Looks: Amun has bronzed human features wearing a crown like head dress. The crown has two large parallel plumes that shoot into the sky on it. Plumes are a style of pillar. The plumes had a design on them that resembled bird feathers. On occasion he was seated majestically in an elegant thrown. He also normally appears with a whip raised above his head, in the Ithyphallic pos, similar to that of Min. He was also represented as a human with a rams head, and curled horns. At Karnak rams were religiously tended, they were thought to be living reincarnations of Amun. They also found a goose, and thought it was a reincarnation of him as well. He wore bright colored bands around his arms. Amun had a phallic like beard, and other facial hair. He was tightly wrapped in bright clothing, with a matching coif. Blue and yellow were the main colors he was shown wearing.
Significance: Amun was known as the king of the gods. He was one of the eight gods that emerged from the mouth of Thoth. He was known as a god of reproduction. He was said to be “His mother’s husband, and his own dad.” This was supposed to support the belief that he was the initiator, and sustainer of life. Amun was also known as the god of Fertility. Before Amun took human for he was the god of air. The feather pillars on his head were supposedly a symbol of this past life. After Ra’s reign, Amun was proclaimed the sun god. He was known as Amun-Ra, and then just Amun. Pictures in royal tombs, we see this Amun –Ra god enthroned in the sun’s boat. He was said to have illuminated the underworld after Ra’s rule was over. Ra was not pleased with this, and under the name Ra-Harakhte he kept his cult of followers. Amun had a giant ceremony held on the second month of every year. This event was a celebration of his power, thousands of Egyptians joined in. During the power of Amenhotep III, Ra gained some of his power back through the priests of Heliopolis. The priests were thought to have bribed the king into letting them re-proclaim the power of Ra. However, When Amenhotep’s son took over the thrown he instilled a religious reform. Aten was rote to be the only religion. The reforming Pharaoh was enraged, and changed Amenhotep (Amun is satisfied) to Akhenaton (The glory of Aten). He then abandoned Thebes in search for a new capital city. He found his destination in middle Egypt.
Family: Amun was known to have a female partner named Amaunet. Amun was a fairly promiscuous god, he never settled with a single woman. He was paired up with many gods however, some thought they were brothers. He was included in the Theban Triad, with Mut and Khons. After the rule of the New Kingdom Amun was considered the creator of all, similarly to Ra’s title. His reign was longer than most Egyptian gods, lasting for many millennia.
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