Wepwawet- Egyptian GodDeity"Opener of the Ways"

The Wolf of Lycopolis

Wepwawet's name means "Opener of the Ways." He was depicted as a wolf or jackal, or as a man with a canine head, grayer than Anubis. His primary cult center was Lycopolis, modern Asyut, a nome capital in Upper Egypt whose Greek name means "Wolf City." The Egyptians sometimes distinguished two forms of him, one for Upper Egypt and one for Lower, depicted as twin standards opening the way for both halves of the kingdom.

His image appears on the Narmer Palette, among the earliest records of Egyptian kingship, carried as a standard before the king. He was old. He was there at the beginning.

The Royal Standard

Wepwawet's image was mounted on a pole and carried before the pharaoh into battle. The standard ran ahead of the army, and the god ran with it, clearing the path to victory. Soldiers advanced behind his wolf.

He also ran ahead of the king during the sed festival, the jubilee ceremony that renewed the pharaoh's power after thirty years of rule. The standard was carried in procession, opening the way for the king's ritual renewal. Whatever transition the pharaoh faced, Wepwawet went first.

Guide of the Dead

Wepwawet escorted the dead through the Duat. He opened the roads, led souls past dangers, and brought them to Osiris's judgment hall. Anubis presided over the mummification and the weighing of the heart. Wepwawet handled the journey between: the perilous roads and the hostile gatekeepers that lined them. He ran ahead of the dead the same way he ran ahead of the living king.