Anubis And Thoth: A Comparative Analysis

Anubis (Anup) and Thoth (Djehuty) are both deities within the ancient Egyptian (Kemetic) pantheon. As such they have similarities but also many stark contrasts, beyond one being canine and the other being avian. I’ve chosen to explore the similarities and differences between the two from a historical, but also modern perspective.
As an example of a similarity they are both involved with the Weighing of the Heart ceremony. In this ceremony the heart of the deceased is weighed against the feather of Ma’at, and if it is found to be heavy with sin it is fed to the crocodile headed beast Ammit and that person ceases to exist. In this ritual Anubis carefully measures the scales for accuracy, or if properly bribed, in favor of the decedent. Thoth’s …show more content…
Yet others shape their careers into a devotional act, working with shelters, for animals but also abused children, women, and other ‘underdogs’, others yet choose to become anthropologists, archeologists, or even modern day funeral priests, and become morticians, or funeral directors.” “Really I guess the biggest difference is what we’re called to do, Thoth is a god of scribes, he likes authors and writers and tricky people with bad jokes. Anubis seems to have a much more liberal preference, he’s one of the quickest deities to show up if anyone new to the path needs a hand, he takes care of anyone he can it seems like. He loves terrible jokes too though. (Mahoney)”

In conclusion, the deities of ancient Egypt, though largely sharing attributes of animal heads and terrible jokes, vary widely beyond appearances, and are far more multi-faceted than might be gleaned at first thought. They have intriguing and highly personal attributes that not only were built upon by their ancient worshipers but continue to be studied and used in modern day worship by people that are also examples in how the deities vary and collide in some