Ancient Egyptian dog breeds include the Basenji, Greyhound, Ibizan Hound, Pharaoh Hound, Saluki, Whippet, and Molossian.
In ancient Egyptian religion, Anubis is a god of death, the underworld, the afterlife, tombs, cemeteries, and a guardian of graves. He is a jackal-headed figure with a human body and, though known to many as “the jackal dog”, ancient Egyptians simply referred to him as a dog—his epithet being “the dog who swallows millions”. That said, the ancient Egyptians did not view the jackal and dog as distinct from each other.
To recap, the of Anubis is often said to be based on a Basenji, but it could just as well have been based on a Greyhound, Pharaoh Hound, or Ibizan Hound. Dogs had diverse roles in ancient Egyptian society, serving as hunting dogs, guardian dogs, and sacrifice dogs, and as inspiration for many ancient works of art that continue to intrigue us today.
The ancient Egyptians placed great value on dogs and, as such, dogs played a major role in ancient Egyptian society. In addition to assisting hunters and guarding property, they were also kept as companion dogs. There’s even a tomb painting that depicts a man walking his dog—this painting dates back to around 3500 BC.
The domestication of dogs most likely began in the Pre-Dynastic Period, tens of thousands of years ago. Dogs’ importance to the ancient Egyptians both in regular society and as a god-like figure is illustrated in the numerous works of art they appear in, often depicted as Deities. The of Anubis is thought to have been based on a Basenji, though it may have been inspired by other breeds.
What Dog Breed Would Anubis Be?
Given Anubis’s appearance, it can look like the modern-day version of the Pharaoh Hound. The Pharaoh Hound is referred to by the Maltese as the “Kelb tal-Fenek” which is translated to “rabbit dog.” This is a primitive European dog breed that is believed to have originated from the Middle East and was imported roughly 3,000 years ago.
The name “Pharaoh Hound” is derived from the legend that this dog breed was popular amongst Egyptian pharaohs. However, if this was true, then the dog breed would have existed 8,000 years ago, which could be true since the Pharaoh Hound came from Malta—a region defeated by Phoenicians—and since the groups crossed paths, the timeline could be true.
There is another possibility that Anubis was a Greyhound since this dog breed was worshipped in ancient Egypt and three Greek Gods (Pollux, Hecate, and Artemis) kept Greyhounds as companions.
It is also believed that Anubis could be a Doberman Pinscher, however, the history and uncanny resemblance of the Pharaoh Hound to Anubis is what makes people believe that it could be a cross between different dog breeds to produce the black coat.
These dog collars most likely began in the early periods as simple rope, probably similar to the slip-leads used today, but evolved over time into intricate works of art. Already by the Old Kingdom the collar was a thick leather ring glued together and pulled over a dogs head. During the Middle Kingdom these collars became more elaborate and were often adorned with copper and bronze studs. In the New Kingdom (c. 1570-1069 BCE) the dog collar reached its height with gold and silver collars inscribed with the dogs name.
The Greyhound: Although the origin of the Greyhound is contested, evidence of the breed has been found in both Mesopotamia and Egypt. Graves containing Greyhounds in Mesopotamia date back to the Ubaid Period c. 5000 BCE and in Egyptian s c. 4250 BCE. The Greyhound was used in open-area hunts for large game but was also kept as a pet and a guard dog. Greyhounds are depicted throughout Egypts history as a hunting dog but may also be the breed featured in battle scenes like the Victory Stele of Ramesses II (1279-1213 BCE) celebrating his triumph over the Hittites at the Battle of Kadesh.
The town of Hardai was the cult center of Anubis and so was called Cynopolis (“City of the Dog”) by the Greeks. Here dogs freely roamed through Anubis temple and were also bred for sacrifice. Mummified dogs were brought to the temple as offerings to Anubis (the “red dog”, identified with the Pharaoh breed, being preferred) but the death rate of the temple dogs was not high enough to meet the demand for mummified sacrifices. A kind of puppy mill was initiated for the sole purpose of breeding dogs for sacrifice to Anubis.
Under ordinary circumstances, however, killing a dog carried severe penalties and, if the dog was collared and clearly owned by another, its murder was a capital crime. The death of a family dog elicited the same grief as for a human and the family members would shave their bodies completely, including the eyebrows. As most Egyptian men and women shaved their heads to avoid lice and maintain basic hygiene, the absence of the eyebrows was the most notable sign of grief. In some periods the opposite was observed and people would not shave at all.
There were also pariah dogs, wild dogs and strays of mixed breed, who often hunted around the outskirts of a village or necropolis. These dogs often traveled in packs and scavenged for food. It has been suggested that the presence of pariah dogs encouraged the Egyptian practice of burial in tombs to protect the remains from them. In the early Pre-Dynastic Period the dead were buried in simple earthen graves, often quite shallow, which allowed for the pariah dogs to easily dig down and disturb them. The mastaba tomb may have, in part, developed to prevent this.