I've been an Egyptian mythology buff since I was a kid, and because of that, I tend to have opinions on how Egyptian mythology is adapted in Western media (tl;dr is almost always bad) and nobody gets it worse than Anubis. Despite being a mainstay of Egyptian religion, Anubis has almost no presence in the mythology, and what little he does have tends to present him as a passive people-pleasure, such has giving up the rule of the underworld to Osiris. On top of that, he was the psychopomp (meaning he would be the first thing you see when you die,) and would advocate for the dead and tip the scales in their favor when their hearts were weighed. When he manifested amongst mortals, he tended to favor non-threatening shapes, his favorite being an adolescent dark-skinned boy. Moreover, when the Egyptians associate one of their gods, they're telling you something about that god's personality. People tend to remember Anubis as jackal-headed, but that's mistranslated; a better translation was "wolf" or, even better, "dog."
So, when the Egyptians depict Anubis, they wanted you to know that he was a very good boy.
Knowing all this, it gets really irksome when Anubis gets presented as a Satanic figure, especially when Egyptian mythology already has one. It's partly because of racism (the Egyptians were absolute Not White so all their gods must be evil while ignoring Zues has he impregnates everything that can't outrun him,) the heavily Hellenistic roots of our culture (the Greeks tended to seer at the animal-headed gods of Egypt as "barbaric,") and how post-Christianizing the myths tended to make any underworld figure pure evil (Hades is another notable example of this.) When you have to go to Rick Riordian for an accurate representation of Anubis, you're in a lot of trouble.
Anyway, I guess this counts as "vent art."
Oh, and it is perfectly alright if you start crushing on Sweetboy!Anubis. I started doing it as I was drawing that pretty, pretty hair.
The modern Anubis is a Hollywood/video game thing.
But the second is not accurate either. Egyptians didn't see Anubis as a servant or a dog. The Egyptian civilization lasted for many centuries and the religion went through a lot of changes. Originally Anubis was the judge of the dead himself and the only god depicted in funerary art. Later, when Osiris became a more important god, Anubis took a secondary role to him, but he continued to be a respected figure in the Judgement of the Dead. He was the guide and protector of the dead, not their slave. Anubis was depicted at the entrance of tombs, sometimes holding a knife, guarding them against enemy demons.
His titles included "Master of secrets" and "Lord of the Necropolis" The seal used by the guardians of the Egyptian cemeteries depicted Anubis holding nine prisoners with a rope, none of those indicates a subservient entity.
Also, Anubis was always a Jackal, not a dog. The dog thing came much later when Egypt was a Roman colony and the cult of Isis became popularized in Rome, Anubis statues started to be made with dog heads because jackals are not animals you see around Italy, so artists looked at the closest reference they could find. ( ᐢ (oo) ᐢ )
I don't think either interpretation is correct. The modern Anubis is a Hollywood/video game thing.
I had no idea that's how he was seen. I think the evil aspect has more to do with the modern fear of death. Hades is vilified as well dispite him being far more honorable and reliable than Zeus or the inherent Olympians. It's just easy to turn a death God into a villian.
I had no idea that's how he was seen. I think the evil aspect has more to do with the modern fear o
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