Death Dogs: The Jackal Gods of Ancient Egypt

Anubis was active not only in embalming and burial but also in the post-mortem judgment of the dead. In Egyptian belief, the spirit of the deceased went on a dangerous journey to a final judgment. In the course of this judgment, the dead person’s heart — the seat of memory and identity — was weighed against a feather representing the Egyptian concept of truth and order. Anubis supervised the weighing of the heart, checking the balance of the scales and making sure the weighing was fair.

At a crucial point in this process, Anubis vouched for the deceased, and he did so in terms that invoked his canine nature. In front of the council of the gods, Anubis would say that he had sniffed the dead person, who smelled like the gods and belonged in their circle. He would go on to ask the deceased some final questions and, when these were successfully answered, he allowed the deceased to pass.