Amun was often depicted in human form with a tall crown

Amun (also spelled Amon, Amoun, Amen, and rarely Imen, Greek Ἄμμων Ammon, and Ἅμμων Hammon, reconstructed Egyptian Yamānu) (earlier Ra) was the name of a deity, in Egyptian mythology, who gradually rose to become one of the most important deities in Ancient Egypt, before fading into obscurity. Greek (el ελληνική γλώσσα or simply el ελληνικά — "Hellenic" is an Indo-European language, spoken today by 15-22 million people mainly Egyptian is an Afro-Asiatic language most closely related to the Berber, Semitic, Somali and Beja languages Ra (pronounced Rah and sometimes as Rê, is an Ancient Egyptian sun god. See also List of deities A deity is a Postulated Preternatural or Supernatural Being, who is always Ancient Egyptian religion encompasses the various religious beliefs and rituals practiced in Ancient Egypt from the predynastic period until the adoption of Christianity

Origin of name

Amun's name is first recorded in Egyptian as ỉmn, meaning "The hidden (one)". Since vowels were not written in Egyptian hieroglyphs, Egyptologists have reconstructed the name to have been pronounced *Yamānu (/jamaːnu/) originally. Egyptian hieroglyphs (ˈhaɪərəʊɡlɪf from Greek grc-Grek ἱερογλύφος " sacred carving " also hieroglyphic = grc-Grek This is a partial list of Egyptologists. An Egyptologist is any Archaeologist, Historian, linguist, or Art historian who specializes in The name survived in Coptic as ?, Amoun. Coptic or Coptic Egyptian ( MetRemenkīmi) is the final stage of the Egyptian language, a northern Afro-Asiatic language spoken in Egypt

Creator

Amun and Mut

Gradually, as god of air, he came to be associated with the breath of life, which created the ba, particularly in Thebes. Thebes ( Thēbai) was a city in Ancient Egypt located about 800 km south of the Mediterranean on the east bank of the river Nile ( By the First Intermediate Period this had led to him being thought of, in these areas, as the creator god, titled father of the gods, preceding the Ogdoad, although also part of it. The First Intermediate Period is the name conventionally given by Egyptologists to that period in Ancient Egyptian history between the end of the Old In Egyptian mythology, the Ogdoad (Greek "οκτάδα" the number eight were eight deities worshipped in Hermopolis during what is called the Old As he became more significant, he was assigned a wife (Amunet being his own female aspect, more than a distinct wife), and since he was the creator, his wife was considered the divine mother from which the cosmos emerged, who in the areas where Amun was worshipped was, by this time, Mut. Mut, which means mother, was an Ancient Egyptian Mother goddess with multiple aspects that changed over the thousands of years of the culture

Amun became depicted in human form, seated on a throne, wearing on his head a plain deep circlet from which rise two straight parallel plumes, possibly symbolic of the tail feathers of a bird, a reference to his earlier status as a wind god. Human beings, humans or man (Origin 1590–1600 L homō man OL hemō the earthly one (see Humus Feathers are one of the epidermal growths that form the distinctive outer covering or Plumage, on Birds They are considered the most complex integumentary structures Birds ( class Aves) are bipedal endothermic ( Warm-blooded) Vertebrate animals that lay eggs.

Having become more important than Montu, the local war god of Thebes, Montu's authority became said to exist because he was the son of Amun. War is an international relations Dispute, characterized by organized Violence between National Military units God is the principal or sole Deity in Religions and other belief systems that worship one deity. However, as Mut was infertile, it was believed that she, and thus Amun, had adopted Montu instead. In later years, due to the shape of a pool outside the sacred temple of Mut at Thebes, Montu was replaced, as their adopted son, by Khonsu, the moon god. In Egyptian mythology, Khonsu (alternately Chonsu, Khensu, Khons, Chons or Khonshu) is an ancient Lunar deity In Mythology, a lunar deity is a God or Goddess associated with or symbolizing the moon see Moon (mythology.

King

Bas-relief depicting Amun as king.

Amun-Min

When the armies of the Eighteenth dynasty evicted the Hyksos rulers from Egypt, the victors' city of origin, Thebes, now held the mantle of the most important city in Egypt. An army (from Latin Armata "act of arming" via Old French armée) in the broadest sense is the land-based Armed forces "Amarna period" redirects here For information on Amarna see Amarna The Eighteenth Dynasty (1550-1292 BC is perhaps the best known of The Hyksos ( Egyptian heqa khasewet, "foreign rulers" Greek,, Arabic,) were an Asiatic people who invaded the eastern Nile Therefore, Amun became nationally important. The Pharaohs attributed all their successful enterprises to Amun, and they lavished much of their wealth and captured spoil on the construction of his temples. Pharaoh is the title given in modern parlance to the ancient Egyptian kings of all periods

Because of the adoration now given to Amun, visiting Greek travelers to Egypt would report back that Amun, king of the Egyptian gods, was one and the same (and therefore became identified) with the Greek king of the gods, Zeus. Tourism is Travel for Recreational or Leisure purposes The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people who "travel Zeus (zjuːs in Greek: nominative: Zeús /zdeús/ genitive: Diós; Modern Greek /'zefs/ in Greek mythology Likewise, Amun's consort Mut become associated with Zeus's consort Hera. Mut, which means mother, was an Ancient Egyptian Mother goddess with multiple aspects that changed over the thousands of years of the culture In the Olympian pantheon of classical Greek Mythology, Hera (ˈhɪərə or /ˈhɛrə/ Greek) or Here ( in Ionic and Homer

As the Egyptians considered themselves oppressed during the period of Hyksos' rule, the victory under the supreme god Amun was seen as his championing of the less fortunate. This article is about the contemporary North African ethnic group Consequently, Amun was viewed as upholding the rights of justice for the poor. By aiding those who traveled in his name, he became the Protector of the road. Since he upheld Ma'at, those who prayed to Amun were required first to demonstrate that they were worthy by confessing their sins. Maat or Mayet, thought to have been pronounced as *Muʔʕat (Muh-aht was the Ancient Egyptian concept of Truth, balance order— Law

Fertility God

When, subsequently, Egypt conquered Kush, they identified the chief deity of the Kushites as Amun. Kush civilization centered in the confluence of the Blue Nile and the White Nile, and the confluence of the River Atbara and Nile in what This deity was depicted as Ram headed, more specifically a woolly Ram with curved horns, and so Amun started becoming associated with the Ram. Wool is the fiber derived from the specialized skin cells called follicles of animals in the Caprinae family principally sheep, but the hair of certain species A horn is a pointed projection of the Skin on the head of various Mammals consisting of a covering of horn ( Keratin and other Proteins Indeed, due to the aged appearance of it, they came to believe that this had been the original form of Amun, and that Kush was where he had been born.

However, since rams, due to their rutting, were considered a symbol of virility, Amun also became thought of as a fertility deity, and so started to absorb the identity of Min, becoming Amun-Min. Virility refers to any of a wide range of masculine characteristics viewed positively Min is an Ancient Egyptian god whose cult originated in predynastic times (4th millennium BC This association with virility led to Amun-Min gaining the epithet Kamutef, meaning Bull of his mother, in which form he was often found depicted on the walls of Karnak, ithyphallic, and with a scourge. An epithet (from Greek ἐπίθετον - epitheton, neut of ἐπίθετος - epithetos, "attributed added" is a The Karnak temple complex, universally known only as Karnak, describes a vast conglomeration of ruined temples chapels pylons and other buildings For the album by Nile, see Ithyphallic (album Ithyphallic means "having an erect penis " especially in A scourge (from Italian scoriada, from Latin excoriare = "to flay " and corium = "skin" is a whip or lash especially

Sun God

Amun-Ra

As Amun's cult grew bigger, Amun rapidly became identified with the chief God that was worshipped in other areas, Ra-Herakhty, the merged identities of Ra, and Horus. Egyptian hieroglyphs (ˈhaɪərəʊɡlɪf from Greek grc-Grek ἱερογλύφος " sacred carving " also hieroglyphic = grc-Grek Ra (pronounced Rah and sometimes as Rê, is an Ancient Egyptian sun god. This identification led to a merger of identities, with Amun becoming Amun-Ra. As Ra had been the father of Shu, and Tefnut, and the remainder of the Ennead, so Amun-Ra was likewise identified as their father. Ra (pronounced Rah and sometimes as Rê, is an Ancient Egyptian sun god. In Egyptian mythology, Shu (meaning dryness and he who rises up) is one of the primordial gods a personification of air one of the Ennead of In Egyptian mythology, Tefnut (alternate spellings Tefenet Tefnet is a goddess of Water and fertility indeed her name means moist waters (i For the neo-Platonist work by Plotinus see Enneads. For the Latin epic see Aeneid.

Ra-Herakhty had been a sun god, and so this became true of Amun-Ra as well, Amun becoming considered the hidden aspect of the sun (e. "Sun god" redirects here For the Ramsey Lewis album see Sun Goddess (album. g. during the night), in contrast to Ra-Herakhty as the visible aspect, since Amun clearly meant the one who is hidden. This complexity over the sun led to a gradual movement towards the support of a more pure form of deity.

During the eighteenth dynasty, the pharaoh Akhenaten (also known as Amenhotep IV) introduced the worship of the Aten, a god whose power was manifested both literally and symbolically in the sun's disc. "Amarna period" redirects here For information on Amarna see Amarna The Eighteenth Dynasty (1550-1292 BC is perhaps the best known of Akhenaten (often alt: Akhnaten, or rarely Ikhnaton) (In English ˌɑkəˡnɑtən or approximately "AHK-en-AHT-en" his royal name Amenhotep Atenism (or the Amarna heresy) is the earliest known if not well-documented Monotheistic religion associated above all with the eighteenth dynasty He defaced the symbols of the old gods and based his new religion upon one new god: the Aten. Alternative use the Aten asteroids named after 2062 Aten Aten (or Aton was the disk of the Sun in ancient Egyptian However, this abrupt change was very unpopular, particularly with the previous temple priests, who now found themselves without any of their former power. Clergy is the generic term used to describe the formal religious leadership within a given Religion. Consequently, when Akhenaten died, his name was striken from the Egyptian records, and all of his changes were swiftly undone. It was almost as if this monotheistic sect had never occurred. For the Celtic Frost album see Monotheist (album In Theology, monotheism (from Greek grc [[wiktμόνος μόνος]] Worship of the Aten was replaced and worship of Amun-Ra was restored. The priests persuaded the new underage pharaoh Tutankhaten, whose name meant "the living image of Aten", to change his name to Tutankhamun, "the living image of Amun".

Decline

After the Twentieth dynasty moved the center of power back to Thebes, the powerbase of Amun's cult had been revivified, and the authority of Aten began to weaken. The Eighteenth Nineteenth and Twentieth Dynasties of ancient Egypt are often combined under the group title New Kingdom. Under the Twenty-first dynasty the secondary line of priest kings of Thebes upheld his dignity to the best of their power, and the Twenty-second favoured Thebes. The Twenty-First, Twenty-Second Twenty-Third Twenty-Fourth and Twenty-Fifth Dynasties of ancient Egypt are often combined under the group title Third Intermediate The Twenty-First Twenty-Second, Twenty-Third Twenty-Fourth and Twenty-Fifth Dynasties of ancient Egypt are often combined under the group title Third Intermediate

The sarcophagus of a priestess of Amon-Ra cerca 1000 B. C. E at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History. The Smithsonian Institution (smɪθsoʊnɪən is an educational and research institute and associated Museum complex administered and funded by the Government of The National Museum of Natural History is a Natural history Museum administered by the Smithsonian Institution, located on the National

As the sovereignty weakened, the division between Upper and Lower Egypt asserted itself; thereafter, Thebes would have rapidly decayed had it not been for the piety of the kings of Nubia towards Amun, whose worship had long prevailed in their country. This article is about the region in Africa for other uses see Nubia (disambiguation. Thebes was at first their Egyptian capital, and they honoured Amun greatly, although neither their wealth nor culture were sufficient to affect much change.

However, in the rest of Egypt, the popularity of his cult was rapidly overtaken by the less divisive cult of the Legend of Osiris and Isis, which had not been associated with the heretical Akhenaten. The Legend of Osiris and Isis, concerning the Deities of Egyptian mythology Osiris, Isis, Horus and Set, became one of And so there, his identity became first subsumed into Ra (Ra-Herakhty), who still remained an identifiable figure in the Osiris cult, but ultimately, became merely an aspect of Horus. Osiris ( Greek language, also Usiris; the Egyptian language name is variously transliterated Asar, Aser, Ausar, Ausir

In areas outside of Egypt where the Egyptians had previously brought the worship of Amun, his fate was not as dreadful. In Nubia, where his name was pronounced Amane, he remained the national god, with his priests at Meroe and Nobatia, via an oracle, regulating the whole government of the country, choosing the king, and directing his military expeditions. Meroë ( Meroitic: Medewi or Bedewi; Arabic: ar مرواه ar-Latn Meruwah) is the name of an ancient city on the east bank of the Nobatia (c 350 AD - 600 AD also known as Nobadia was an ancient African Christian kingdom in Lower Nubia and subsequently a region of the larger An oracle is a person or agency considered to be a source of wise counsel or prophetic opinion an Infallible authority usually spiritual in nature According to Diodorus Siculus, they were even able to compel kings to commit suicide, although this behaviour stopped when Arkamane, in the 3rd century BC, slew them. The 3rd century BC started the first day of 300 BC and ended the last day of 201 BC

Likewise, in Libya there remained a solitary oracle of Amun in the Libyan Desert at the oasis of Siwa. Ancient Libya was the region west of the Nile Valley. It corresponds to what is now generally called Northwest Africa. The Libyan Desert (24 degrees North 25 degrees East (الصحراء الليبية is an African Desert that is located in the northern and eastern part of the In Geography, an oasis (plural oases) or Cienega ( Southwestern United States) is an isolated area of vegetation in a Desert, typically The Siwa Oasis (واحة سيوة Wāḥat Sīwah, from Berber Siwa "prey bird protector of the sun god Amon-Ra Such was its reputation among the Greeks that Alexander the Great journeyed there after the battle of Issus and during his occupation of Egypt in order to be acknowledged the son of Amun. Alexander the Great ( or, Mégas Aléxandros; July 20 356 BC June 10 or June 11 323 BC also known as Alexander III of Macedon (el Ἀλέξανδρος Γ' The Battle of Issus (or more commonly The Battle at Issus) occurred in southern Anatolia, in November 333 BC. Even during this occupation, Amun, identified as a form of Zeus, continued to be the great god of Thebes throughout its decay. Zeus (zjuːs in Greek: nominative: Zeús /zdeús/ genitive: Diós; Modern Greek /'zefs/ in Greek mythology

Derived terms

Several words derive from Amun via the Greek form Ammon: ammonia and ammonite. Ammonia is a compound with the formula N[[hydrogen H3]] It is normally encountered as a Gas with a characteristic pungent Odor Ammonites are an extinct group of marine animals of the subclass Ammonoidea in the class Cephalopoda phylum The Romans called the ammonium chloride deposits they collected from near the Temple of Jupiter Amun in ancient Libya 'sal ammoniacus' (salt of Amun) because of proximity to the nearby temple. Ammonium chloride ( N[[Hydrogen H]]4 Cl) (also Sal Ammoniac, salmiac, nushadir salt, zalmiak, sal armagnac Ancient Libya was the region west of the Nile Valley. It corresponds to what is now generally called Northwest Africa. ^[1] Ammonia, as well as being the chemical, is a genus name in the foraminifera. The Foraminifera, ("Hole Bearers" or forams for short are a large group of Amoeboid Protists with reticulating Pseudopods fine Both these foraminiferans (shelled Protozoa) and ammonites (extinct shelled cephalopods) have/had spiral shells resembling a ram's, and Ammon's, horns. Protozoa (in Greek πρῶτον proton "first" and ζῷα zoia "animals" are unicellular Eukaryotes (singular The cephalopods ( Greek plural (kephalópoda "head-feet" are the Mollusc class Cephalopoda characterized by The regions of the hippocampus in the brain are called the cornu ammonis – literally "Amun's Horns", due to the horned appearance of the dark and light bands of cellular layers. The hippocampus is a part of the Forebrain, located in the medial Temporal lobe. The brain is the center of the Nervous system in animals All Vertebrates and the majority of Invertebrates have a brain The hippocampus is a part of the Forebrain, located in the medial Temporal lobe.

References

This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain. The Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition (1910–1911 is a 29-volume reference work that marked the beginning of the Encyclopædia Britannica The public domain is a range of abstract materials &ndash commonly referred to as Intellectual property &ndash which are not owned or controlled by anyone

• Adolf Erman, Handbook of Egyptian Religion (London, 1907)
• David Klotz, Adoration of the Ram: Five Hymns to Amun-Re from Hibis Temple (New Haven, 2006)
• Ed. Johann Peter Adolf Erman ( October 31, 1854 &ndash June 26, 1937) was a renowned Egyptologist and Lexicographer; born in Meyer, article "Ammon" in W. H. Roscher's Lexikon der griechischen und römischen Mythologie
• Pietschmann, articles "Ammon" and "Ammoneion" in Pauly-Wissowa, Realencyclopädie. Wilhelm Heinrich Roscher ( 12 February[[ 845]] Göttingen - 9 march[[ 923]] Dresden) was a German classical scholar The Realencyclopädie der Classischen Altertumswissenschaft, commonly called the "Pauly-Wissowa", is a German Encyclopedia of

External links

• Ancient Egypt: the Mythology - Amon
• Wiki Classical Dictionary: Ammon
• Leiden Hymns to Amun
• Leiden Hymns to Amun
• Strong's H0528 Amon in the Bible
• Karnak 3D :: Detailed 3D-reconstruction of the Great Temple of Amun at Karnak. (in Spanish) – Marc Mateos, 2007
• Tutankhamen - Amenism, Atenism and Egyptian Monotheism

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