Anubis Speaks!: A Guide to the Afterlife by the Egyptian God of the Dead (36 page)

of the dead in canopic jars.

Isis:
The great goddess/mother of Egypt, wife-and-sister to Osiris, mother to Horus and stepmother to me. The goddess of magic, protector of the living and the dead, my people called her “wise woman” and believed she had more magic than millions of spirits.

Ma’at:
Goddess of truth, order, and justice. She personified the moral laws of the universe, and represented the right way to act. She was often depicted holding an ostrich feather or wearing one on her head. When the heart was weighed against Ma’at (truth and goodness), it was always depicted as being weighed against the goddess’s feather.

Mehen:
The great serpent that surrounds and protects Ra and his sun boat during the dangerous journey through the dark lands.

Nut:
Wife of the earth god, Geb, she is the goddess of the sky. She is often depicted as arcing over the earth with stars all up and down her body.

Osiris:
Ruler of the world of the dead, and my father.

He civilized our people, showing them how to farm and build cities. But after being killed twice by his brother Set, he took the top post as ruler of the underworld and judge of the dead.

Ptah:
Another creator god, Ptah is the patron god of artists and artisans (because they create things).

Qebehsenuef:
The hawk-headed god who guarded the lower intestines of the dead in canopic jars.

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Ra:
The creator god, also known as the sun god.

Sometimes called Atum-Ra or Amun-Ra, Ra created himself out of the waters of nothingness and then created the rest of us gods and you puny humans.

After you mortals insulted him, he left his creations to move across the sky alone, as the sun.

Sekhmet:
Lion-headed goddess of rage or protection.

But mostly rage. She could belch fire and rip you into threads before you even saw her coming. My people sought her out for protection from terrible events such as war, famine and disease. But her dual nature meant they also blamed her when things went horribly wrong.

Serket:
Goddess of scorpions, venom, poison, and antidotes. Most often depicted either as a scorpion with the head of a woman or as a goddess with the head of a scorpion. She is whom my people called upon for help with scorpion and snake bites, and the one called on to protect the entrails of the dead during mummification.

Set:
God of storms, desert, and chaos. He represented drought, pestilence, and misery. But he wasn’t purely evil, even though he murdered his brother Osiris, and tried to kill Horus so he could rule. Ra liked him because Set’s rage and power could be used against Apophis, the evil one. However, if bad things happened, Set would be blamed.

Shezmu:
If you failed the weighing of the heart test, 108

Shezmu, the slaughtering demon-god, grabbed your head and squeezed it in his wine press until it popped like an overripe grape.

Shu:
God of the air, Shu separated the earth from the sky. He is often depicted as holding up the sky goddess Nut over her earth brother, Geb. Shu’s sister-wife was Tefnut, goddess of moisture.

Sobek:
God of crocodiles, Sobek was sometimes identified with Horus as pharaoh because he could strike with vicious cruelty in defense of Egypt.

Tefnut:
Goddess of moisture, Tefnut is the sister-wife of Shu, the air god; the mother of Osiris, Isis, Set, and Nephthys. I call her grandma.

Thoth:
God of wisdom and writing, Thoth was associated with the moon and was sometimes called the heart of Ra. All the gods respected him for his intelligence. I did, too, I swear, it’s just that I never understood why the god of wisdom was shown with a

“bird brain.” (Thoth is usually shown with a human body and ibis head.) Oh, and remember when I said I brought my father, Osiris, back to life? Thoth helped a little with that.

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Glossary

adze:
A tool resembling a small axe, used in the Opening of the Mouth ceremony to ensure that the mummified person would have all of his or her senses restored in the afterworld.

akh:
One of the many aspects of the ancient Egyptian soul; the akh was often identified with the individual’s spirit that could influence the world of the still living.

ba:
One of the many aspects of the ancient Egyptian soul; the ba was the traveling aspect of the soul, which was why it was often depicted as a man-headed bird.

canopic jars:
Hollow jars decorated with the heads of the sons of Horus, where the mummified remains of vital organs were kept (the stomach, liver, lungs, and intestines).

demotic:
A type of writing used by the ancient Egyptians for common documents, as opposed to more formal writing such as hieratic, a cursive form, or hieroglyphics.

Duat:
The Egyptian underworld or afterworld; the place of hours that Ra must travel to be reborn with the sunrise.

embalming:
The process of cleansing and preserving bodies after death, which the Egyptians did through mummification.

Giza:
Archaeological sites near Cairo, Egypt, which include the great pyramids of Khufu, the Khafre 110

pyramids and the sphinx, and the more modest pyramids of Menkaure.