You can add one Egyptian God to the tourists in Times Square.
A replica statue of Anubis, the jackal-headed, Egyptian God of the Dead was set in place at the Discovery Times Square Exposition overnight.
It took a crane and several workers to hoist the 7-ton, 26-foot tall statue above the door at its temporary home overlooking the Shubert Theater on 44th Street between Seventh and Eighth avenues.
The statue will be in place for the King Tut exhibit opening up later this month.
Anubis was the Egyptian God of the underworld that protected spirits, according to toureygpt.net. It is said that Anubis watched over the mummification process to make sure everything was done properly.
Mummification was an expensive process in ancient Egypt, usually reserved for pharaohs, members of nobility and officials, according to the Smithsonian.
Anubis was also said to guide souls through the underworld, testing their knowledge of the gods and their faith.
The widely worshipped god is thought to have a jackal head because jackals hunted throughout Egypt near the edges of the desert, the necropolis and cemeteries.
The National Geographic exhibit “Tutankhamun and The Golden Age of the Pharoahs” will be on display starting April 23 running through January 2, 2011.
