Wen 丨 Fat Boy Research Society
Editor丨Fat Boy Research Society
preface
The Egyptian god Anubis is a relatively unique deity in Egypt, and is considered a god who had a close connection with Pharaoh, and is even regarded as Pharaoh's "second soul".
Of all the myths and legends of the god Anubis, the most well-known is that Anubis judged the pharaoh, while in other legends, Anubis is the patron saint of the pharaoh's rule.
The origin of the god Anubis dates back to the Old Kingdom. At that time, the Egyptians regarded all animals as gods, and these animals were believed to be the embodiment of gods. During the Old Kingdom, the Egyptians began to worship animals and worship these animals as gods.
The Egyptians associated these animals with the gods they worshiped, such as pharaohs, goddesses, sun gods, and other gods. Of course, there was not only a simple relationship between pharaohs and animals.
The most representative animal worship beliefs of the Old Kingdom period are those of the wild boar god Bacchus. During the Old Kingdom, the boar god Bacchus and Rahn, the sun god, were seen as two competing deities who ruled Egyptian society.
Although the two gods are very similar in religious status, they are actually very different: the god Anubis was one of the most worshipped animal deities during the Old Kingdom; The god Rahn was the only deity in the Old Kingdom that remained independent of the object of worship.
After the god Anubis was regarded by the Egyptians as another deity besides the pharaoh and goddess, many legends and myths have emerged over time regarding the relationship between the god Anubis and the pharaoh.
In addition to its existence as an important religious belief, the god Anubis is an important political symbol. During the reign of the Egyptian pharaohs, the god Anubis was often used as a symbol of the pharaoh's power and status.
Anubis was a powerful and holy god of pharaohs. The Egyptians believed that Anubis was a powerful, impartial, and powerful figure who would judge mankind. He is often depicted sitting on a throne, holding a scepter and bow, wearing a crown or helmet and bow, and dressed in armor and armor.
He was a deity who was regarded as the "father of the human soul" and "father of the sun" during the Old Kingdom, and his status was even higher than that of the pharaoh himself. During the Old Kingdom, because the pharaohs had supreme power and status as the supreme ruler of the state, the pharaohs used religion to strengthen their control over the people and society.
During the Old Kingdom, as Egypt gradually became a unified and powerful state, the god Anubis gradually lost its original functions of representing religious authority, political authority, and judicial authority.
Thus the god Anubis became a god abandoned and forgotten by the Egyptians. However, during the reign of Thutmose III, the last dynasty of the Old Kingdom period (1585-1492 BC), the god Anubis regained its importance in Egypt.
During this period, the god Anubis became a symbol of power and status and a spiritual pillar for the pharaohs during Egypt's New Kingdom (1585-1492 BC). During the reign of Tutankhamun, the last dynasty of the New Kingdom period (1585-1492 BC), the statue of Anubis was relocated before the statue of the New Kingdom pharaoh Thutmose III.
Anubis' relationship with the god Amun
Between the gods Amun and Anubis, it is understandable that God Amun is active and Anubis is passive. However, in Egyptian mythology, there is a big difference between the two gods.
During the Old Kingdom, the god Amon was active; By the Middle Kingdom, Anubis became passive. On this point, we can examine it from two aspects: on the one hand, we can look at the term "Amun" itself; On the other hand, we can examine it from the names of two deities.
The word "Amun" means "sun" (māh) in ancient Egyptian, so it is also called "sun god", "lord of light", "sun god" and so on in Egyptian. The god Amun was called "Son of Ra" in ancient Egyptian mythology. From the name, Amon is the son of the sun god Ra; From the actual status point of view, it is the representative of the sun god in the world.
In fact, there is not only one sun god in Egyptian mythology. In addition to the god Amun, there are many other sun gods and goddesses. These sun gods and goddesses have their own names and symbolisms.
For example, the goddesses Horus, Canakh and Helsnir of the Nile Valley; In the lower Nile region, the god Amun is the only main god; Another example is Raā, Nkeshir, and Emiris.
Therefore, we can say that in ancient Egyptian mythology there were multiple sun gods and goddesses at the same time. However, the most important of these sun gods and goddesses is Anubis.
Let's start by looking at the name Anubis itself. According to Egyptologists, the name Anubis was first formed by merging the words "Raā" and "Nuī". Thus, Anubis is actually made up of two words. However, to the ancient Egyptians, the two words did not mean the same thing.
"Ra" means sun (Raā), while "Nu" means moon (Nuī); If interpreted according to the meaning of the words "Ra" and "Nu" spoken by the ancient Egyptians, then "Ra" means the bright and beautiful full moon in the sky as seen by people when the sun sets; "Nu" refers to the dark and ugly full moon that people see when the moon rises.
Since Anubis is the person represented by the sun god Ra on earth, it is also the son of the sun god Ra on earth in ancient Egyptian mythology. From the Anubis name itself.
It has both the meaning of "sun" (Raā) and the meaning of "moon" (Nuī); And Anubis also has the meaning of both names: Anubis represents the sun and moon, as well as life, death, and earth.
In addition, we can understand the name Anubis from another perspective. The ancient Egyptians believed that humans would become gods Amun after death. Therefore, in Egyptian mythology, Amun is the god who represents death and death. And the god Amun and Anubis are two sun gods who exist at the same time.
If you look at it according to the ancient Egyptians, then in ancient Egyptian mythology, Amun represents the sun and moon, while Anubis represents life, death and the earth.
The main characteristics of the god Anubis
The image of Anubis was widely worshipped in ancient Egypt, which was mainly manifested in two aspects, one was that he was a sun god, symbolizing the light of the ancient Egyptians; The second is that as a deity, he occupied a high position in the hearts of the ancient Egyptians. In both respects, Anubis has a certain symbolic meaning.
First, as the sun god, Anubis has the image of the sun. The Egyptian Inscriptions of the Period of Ehenathon mention the story of the sun god Anubis and his son Khufu:
"Khufu: When you see him in the sky, he is a son of the sun, a sun god, a king of the sky and the father of the universe. You can call him Anubis and he is the greatest of all the gods. ”
It can be seen that Anubis had a close relationship with the sun god Khufu. This image embodies the image of Anubis as the child of the sun. The Egyptians worshipped the sun because it represented life and light; The Egyptians worshipped Khufu because Khufu was the son of the sun god Amun and Khufu.
The ancient Egyptians believed that everything in the universe was made up of different kinds of matter, which had different properties and forms. In the process, they believe that certain substances have certain commonalities or properties.
According to the ancient Egyptians, there are commonalities and properties of various substances in the universe similar to the existence of human life: "Everything is composed of water, air and fire; Everything has the same structure..."Therefore, they reduce everything in the universe to the three basic substances of water and fire. In addition, they believed that life was made up of water, air, and fire.
Therefore, the god Anubis held a special place in the minds of the ancient Egyptians. In ancient Egyptian mythology, Anubis belonged to the level of gods like other gods; To the ancient Egyptians, Anubis was as sacred as the sun god Khufu.
They consider Anubis to be the highest level of deity; If one sun god is Anubis, then other sun gods must also submit to his rule; In the eyes of the ancient Egyptians, only gods with divinity and godhead could only be called gods.
In conclusion, in ancient Egyptian mythology, the god Anubis held a special place as the sun god and son of Khufu. It is precisely because of the above characteristics and status, as well as the characteristics of divinity and godhead, that Anubis occupied a certain position in the hearts of ancient Egyptians and was widely worshiped in ancient Egypt.
According to incomplete statistics, the worship of the god Anubis by the Egyptians continued from around 3000 BC to about 1222 BC. Although the god Anubis held a special place in ancient Egyptian mythology and was widely worshipped.
However, since Anubis is one of the most representative and influential deities in ancient Egyptian mythology as the sun god and son of Khufu, he also occupies a certain position in some Egyptian myths and has certain characteristics such as divinity and godhead.
At the same time, because Anubis was called differently in different regions at different times, there were some differences in ancient Egyptian mythology. "Between the god Amun and Anubis there a great ruler, Amon Amsteit; He is the father of all things and the universe".
Therefore, it can be seen that in the ancient Egyptian period, the sun god and Anubis were juxtaposed. In addition, due to the increasing and increasing importance of the divinity and divinity of Anubis by the ancient Egyptians, many gods with divinity and divine personality are mentioned in the Egyptian Inscriptions of the Reign of Ehenathon:
The author's opinion
Anubis is one of the most important deities in ancient Egyptian religion, and it is also a representative idol of ancient Egypt, representing the fear of death and the pursuit of eternal life of the ancient Egyptians.
In the belief system of the ancient Egyptians, Anubis was both the sun god and the goddess of death, and its image continued throughout the ancient Egyptian period, and for pharaohs and nobles, Anubis was regarded as the highest deity, and Anubis is also mentioned in many inscriptions related to the sun god.
The ancient Egyptians believed that the soul does not die after death, and that the soul enters the underworld and is judged after death, and Anubis has a very close relationship with the underworld. In ancient Egyptian mythology, Anubis had the function of death and resurrection. After the death of pharaohs and nobles, they would be sent to the underworld to be judged, and when they were judged in the underworld, they would sacrifice to Anubis in order to pass the judgment.
With the passage of time and the development of social civilization, the god Anubis was universally accepted and deified as a faith, becoming an integral part of the life of the ancient Egyptians.
Since the god Anubis is one of the symbols of the sun god, its image often appears on the tombstones of pharaohs and nobles. In addition to being a sun god, the god Anubis is also used to represent the judgment that the souls of the dead receive after entering the underworld.
bibliography
Hu Huilin, "Mummies on the Nile: A Historical Study of the Pharaonic Dynasty of Ancient Egypt", Shanghai Ancient Books Publishing House, 2014.
Sun Chengkang, Editor-in-Chief of Studies on Politics and Religion in Ancient Egypt, Shanghai People's Publishing House, 2014.
Herodotus, History, Shanghai People's Publishing House, 2013.