440 the ancient egyptians. chap. xiii. 



Anubis, Anepo, Mercurius Psychopompos, 

 Death (Funus). 



The jackal-headed God was one of the principal 

 Deities of Amenti. He was " son of Osiris *," not 

 by Nephthys, as Greek writers state, but, according 

 to tlie positive authority of the hieroglyphics, *' by 

 Isis," as is shown in a legend given by Mr. Salt, 

 from a mummy case in his possession, where 

 " Anubis " is called " the son of Isis." This suf- 

 fices to disprove the opinion of Plutarch t respect- 

 ing Nephthys j though the same author allows that 

 *' Isis was also reputed his mother, though born of 

 Ne])hthys.'*t Another notion, which assigns to 

 Anubis the head of a dog instead of a jackal, is 

 one of the greatest and most generally accredited 

 errors which the ignorance of the Greeks and Ro- 

 mans have set forth respecting the Gods of Egypt ; 

 and every writer, whether in poetry or prose, who 

 has mentioned this Deity, has described him with 

 the head of a dog. Even altars were erected to 

 him under this form by his votaries at Rome ; and 

 so universal was the belief in the canine character 

 of the " latrator Anuhis^" that the fabulous history 

 of Osiris was perverted in order to accord with this 

 established notion. 



The unquestionable authority, however, of the 

 Egyptian sculptures, lias corrected this miscon- 

 ception, and we there find that he was not only 

 represented with the head of a jackal, but also 



* Plate 44. fig. 3. f Plut. de Is. s. 14. 38. 



X Plut. de Is. s. 44. 



(J Conf. Propert. lib. iii. Eleg. xi. 41. 



" Ausa Jovi nostro latrantem opponere Anubin." 



