Amun-Ra (January 21, February 1-11)

Amon is the sun god in ancient Egyptian mythology (“hidden”, “hidden”).
The sacred animals of Amun are the goose and the ram (both are symbols of wisdom). God was depicted as a man, sometimes with a ram's head, wearing a crown and scepter, with a solar disk and two tall feathers.









You are an excellent diplomat who knows how to act cunningly and on the sly. But, oddly enough, it’s difficult for you love relationships completely open your soul to your partner. Amon is the sun god in ancient Egyptian mythology (“hidden”, “hidden”).

The sacred animals of Amun are the goose and the ram (both are symbols of wisdom). God was depicted as a man, sometimes with a ram's head, wearing a crown and scepter, with a solar disk and two tall feathers.
The cult of Amon originated in Thebes, then spread throughout Egypt. The sky goddess Mut, the wife of Amun, and the moon god Khonsu, his son, together with him made up the Theban triad. Amon began to be called Amun-Ra during the Middle Kingdom, when the cults of two deities united and acquired a state character.
Amon later became the favorite and especially revered god of the pharaohs and was declared the head of all Egyptian gods during the reign of the Eighteenth Dynasty of the pharaohs. This god was considered the father of the pharaoh and granted him victories.
Amon was also revered as an omniscient, wise god, a heavenly intercessor, “king of all gods,” and protector of the oppressed. Amon-Ra absorbed the characters of many gods: Mina (god of reproduction and creation), Ra (god of the Sun), and the militant god Montu.
After time, Amon-Ra becomes a protector. He is already represented as a man with a ram's head. Sometimes the head remains human, but is decorated with ram horns and a solar disk. Amon-Ra was the husband of the Mother Goddess Nut.
His charges are integral and wise natures. Among other things, one of their most important qualities is sunny optimism.
Those born under the sign of Amun-Ra, as a rule, play their own leadership role in a team. Among the professions they choose only those that will allow them to demonstrate their personal talents. It is very important for them to perceive themselves above others and how they look in other people’s eyes is also important.
The desire for fame is in their blood. It is enough to praise the wards of Amon-Ra, and they will be ready to move mountains. A supernatural feature is the ability to see the future, which is why there are so many predictors among representatives of this sign.
Your character, boundless charisma and your integrity attract people. You don’t need to learn to persuade; oratorical talent is in your blood. But very often it happens that because of your popularity among colleagues, girlfriends and friends, there is absolutely no time left for your loved one.
Your allies are cheerfulness and courage. Calming people is also your gift. Everyone feels at their best when they are around you. It often happens that this can even cross boundaries, since you are not a dictator, but a leader.
You are an excellent diplomat who knows how to act cunningly and on the sly. But, oddly enough, it is difficult for you in a love relationship to fully open your soul to your partner.

Pharaohs), and then - in Thebes (XII Dynasty). At the same time, the previously uninfluential gods of these southern cities came to the fore in the religious life of the country - first the Hermontian Montu, then the Theban Amon. (See article Gods of Ancient Egypt.)

The founder of the XII (Theban) dynasty, Amenemhat I (1991 - 1962 BC) already bore a name derived from Amon. Amenemhat translated means "Amon at the head." There is no doubt that the family of Amenemhat I was especially devoted to the cult of Amun, which, in turn, owes much to this family: without its energetic support, Amon would not have been able to push aside the old local god Montu so quickly.

The religious policy of the kings of the XII dynasty made the cult of Amon national. This line was followed several centuries later, already in the era of the New Kingdom, by the XVIII dynasty and its immediate successors. The greatest temples Amun in Thebes were Karnak and Luxor.

Ancient Egyptian god Amon

The question of whether the cult of Amun originated in Thebes itself or was borrowed from another nome is the subject of fierce scholarly debate. Egyptologists Lefebure, Erman, Max Muller, Gautier believed that Amun was the Theban version of the god Mine, revered in the city of Koptos. K. Zethe in a special monograph tried to prove: the worship of Amun was “brought” to Thebes from Hermopolis. This point of view was very skillfully refuted by the English Egyptologist Wainwright, who believed that the inclusion of Amun in the Hermopolis Ogdoad (Eight Gods) was the result of theological speculation of the priests and that Amun was “exported” not from Hermopolis to Thebes, but, on the contrary, from Thebes to Hermopolis. Wainwright showed that Amun, like his Coptic prototype, the god Min, is fundamentally a god of sky and thunder.

Amun was very early compared to the Heliopolitan Ra, the supreme god and demiurge (creator of the world). Through this comparison, Amon also began to turn into the supreme cosmic deity. The found stone figurine of the 6th dynasty pharaoh Pepi I with the epithet carved on the back: “beloved of Amun-Ra, ruler of Thebes,” shows that the cult of the Theban Amun-Ra already existed at the end of the Old Kingdom era.

The Leiden papyrus No. 1350 from the 19th dynasty (13th century BC) contains a hymn to Amon, which reflects certain aspects of Theban theogony and cosmogony. Here it is stated that Amon was not created by anyone, he created himself, other gods appeared after him (IV, 9 – 11). Appearing in the form of a goose, “the great cackler,” he “began to speak in the midst of silence.” " Ennead was in your [Amon’s] members... all the gods were parts of your body.” “He [Amon] created creatures so that they could live, he showed the way for people, and their hearts live when they see him” (IV, 1 – 8).

And in another text, in papyrus Bulak No. 17, dating back to approximately the same time, we read about Amun: “You are the only one who created everything, you are the only one who created living things, from whose eyes people appeared, from whose mouth the gods came.” About Thebes in the Leiden Papyrus No. 1350 it is said that it was here, in the middle of the eternal expanse of water, that a hill of cultivable land first appeared. In Karnak, at the entrance to the famous “hypostyle hall”, there is a hieroglyphic inscription stating that Karnak is the initial microcosm and the basis of the macrocosm.

So, Amon is the creator of the gods and the whole world, and Thebes is the beginning of the world.

Amon was considered the omnipresent deity of air and wind, filling the entire visible world, giving the breath of life to all living things. This idea developed from his original cult of the sky and thunder deity. The very name “Amon” means “hidden”, “invisible” (like air and wind). In many Egyptian texts Amon is called " great soul", "the hidden soul", "the great living soul that is above all the gods." The idea of ​​Amon as a life-giving spirit may not have remained without influence on Christianity and Islam. Chapter One of the Bible books of Genesis starts like this:

1. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2. The earth was formless and empty, and dark over the abyss, and the spirit of God hovered over the water.”

These verses are very close to the main provisions of Egyptian cosmogonies.

The spread of the worship of Amun, as already noted, was associated with the rise first of the XII dynasty, and then, after Second transition period , the period of fragmentation of Egypt and the capture of its northern part by the Hyksos, - XVIII dynasty, who expelled the Hyksos and created the Egyptian Empire. Military victories were seen as a gift from the Theban god to the conquering pharaohs. The text written in the 15th century speaks about this most clearly and clearly. BC on a magnificent stele that stood at Karnak, and is now kept in the Cairo Museum. It contains a speech from the god Amun himself, addressed to his royal son, the conquering pharaoh:

“Says Amon-Ra, lord of Karnak... I give you power and victory over all foreign countries... I overthrow your enemies under your sandals... I give you the land in all its length and breadth, the inhabitants of the west and east under your rule... I am your guide , so you overtake them...", etc.

Thus, Amon-Ra is not only a demiurge, the creator of gods and people, but also the creator of the Egyptian empire, giving victories and conquests to the Egyptian king, the ruler of the pharaoh and his army.

The motives for a victorious war in the name and for the glory of Amon-Ra are heard in a wide variety of texts. The famous "Poem of Pentaur" describes the military prowess of Ramesses II in the fight against the Hittites (Battle of Kadesh). The pharaoh is surrounded by countless enemies and faces imminent death. And so he turns with a prayer to his divine father, Amon-Ra: “Should a father neglect his son? Have I ever done anything significant without you? I have not disobeyed a single command of yours. Oh, how great is the great ruler of Egypt, who allows foreigners to approach him,” etc. Having finished the prayer, Ramses II sees Amun-Ra himself next to him. “I am with you, I am your father, my hand is with you, I am [alone] more useful than hundreds of thousands of people. I am the lord of victories, lover of valor,” he says. This is followed by the words of Ramesses II - he likens himself to the god Mont (the king does not dare compare himself with “father” Amon).

At the time of Ramesses II, in the ancient Egyptian army there were four units of troops (regiments, divisions), bearing the names of four great deities: Amun, Ra, Ptah and Sutekh ( Seth).

Temple of Amun at Karnak. Video

The cult of Amon became not only state, but also deeply popular. Many requests and prayers of ordinary people addressed to Amon were found. They contain notes of suffering, a plea for help, a call to the merciful and just “king of all gods.” These texts are reminiscent of biblical psalms. Samples of prayers addressed to Amon are even contained in school copybooks, according to which future scribes studied in ancient times. Amon appears here as a defender of the oppressed and disadvantaged.

If we summarize everything that has been said about Amon (the demiurge god who created himself, all gods, people, all things and the earth itself, starting with Thebes; the father of the pharaoh, the patron and protector of his army, who subjugated the lands of foreigners to Egypt), then it will become clear that this almost universal deity.

There were several large sanctuaries of Amon in Thebes. They were also in other cities of Egypt. In Thebes, several forms of Amon were worshiped: for example, Amon of Luxor (Amanapet), in Karnak - Amon the Great. British Museum Papyrus No. 10335 names three different Theban incarnations of Amun. This can be compared with various images of the Mother of God in Russia (Kazan, Iverskaya, etc.).

Amon was depicted as a humanoid god, most often painted blue (the color of the sky), and only in his Luxor incarnation (Amanapet) did he appear, like Min of Coptos, as an ithyphallic god (with emphasized male sexual characteristics). Amun's sacred animals were the goose and the ram.

God Amon-Ra. Relief from the temple at Deir el-Medina. The ithyphallic character of Amun, as the father of all life, is emphasized

For centuries, Amun (or Amon-Ra) was the main god in Egypt, standing above all other gods. A significant part of the booty captured in victorious wars and campaigns, was brought by the king as a gift to this god, that is, it became the property of the temples. The greatness and importance of Amun was based on the political power of Thebes. When the hegemony of Thebes in Egypt ended, and the country disintegrated again in the 11th century BC, the high priests of Amon began to rule in the south, in Thebes, and the pharaohs began to rule in Lower (northern) Egypt XXI Dynasty, whose residence was Tanis.

The closest deities to Amon were considered members of the “Theban triad”: Amun’s wife is a goddess Mut and the son is the moon god Khonsou.

Mut was the goddess of Lake Asheru, just south of Karnak. She was usually depicted as a woman with the head of a kite and was often identified with Sekhmet, goddess of Memphis, then with Bastet, goddess Bubasta. Sometimes it was not she who acted as Amon’s wife, but the goddess Amaunet, mentioned together with Amon in the “Pyramid Texts” and who was part of the Hermopolitan Ogdoad with him.

In addition to the triad, the Theban Amon also had his own ennead (Nine Gods), like the Heliopolitan Ra. The Leiden hymn to Amon says: “The Ennead was part of your members... all the gods were united with your body” (IV, 1 – 8). The Theban Ennead ("Great Ennead of Karnak"), in addition to the Heliopolitan deities, included Hathor and Chorus and some deities of Armant.

Amon is the hidden god of heaven in Egyptian mythology. The ram and goose (symbols of wisdom) are sacred animals of Amon. Since the Middle Kingdom, he has been depicted in an anthropomorphic form and with shuti feathers on his headdress, borrowed from the god of fertility Min (Koptos). Amun is originally the local god of Thebes. In addition to this local cult, Amun was also considered one of the hidden deities of the Hermopolitan Ogdoad, paired with his female hypostasis (Amaunet). Mythological elaboration of the image of Amun is scarce. It was believed that his wife was Mut, although in earlier sources Useret appeared in this capacity (as for Amaunet, she was only the female incarnation of Amon and did not have her own image). The son of Amun and Mut was the moon god Khonsu. Amun, Mut and Khonsu together made up the Theban Triad. Due to his connection with Ming, the epithet "Kamutef" was attached to him.

Amun-Ra in hieroglyphs

The reign of the 18th dynasty was marked by the construction of grandiose temples to Amun at Karnak and Luxor, which reached special heights under Hatshepsut, Amenhotep III and Ramesses II.

After the failure of Pharaoh Akhenaten’s attempt to ban the veneration of Amun and introduce in its place the cult of Aten, close to monotheism, his successors, Aye and Horemheb, restored the cults of ancient deities led by Amon-Ra. As a result, the position of the Theban priests only strengthened, which led to the actual establishment of a theocracy under the last Ramessides (XX Dynasty) and the accession to the throne of Herihor, the high priest of Amun.

Amon in Kush

As a result of the Egyptian conquest of Nubia (Kush), the supreme deity of the Kushites was finally identified with Amun during the 18th Dynasty. As a result, by the 1st millennium BC. e. the cult of Amun in these former southern possessions of Egypt became even more centralized than in Upper Egypt itself, where Isis and Horus became very popular. The holy city of Amun in Nubia became its first capital, Napata.

Received its name from a shepherd who erected a temple in Libya. According to another story, Dionysus in India (that is, Ethiopia) was looking for water and did not find it, a ram came out of the sand and showed water. Then Dionysus asked Zeus to include the ram among the constellations. Where water was found, Dionysus built the temple of Zeus Amon

The oracle of Amon said that Andromeda should be given to the monster to be devoured.

It is known that the oracle of Amon, located in the oasis of Siwa in the Libyan desert, was visited by Alexander the Great, who recaptured Egypt from the Persians; the oracle called Alexander the son of “Zeus-Ammon,” which gave him confidence in his own divinity.

Rationalist interpretation

Eponyms

Some terms (eponyms) in modern languages come from the name of Amon, which came through Greek language in the form of "Ammon".

In particular, it is the name of the extinct cephalopod ammonites, the spiral shape of whose shells resembles the ram's horns with which this god was sometimes depicted.

Another example is ammonia, whose name is derived from the Latin expression sal ammoniacus(“salt of Amon”), since ammonium chloride could be obtained near the temple of Amon in the Libyan oasis of Siwa. In hot climates, urea (NH 2) 2 CO, contained in the waste products of animals (in particular, caravan camels passing through the oasis, which was an important crossing of trade routes), decomposes especially quickly. One of the decomposition products is ammonia. According to other sources, ammonia got its name from the ancient Egyptian word denoting people who worshiped the god Amon. During their rituals, they sniffed ammonia NH 4 Cl, which, when heated, evaporates ammonia.

Pierre got out of the carriage and, past the working militia, ascended the mound from which, as the doctor told him, the battlefield could be seen.
It was about eleven o'clock in the morning. The sun stood somewhat to the left and behind Pierre and brightly illuminated through the clean, rare air the huge panorama that opened up before him like an amphitheater across the rising terrain.
Up and to the left along this amphitheater, cutting it, wound the great Smolensk road, passing through a village with a white church, which lay five hundred steps in front of the mound and below it (this was Borodino). The road crossed under the village across a bridge and, through ups and downs, wound higher and higher to the village of Valuev, visible six miles away (Napoleon was now standing there). Beyond Valuev, the road disappeared into a yellowing forest on the horizon. In this birch and spruce forest, to the right of the direction of the road, the distant cross and bell tower of the Kolotsk Monastery glittered in the sun. All along this blue distance, to the right and left of the forest and the road, in different places one could see smoking fires and indefinite masses of our and enemy’s troops. To the right, along the flow of the Kolocha and Moskva rivers, the area was gorged and mountainous. Between their gorges the villages of Bezzubovo and Zakharyino could be seen in the distance. To the left, the terrain was more level, there were fields with grain, and one smoking, burnt village could be seen - Semenovskaya.
Everything that Pierre saw to the right and to the left was so vague that neither left nor Right side the field did not completely satisfy his idea. Everywhere there was not the battle that he expected to see, but fields, clearings, troops, forests, smoke from fires, villages, mounds, streams; and no matter how much Pierre tried, he could not find a position in this lively area and could not even distinguish your troops from the enemy.
“We need to ask someone who knows,” he thought and turned to the officer, who was looking with curiosity at his huge non-military figure.
“Let me ask,” Pierre turned to the officer, “what village is ahead?”
- Burdino or what? - said the officer, turning to his comrade with a question.
“Borodino,” the other answered, correcting him.
The officer, apparently pleased with the opportunity to talk, moved towards Pierre.
- Are ours there? asked Pierre.
“Yes, and the French are further away,” said the officer. - There they are, visible.
- Where? Where? asked Pierre.
- You can see it with the naked eye. Yes, here you go! “The officer pointed to the smoke visible to the left across the river, and his face showed that stern and serious expression that Pierre had seen on many faces he met.
- Oh, these are the French! And there?.. - Pierre pointed to the left at the mound, near which troops could be seen.
- These are ours.
- Oh, ours! And there?.. - Pierre pointed to another distant mound with a large tree, near a village visible in the gorge, where fires were also smoking and something was black.
“It’s him again,” said the officer. (This was the Shevardinsky redoubt.) - Yesterday it was ours, and now it’s his.
– So what is our position?
- Position? - said the officer with a smile of pleasure. “I can tell you this clearly, because I built almost all of our fortifications.” You see, our center is in Borodino, right here. “He pointed to a village with a white church in front. - There is a crossing over Kolocha. Here, you see, where the rows of mown hay still lie in the low place, here is the bridge. This is our center. Our right flank is here (he pointed sharply to the right, far into the gorge), there is the Moscow River, and there we built three very strong redoubts. Left flank... - and then the officer stopped. - You see, it’s difficult to explain to you... Yesterday our left flank was right there, in Shevardin, you see, where the oak is; and now we have carried the left wing back, now there, there - see the village and the smoke? “This is Semenovskoye, right here,” he pointed to the Raevsky mound. “But it’s unlikely there will be a battle here.” That he transferred troops here is a deception; he will probably go around to the right of Moscow. Well, no matter where it is, many will be missing tomorrow! - said the officer.
The old non-commissioned officer, who approached the officer during his story, silently awaited the end of his superior's speech; but at this point he, obviously dissatisfied with the officer’s words, interrupted him.
“You have to go for the tours,” he said sternly.
The officer seemed embarrassed, as if he realized that he could think about how many people would be missing tomorrow, but he shouldn’t talk about it.
“Well, yes, send the third company again,” the officer said hastily.
- Who are you, not a doctor?
“No, I am,” answered Pierre. And Pierre went downhill again past the militia.
- Oh, damned ones! - said the officer following him, holding his nose and running past the workers.
“There they are!.. They’re carrying, they’re coming... There they are... they’re coming in now...” suddenly voices were heard, and officers, soldiers and militiamen ran forward along the road.
A church procession rose from under the mountain from Borodino. Ahead of everyone, infantry marched orderly along the dusty road with their shakos removed and guns lowered downwards. Church singing could be heard behind the infantry.

- (ìmn, lit. “hidden”, “secret”), in Egyptian mythology the god of the sun. The center of the cult of A. Thebes, of which he was considered the patron. Sacred animal A. ram. Usually A. was depicted as a man (sometimes with the head of a ram) wearing a crown with two high... Encyclopedia of Mythology

Amon- (Ammon) (reliable, faithful (see Amen)): 1) the mayor of Samaria during the time of Ahab (1 Kings 22:26; 2 Chronicles 18:25); 2) son and heir of Judas. King Manasseh (641-640 BC). He ascended the throne at the age of 22 and reigned for only 2 years, continuing... ... Brockhaus Biblical Encyclopedia

AMON- in ancient Egyptian mythology, the patron god of Thebes gradually began to be identified with the supreme god Ra (Amon Ra) ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

Amon- ancient Egyptian god of fertility, originally local (in Thebes); later the god of light, likened to the sun god Re (or Ra) and equally revered. Hence A. = Re. Over time, A. became the main god of Egypt. The cult of A. “king of the gods” flourished in... ... Literary encyclopedia

amon- Ra Dictionary of Russian synonyms. amon noun, number of synonyms: 2 god (375) ra (4) ... Synonym dictionary

amonite- 1st name of the human family Vikopny mollusk amonite 2nd name of the human family Vibukhova rechovina…

AMON- AMON, in Egyptian mythology, the sun god, patron of the city of Thebes. Worshiped in the form of a ram... Modern encyclopedia

Amon- (m) hidden Egyptian names. Dictionary of meanings... Dictionary of personal names

Amon- the biblical name of the Egyptian main deity Osiris and the city of Thebes dedicated to his cult (Ifp. XLVI, 25; Avak. III, 8). Philologists try to find the root of this name in the Egyptian language and hieroglyphs and find various meanings for it, but... ... Encyclopedia of Brockhaus and Efron

amoniak- amoniak (barren-free gas with a pungent odor), smoridet, amia[i]k... Dictionary of synonyms of Ukrainian language

amoniac- the name of the human family... Spelling dictionary of Ukrainian language

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Originally one of the patrons of Thebes

Egyptian god Amon At first he was revered as one of the patrons of the city of Thebes, the deity of the air and the harvest. However, the period of the XII dynasty (20-18 centuries BC) he supplanted (replaced) Montu as the main patron of the city.

As the power of Thebes grew, so did the influence of Amon. The sky goddess Mut began to be considered the deity's wife.

The divine couple had one child - Khonsu, the deity of the Moon. Together they formed the Theban triad: Amun - Mut - Khonsu.

During the Middle Kingdom, the fertility deity Ming was identified with him. In this case, Amon is depicted with an erect phallus, characteristic of the images of Min.

During the era of the XVIII dynasty of the New Kingdom (16-14 centuries BC), he merged with the sun god Ra into a single deity, receiving the name Amun-Ra, which appears for the first time « Pyramid Texts » , that is, back in the days of the Old Kingdom.

King of all gods of Egypt

God Amun-Ra becomes the head of the entire Egyptian divine pantheon under the pharaohs of the New Kingdom, who were confident that it was this deity that helped them win military victories (in particular, he helped Ahmose I expel the Hyksos from Egypt) and supported them in every possible way. In it, invisibly (as follows from its very name), all deities, people and objects exist.

During this period, the image of Amun is identified and merges with the images of other divine beings: Horus, Hapi, Nuna, Ptah, Khepri, Sebek, Khnum and others. He was also revered as wise, omniscient, “king of all gods,” heavenly intercessor, protector of the oppressed, and creator of the world.

The deification of the pharaoh is inextricably linked with his cult, since the pharaoh was revered as his son in the flesh (the pharaoh is born from the marriage of the deity and the queen-mother, to whom he appears in the form of her husband).

Pharaohs sometimes bore names that included the name of their divine father - Amenemhet, Amenhotep. He provided great patronage and protection to the pharaoh.

Numerous temples were built in his honor, the most grandiose ones in Luxor and Karnak. The majestic remains of these temples still amaze the imagination. For example, Temple of Amon in Karnak covers an area of ​​260,000 square meters. meters! During the “beautiful festival of the valley” - a holiday dedicated to this deity, a statue of the deity mounted on a boat was solemnly taken out of this temple in front of a large crowd of people (the temple alone could accommodate 80,000 people!). Egyptian god Amon Ra with the help of the priests, he expressed his will on this day, predicted the future, and made decisions on complex issues.

Iconography of Amon

His sacred animal is the ram and the goose (both symbols of wisdom). In front of the temple at Karnak there is a whole alley, along which are located in a row huge statues with a lion's body, but with the head of a ram, guarding the pharaohs standing between their front paws.

He was usually depicted as a man (sometimes with the head of a ram), with a scepter and a crown, with two tall feathers and a solar disk. His flesh was often stained with lapis lazuli, which gave his body a blue color. On the one hand, such coloring emphasized his heavenly status, on the other hand, the Egyptians believed that it was precisely such expensive paint, which was brought to Egypt from afar, that was worthy of decorating such a great deity.

Each of the two feathers on the headdress is divided vertically into two sections. This duality reflects the balance of opposites characteristic of the Egyptian worldview, for example, Upper and Lower Egypt, etc. Also, each feather was divided into segments by horizontal stripes. Their number was not random. Most often, there are seven segments, since this figure is one of the most significant in the religious worldview of the ancient Egyptians.