Amun facts for kids

Amun

Amun was a very important god in ancient Egyptian mythology. He was one of the eight original gods who helped create the world, known as the Ogdoad of Hermopolis. Amun was seen as the god of the air. His partner, or wife, was a goddess named Ament, also known as Amaunet.

Amun and Mut

Amun was often combined with the sun god Ra to form a super-god called Amun-Ra. At one point in Egyptian history, Amun-Ra was even called the "King of the Gods".

Amun (also spelled Amon, Amoun, Amen, or Imen) became one of the most powerful gods in Ancient Egypt. He started as a god of wind and fertility in the city of Thebes. Over time, he grew to be the most important god of all. Much of Egypt's wealth was given to his temples.

Around 2000 BCE, Thebes and the worship of Amun became very strong. This was so powerful that it even challenged the worship of the sun god, Ra. Because of this, the two gods merged into Amun-Ra. Amun-Ra was celebrated as a national god. People believed he created the universe. He was also seen as the pharaoh's personal protector and the god of war.

The Name Amun

Amun's name was first written as imn. This means "The hidden one." Ancient Egyptians did not write Vowels in their hieroglyphics. But experts believe the name lives on in the Coptic language as Amoun.

Amun as Creator

People believed Amun created himself. Then, he created everything else in the world. He was thought to be distant from the world he made. In this way, he was seen as the original, mysterious, and complete creator.

Amun was often shown as a human. He sat on a throne. On his head, he wore a simple, deep band. From this band rose two tall, straight feathers. These might have been the tail feathers of a bird. This would remind people of his earlier role as a wind god.

When Amun became more important than Menthu, the local war god of Thebes, Menthu was called Amun's son. However, it was believed that Amun and his partner Mut adopted Menthu. This was because Mut was thought to be unable to have children of her own.

Images for kids

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  Statue of Ramesses II with Amun and Mut at the Museo Egizio of Turin, Italy

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  Amon-Ra (l'esprit des quatre elements, lame du monde matérial), N372.2., Brooklyn Museum

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  Bas-relief depicting Amun as pharaoh

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  Fragment of a stela showing Amun enthroned. Mut, wearing the double crown, stands behind him. Both are receiving offerings from Ramesses I, now lost. From Egypt. The Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, London

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  Ka-mut-ef, "Bull of His Mother" as a ram-headed lion in the Avenue of Sphinxes at Karnak Temple

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  Hieroglyphs on the backpillar of Amenhotep III's statue. There are two places where Akhenaten's agents erased the name Amun, later restored on a deeper surface. The British Museum, London

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  This Third Intermediate Period amulet from the Walters Art Museum depicts Amun fused with the solar deity, Re, thereby making the supreme solar deity Amun-Re.

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  Depiction of Amun in a relief at Karnak (15th century BC)

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  Zeus-Ammon. Roman copy of a Greek original from the late 5th century BC. The Greeks of the lower Nile Delta and Cyrenaica combined features of supreme god Zeus with features of the Egyptian god Amun-Ra.

See also

In Spanish: Amón para niños