Egyptian Supreme God. Also known as AMUN-RE, AMEN-RA, AMEN-RE, AMON-RA, AMON-RE, AMMON-RA, AMMON-RE
The god Amun-Ra, the supreme god of the Egyptians, as well as some of the myths related to him. Amun-Ra was fundamental for the Egyptian culture, so, knowing him, we will know better the ancient Egyptians.
Amun-Ra retained the greatest importance in the Egyptian pantheon throughout the New Kingdom. During the period from the 16th to the 11th century BC, he maintained the position of transcendental and self-created creative deity “par excellence”; he was the benefactor and caretaker of the poor or troubled and the center of personal piety. His position as King of the gods developed to the point of a virtual monotheism where other gods became manifestations of him. As the main deity of the Egyptian Empire, Amun-Ra was also worshipped outside Egypt, according to the testimony of ancient Greek historians. He was identified with Zeus, god of the Greeks. He is one of the most recorded gods of the Egyptian culture. However, Amun-Ra should never be confused with Ra.
The latter was the Egyptian god of the sun, while the former was considered “King of God”. Amun means “The Hidden One”, more or less, while “Ra” means “sun”. Amun-Ra, therefore, is the result of the amalgamation of the two deities. In short, the fusion of Amun and Ra led to a Creator Sun God that was worshipped mainly in Thebes. The deity was also often called “King of God”.
Most of the Egyptian gods and goddesses were born in the world at various points in the history of the Egyptian civilization. Many also floated in and out of popularity. Amun-Ra, however, was the supreme creator god, among the whole multitude of Egyptian divine beings, and seems to have been present in the culture and mythology of the Egyptian people virtually from the very beginning of this nation.
The secret, or hidden attribute of Amun allowed him to synchronize easily and to associate with other deities. In Thebes, Amun first identified himself with Montu, but soon replaced him as the protector of the city. His association with Re grew in importance when Amenemhet I moved the capital of Egypt to Itjtawy at the apex of the Nile Delta, where the relationship was probably both theologically and politically expedient.
However, this association with D actually grew as Thebes gained importance. Soon, Amun also identified with other gods, taking the names (among others) Amun-Re-Atum, Amun-Re-Montu, Amun-Re-Horakhty, and Min-Amun. However, it should be noted that, with all this synchronization, Amun was not absorbed to create a new god. Instead, there was a unity of divine power with these other gods.
Amun-Re became associated with the Egyptian monarchy, and theoretically, instead of threatening the power of the pharaoh, Amun-Re supported the throne. Ancient theology made of Amun-Re the physical father of the king. Therefore, the Pharaoh and Amun-Re enjoyed a symbiotic relationship, with the king deriving power from Amun-Re. In return, the king supported the temples and worship of Amun. In theory, Amun-Re could even take the form of a king to impregnate the main royal wife with the successor to the throne (first documented during Hatshepsut’s reign during the new reign).
Furthermore, according to the official theology of the state during the New Kingdom, Egypt was ruled by Amun-Re through the pharaohs, and the god revealed his will through the oracles. In fact, the god actually threatened the monarchy, as the cult of Amun-Re became so powerful that his priesthood became very large and influential, and at one point, the priests of the deity came to rule Egypt (during the 21st Dynasty).
In other occasions, Amun-Re created difficulties for the king, as in the case of Akhenaton, who sought to change the basic structure of the Egyptian religion. In this case, Amun-Re eventually proved to be more powerful than the king, for although Akhenaton desperately tried to change the nature of the Egyptian religion, by such efforts he himself became the scorn of the later pharaohs. After the reign of Akhenaton, the Egyptian religion returned almost immediately to its previous form and to the worship of Amun-Re.
Amun-Ra, was a protector of both the Egyptian state and the monarchy of Egypt. The great sun god, the father of gods and humanity. Ra is the first heavenly being who created the universe, life and order instead of chaos. Ra was the supreme creator who ruled the land of the living and the dead. He looked like a child in the morning, an adult at noon and an old man at night, wearing a crown with a solar disk.
He was the most powerful god that would protect other gods and souls from the primordial serpent “Apophis”, even when the god Amon ascended to the Power, Ra’s position was intact, and even he merged with it and became the supreme god Amun-Ra.
“Lord of the truth, Father of gods, Creator of men, Creator of all animals, Lord of things that are, Creator of the staff of life”. So the Egyptians sang the hymn of Amun-Ra, supreme god, representation of the sun and life.
Amun-Ra is a deity of the Egyptian and Berber tradition. Amun-Ra or Amun represents the essential that is hidden and Ra represents the revealed divinity. He had no parents and created himself. He was the king of the gods and one of the best known along with Osiris. His three wives are Wosret, Ammunet and Mut.
Representations of Amun-Ra:
Amun-Ra symbolized life and fertility. However, he played several roles in Egyptian mythology. His first role led him to become the patron saint of Thebes, an ancient Egyptian city. It was also the place where the ruling pharaoh resided, as well as his royal family.
It was also here that Amun united with the Sun God, Ra, and both eventually assimilated and became Amun-Ra in the 18th dynasty. He was only surpassed by Osiris as the most important gods in ancient Egypt.
To paint a picture of his supremacy, Amun-Ra was the role of the creative power responsible for all life on earth, both in heaven and in the Tuat (underworld). Finally, Amun was also considered the father of the pharaoh.
He was depicted wearing a double feathered headdress with the feathers alternating in red and blue or red and green. His clothing was a tunic or a kilt with decorated straps. He also had many names, such as Am, Amon, Amen, Amon and Hammon. If we were to compare him with the Greek version of the gods, then Zeus would be the most suitable comparison.
Actually, Amun-Ra became a god around 2040 BC. Previously, the Egyptians worshipped two different divinities: Amun and Ra. We will briefly develop the profile of each one of them separately to make it possible to better understand the enormous importance that Amun-Ra later had.
Amun was originally a god of Thebes. His name means hidden god. This was because he represented abstract concepts related to air. The Egyptians said he is everywhere, but cannot be seen. He was also the god of fertility.
Amun was represented by a man dressed in a wrap. On his head he carried a mortar, and from it two feathers came out. Sometimes he had the head of a ram. His wife was Amunet, the goddess of heaven, who had the form of a woman with the head of a snake.
Thebes was a relatively important city in ancient Egypt. But by 2040 BC, a momentous event occurs: Thebes is named the capital of Egypt. It remained the capital for more than a thousand years and, when it was no longer, it was the main religious center of the kingdom. In this way, the Theban god Amon became the god of all Egypt.
Unlike Amun, Ra was always a god of great importance. He represented the sun and, therefore, was the origin of life. Also, the first Pharaohs were considered incarnations of Ra. Ra is the sun, and when the sun rises and dies every day, Ra also was the symbol of reincarnation, of life after death.
Ra was represented as a man with the head of a hawk. On this head, he carried the solar disk. While the capital of Egypt was in Memphis, Ra was the supreme god. But in 2040 b.C., the capital moved to Thebes and there Ra met the main Theban god, Amun. From this union the god Amun-Ra was born, who will be the most important god in the most splendid times of the Egyptian empire.
By 2040 BC, the two deities had become one: Amun-Ra. This god had the characteristics of Amun and those of Ra. So, he was, like Amon, the god of the hidden, and, like Ra, he was the god of the sun and reincarnation. He was the supreme god of the Egyptians, the protector of the Pharaohs who identified themselves with him.
Ra appeared in many myths and legends, and the stories about him varied.
Finally he accepted, and Isis used the name in a magical spell to remove the poison and heal the sun god.
Also known as Khons Khensu, Khuns
Khonsu was the son of Amun and Mut, with whom he formed Theban’s triad. He was a moon god represented as a man with a hawk’s head with a crescent moon headdress crowned by the full moon disc.
Like Thoth, who was also a lunar deity, sometimes he is represented as a baboon. It was believed that Khonsu had the ability to cast out evil spirits. Ramses II sent a statue of Khonsu to a friendly Syrian king to cure his daughter of an illness. His temple was within the precincts of Karnak.
Ra had four Sons:
Nut (Heaven) – Shu – Tefnut – Geb (Earth)
The story of Amon as patron god of Thebes begins in the 20th century BC with the construction of the enclosure of Amon-Ra in Karnak under Sesostris I. The city of Thebes does not seem to have been of great importance before the 11th dynasty.
The main construction works in the Precinct of Amun-Re took place during the 17th Dynasty, when Thebes became the capital of the unified Egypt. The construction of the hypostyle hall may also have begun during the 18th Dynasty.
Other Temples: Dier el-Medina on the western bank of the Nile and Luxor.
Related Topics
Other Gods of Mythology in ALPHAPEDIA
Other Topics of Interest in ALPHAPEDIA
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