Anubis

Anubis was the ruler of the Underworld in older myths, before the resurrection of Osiris (at which point, Osiris became the God of the Dead). After being replaced by Osiris, Anubis' role was changed to that of psychopomp (much like Greek Hermes), and he conducted the souls of the dead to the Underworld. He oversaw the embalming and mummification processes too. The Greeks related Anubis so closely to Hermes that some alchemical records from the time refer to a combined Deity called Hermanubis.

The worship of Anubis is much older than that of Osiris, and research has shown that he was a very ancient Deity indeed. Besides his role to guide the dead, Anubis was also involved in medicine and surgery, truth, justice and travel. While Osiris oversaw the weighing of souls, it was actually Anubis who performed the task.

Many Egyptian Gods and Goddesses had an animal image used when they were depicted. Anubis was most often drawn as a man with the head of a black jackal, in reference to his association with the dead. Sometimes he is just a jackal without any physical human characteristics.

The parentage of Anubis is a little vague, as it is recorded inconsistently in various myths. It is most commonly recorded that Anubis was the son of Nephthys and Osiris. Some accounts have him as the son of Set, not Osiris.