Wepwawet

In Egyptian mythology, Wepwawet (hieroglyphic wp-w3w.t; also rendered Upuaut, Wep-wawet, Wepawet, Apuat, and Ophois) was originally a deity of funerary rites, war, and royalty association, whose cult centre was Asyut in Upper Egypt (Lycopolis in the Greco-Roman period). His name means opener of the ways and he is often depicted as a wolf standing at the prow of a solar-boat. Some interpret that Wepwawet was seen as a scout, going out to clear routes for the army to proceed forward. One inscription from the Sinai states that Wepwawet "opens the way" to king Sekhemkhet's victory.

Wepwawet originally was seen as wolf deity, with his cult center being at the Lycopolis, (meaning city of wolves in Greek). He is one of the earliest Egyptian Gods on record. Wepwawet was heavily seen in association with royalty and the Pharaoh (My face is that of Upwawet, Pyramid Texts), symbolizing and protecting their rise to power, accompanying them on hunts (in which capacity he was titled [one with] sharp arrows more powerful than the gods alone) or in the pharaoh's ascent to the Duat, or afterlife.

Over time, the connection to war and thus to death led to Wepwawet also being seen as one who opened the ways to, and through, Duat, for the spirits of the dead. Through this, and the similarity of the jackal to the wolf, Wepwawet became associated with Anubis, a deity that was worshiped in Asyut, eventually being considered his brother. He was seen as both having the head of a wolf and sometimes a jackal, like Anubis. He also was said to be Set's son. Consequently, Wepwawet is often confused with Anubis. This deity appears in the Temple of Seti I at Abydos.

In later Egyptian art, Wepwawet was depicted as a wolf or a jackal, or as a man with the head of a wolf or a jackal. Even when considered a jackal, Wepwawet usually was shown with grey, or white fur, reflecting his lupine origins. In rare cases, he appeared in fully human form. however there is some academic debate as to whether the Grey pigmentation is authentic with some scolars disputing this and stating that he was most often depicted with black fur, like Anubis. The discrepancy in color is most often attributed to pigment degradation, or the pigment variety chosen by the artist (for Wepwawet, Anubis, and other Jackal Gods such as Duamutef ).

He was sometimes depicted dressed as a soldier, as well as carrying other military equipment&mdash;a mace and a bow.

For what generally is considered to be lauding purposes of the pharaohs, a later myth briefly was circulated claiming that Wepwawet was born at the sanctuary of Wadjet, the sacred site for the oldest goddess of Lower Egypt that is located in the heart of Lower Egypt. Consequently, Wepwawet, who had hitherto been the standard of Upper Egypt alone, formed an integral part of royal rituals, symbolizing the unification of Egypt.

In later Pyramid Texts, Wepwawet is called "Ra" who has gone up from the horizon, perhaps as the "opener" of the sky. In the later Egyptian funerary context, Wepwawet assists at the Opening of the mouth ceremony and guides the deceased into the netherworld.

In popular culture
In Crusader Kings III, God Wepwawet is the supreme deity of the Kordofan faith.

Wepwawet is the personal god or totem of Thu, the main character in the Lady of the Reeds books by Canadian author Pauline Gedge (House of Dreams, 1994; and House of Illusions, 1996).

Animal origin
While we do not know for certain the exact species of animal represented by the Ancient Egyptian sꜢb / sAb animal (Jackal/wolf), the African wolf (Canis lupaster) was one species thought to depict and the template of numerous Ancient Egyptian deities, including Wepwawet. Other species theorized include the black-backed jackal also called the silver-backed Jackal (C. mesomelas or Lupulella mesomelas) and golden jackal or Asiatic jackal (Canis aureus).

The Egyptian jackal was listed as a subspecies of the golden jackal but molecular and osteological data has established that it is a unique species in its own right. It is native to Egypt, Libya, and Ethiopia, though its post-Pleistocene range once encompassed the Palestine region.

Inter-breeding between species also cannot be ruled out, and it has been posited that a species sharing the characteristics of both African jackal and wolf species could be the missing link, such as the combination of C. aureas and C. lupus lupaster appearing as Canis aureus lupaster.