It is the duty of Anubis to see that the beam of the great balance
wherein the heart of the deceased is weighed is in its proper position.
As Thoth acts for the gods, so Anubis appears for the dead man, whom
he also protects against the 'Eater of the Dead.' He also guided the
souls of the dead through the underworld, being assisted in this duty
by Up-uaut, another jackal-headed deity, whose name signifies 'Opener
of the Ways.' These gods have sometimes been confounded with one
another, but in certain texts they are separately alluded to. The name
of the latter deity is significant of his probable early function.
Anubis, thinks Dr. Budge, was the opener of the roads of the north,
and Up-uaut of those of the south. "In fact," he says, "Anubis was the
personification of the summer solstice, and Ap-uat [Up-uaut] of the
winter solstice." He goes on to say that when they appear with the two
Utchats, or eyes of Ra, they symbolize the four quarters of heaven and
of earth, and the four seasons of the year. Plutarch has also a passage
upon the astronomical significance of Anubis which seems far from clear.
At Heliopolis, Anubis was to some extent fused with Horus as regards
his attributes, and in some manner he took on the character of the old
fusion between Horus and Set, in this latter connexion personifying
death and decay. In the _Golden Ass_ of Apuleius we find that Anubis had
votaries in Rome, and it is noticeable that in this account he is spoken
of as having a dog's head.
Thoth
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