ANUBIS – JACKAL, WOLF, DOG, FOX OR HYENA?

Wildlife expert John Wyatt continues his investigation of Egyptian gods by looking at another important deity and the animal or animals associated with him.

- John Wyatt

There has always been confusion as to whether representations of Anubis in his wholly animal, black form were of a jackal, wolf, dog or fox. However, in his anthropomorphic form, he is most frequently referred to as ‘jackal-headed’ and much of the mythology concerning him is based on that animal. Yet, the ancient Egyptian term for Anubis, sab, referred to several canines and not just to the jackal.

In Volume II (Euterpe) of the George Rawlinson version of History of Herodotus, the Greek historian wrote in Chapter 67 that: “The dogs are interred in the cities to which they belong, also in sacred places.” and a few sentences later that “… wolves, which are not much bigger than foxes, they happen to bury wherever they happen to find them lying.” So Herodotus in 440 BC and/or his translators/interpreters in AD 1875 were already differentiating between dogs (possibly domesticated or feral animals as they belonged in cities), wolves and foxes, but strangely omitting to mention jackals. Rawlinson then confused things further by saying in his footnote to that chapter that: “Herodotus is quite correct in saying that wolves in Egypt were scarcely larger than foxes. It is singular that he omits all mention of the hyena, which is so common in the country, and which is represented in the sculptures of Upper and Lower Egypt. The wolf is an animal of Upper and Lower Egypt. Its Egyptian name was ouonsh.” Again no jackal is mentioned, but hyenas are added to the mix.