Oxford Dictionary of World Mythology

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Amun

Amun West Asia
An Egyptian ram-headed god, often shown as a bearded man wearing a cap with two tall plumes. The era of this Theban sky god's greatest ascendancy occurred in the sixteenth century BC when the Egyptians expelled the Hyksos invaders and extended the imperial frontiers into Canaan. Rivalry with Re was eliminated by the association of Amun with Re as Amon-Re, except during the reign of Akhenaton. As a dynastic guardian, Amon-Re was ‘king of the gods’, incarnate in the ruling pharaoh, and out of the tribute of Asia great temples were built for his worship at Luxor and Karnak.

Amun was looked upon as one of the creators of the universe and in prayers devotees besought his known generosity. To the Greeks he was Ammon, identified with Zeus, and famous for his oracle at Siwa in Libya. Herodotus was told by ‘the priests of Thebes that two of their priestesses had been abducted by Phoenicians, who sold one in Libya, and the other in Greece....

[The entire page is 192 words long]

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