Anubis

**Anubis** is the Egyptian God of the Dead.

## **Background**

In Egypt's Early Dynastic period (c. 3100 – c. 2686 BC), a jackal god, probably Anubis, is depicted in stone inscriptions from the reigns of Hor-Aha, Djer, and other pharaohs of the First Dynasty. Since Predynastic Egypt, when the dead were buried in shallow graves, jackals had been strongly associated with cemeteries because they were scavengers which uncovered human bodies and ate their flesh. In the spirit of fighting like with like, a jackal was chosen to protect the dead, because a common problem (and cause of concern) must have been the digging up of bodies, shortly after burial, by jackals and other wild dogs which lived on the margins of the cultivation.

The oldest known textual mention of Anubis is in the Pyramid Texts of the Old Kingdom (c. 2686 – c. 2181 BC), where he is associated with the burial of the pharaoh.

In the Old Kingdom, Anubis was the most important god of the dead. He was replaced in that role by Osiris during the Middle Kingdom (2000–1700 BC). In the Roman era, which started in 30 BC, tomb paintings depict him holding the hand of deceased persons to guide them to Osiris.

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. The Greek Plutarch (c. 40–120 AD) stated that Anubis was the illegitimate son of Nephthys and Osiris, but that he was adopted by Osiris' wife Isis.

## **Personality**

Being a death god, Anubis is not known for displaying a lot of emotions, as he doesn't allow emotions to get in the way of his duties, but is capable of speaking in a way that can impress some form of feeling, yet retaining a deep and forbidden monotone.

Anubis sees death as rest from the hardships of life, and is devoted to protecting the dead; thus he allows for no resurrection, as it goes against the the natural order, and makes simple-yet-valid reasons as to why resurrecting the dead is unthinkable (for example, favoring one person over countless others). Anubis seeks to preserve the balance of life and death, reasoning that a world without death could never support a infinite numbers of lives, and cares not for who dies or how or why, reasoning, regardless of who or what anyone was in life, all are equal in death.

## **Appearance**

In his most notable form, Anubis appears as an Egyptian man with tanned skin, and with the head of a jackal with pointed ears and black fur, which is symbolic of regeneration and the discolouration of a corpse after it has been embalmed. He wears typical upper-class ancient Egyptian clothing, and possesses a staff and an ankh.

In his other forms, he appears in full animal form, as a black jackal, or in complete human form.

## **Known Powers and Abilities**

Anubis is an incredibly powerful god regarded as the judge of the dead. To his own admission he doesn't decide who continues on to Duat or gets consumed by Ammit, but only measures the soul based on its actions in life to the moment of death on his scale.

* **Super Strength**- Being a god, Anubis possesses tremendous physical strength far superior to all other beings, and is effortlessly able to destroy incredibly massive objects through simple gestures.

* **Super Stamina** - Anubis will never tire, despite what he's been through.

* **Super Senses** - He possesses an incredible sense of smell, hearing, and sight.

* **Super Speed** - He can move at an incredibly fast pace, and can outrun any other being in the blink of an eye.

* **Super Agility** - Anubis possesses dog-like agility, and can preform incredibly leaps and jumps.
* **Immortality** - Being a god, Anubis has an eternal lifespan, and is immune from aging and disease.
* **Nigh Invulnerability** - Anubis is completely invulnerable to all forms of harm and death, and cannot be killed.
* **Nigh Indestructibility** - Anubis is impossible to destroy, and cannot be harmed by any Earthly object.
* **Regeneration** - He is able to rapidly heal any injury he does manage to receive.
* **Soul Reading** - Being the Judge of the Dead, Anubis is able to measure a beings soul on his scale, and then determine where that soul will go based on the decisions it made it life.
* **Empathy** - He is able to see directly into a person's heart.
* **Astral Perception** - Anubis is able to see things that are naturally invisible, like spirits.
* **Shapeshifting** - He can take on different forms, most notably, a jackal-headed man, a jackal, or complete human form.
* **Teleportation** - Anubis has the ability to appear and vanish into thin air. being the Judge of the Dead, he is able to teleport between Earth and Duat.
* **Soul Manipulation** - Once a person has died, Anubis will escort the soul, by taking it by the hand, and helping it to navigate the underworld, and bring it to the Hall of Osiris.
* **Telekinesis** - He is able to move objects with his mind on a very advanced level.
* **Resurrection**- Anubis can resurrect the dead, however as a general rule he rarely ever does.

## **Weaknesses**

* **Other Deities** - More powerful gods are able to overpower him.
* **Divine Weaponry** - Weapons owned by other gods are able to harm Anubis.