Even when considered a jackal, Wepwawet usually was shown with grey, or white fur, reflecting his lupine origins. 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. Consequently, Wepwawet often is confused with Anubis. This deity appears in the Temple of Seti I at Abydos. Seen as a jackal, he also was said to be Set's son. 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 son. 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.

Likewise, Wepwawet was said to accompany the pharaoh on hunts, in which capacity he was titled (one with) sharp arrow more powerful than the gods. Wepwawet originally was seen as a wolf deity, thus the Greek name of Lycopolis, meaning city of wolves, and it is likely the case that Wepwawet was originally just a symbol of the pharaoh, seeking to associate with wolf-like attributes, that later became deified as a mascot to accompany the pharaoh. 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. His name means, opener of the ways and he is often depicted as a wolf standing at the prow of a solar-boat. In late Egyptian mythology, Wepwawet (hieroglyphic wp-w3w.t also rendered Upuaut, Wep-wawet, Wepawet, and Ophois) was originally a war deity, whose cult centre was Asyut in Upper Egypt (Lycopolis in the Greco-Roman period).

Jackal egypt