man with a jackal's head.
• His roles: guardian of tombs, patron of embalming, and guide of souls.
• Famous scene: overseeing the weighing of the heart against Ma'at's feather.
• Later art: appears as a Roman soldier in Alexandria's catacombs.

Sources include standard works on ancient Egyptian religion and mythology.