Amun
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Amun in hieroglyphs |
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In Egyptian mythology, Amun was a very powerful god. He was often combined with Ra to form the god Amun-Ra. At one point in Egyptian history, he was called the "King of the Gods".
Amun (also spelled Amon, Amoun, Amen, and rarely Imen, Greek Αμμον Ammon, and Άμμον Hammon, Egyptian Yamanu) was the name of a deity, in Egyptian mythology, who became one of the most important deities in Ancient Egypt.
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[change] Origin of name
Amun's name is first recorded as imn. That means "The hidden (one)". Because vowels were not written in Egyptian hieroglyphics, Egyptologists have come to the result that the name must have been pronounced *Yamānu (yah-maa-nuh) originally. The name survives into the Coptic language as Amoun.
[change] Creator
Amun was shown in human form, seated on a throne, wearing on his head a plain deep circlet from which rise two straight parallel plumes, maybe meant as the tail feathers of a bird. That would remind of his earlier status as a wind god.
When Amun had become more important than Menthu, the local war god of Thebes, Menthu was called the son of Amun. However, as Mut was infertile, it was believed that she, and thus Amun, had adopted Menthu instead.
[change] References
This article includes text from the public domain 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica. Please add to the article as needed.
- David Klotz, Adoration of the Ram: Five Hymns to Amun-Re from Hibis Temple (New Haven, 2006)