Anubis was a protector
of graves and cemeteries and was also associated with mummifications… Anubis was one of the
most frequently represented gods in ancient Egyptian art…he was depicted in
animal form in the early dynastic period and was portrayed as a black wolf…but
why was Anubis black?...researchers say that Anubis's color had nothing to do
with that of the coat of real wolves, but instead the color black had several
symbolic meanings… it represented the discoloration of the corpse that would
occur after its treatment with natron and also the smearing of the wrappings
with a resinous substance during the process of mummification…it was also the
color of the fertile silt found in the Nile River…Egyptians also believed that
black was a symbol of fertility and it also represented the possibility of
rebirth in the afterlife… the role of Anubis was often portrayed as guiding
individuals across the threshold… from the world of the living to the afterlife…during
later times, Anubis was sometimes depicted as a wolf-headed human…there was
also an extremely rare depiction of him in fully human form that was found in
the tomb of Ramesses II.
