Anubis - The preparer.

Anubis has a somewhat spooky appearance. He had the body of a man and the head of a jackal, he prepared the deceased for the afterlife.

Looking after the dead was a serious business in ancient Egypt and needed a serious character. The jackal was an animal that was seen scavenging on the edge of the desert where many bodies were buried in shallow graves. And so it became linked with the stage of passing from one world to the next.

It was the jackal-headed god that watched over the embalming and the mummification process that was so important to Egyptian tradition.

He was a god of the underworld but did not reach the status of Osiris in that realm. He was considered more of a gatekeeper and ensured a safe journey to the underworld.

He was also depicted as "he who performed the weighing of the heart," as described in The Book of The Dead, and determined the worthiness of those making the transition from the living world to the afterworld.

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