| Amon
or Ammon (Egyptian, “hidden”), ancient Egyptian
deity, originally a local Theban god of reproductive forces, represented
as a ram. Amon, his wife, Mut (Egyptian, “the mother”), and his son, the
moon god Khon (Egyptian, “to traverse the sky”), formed the divine triad
of Thebes.
Later Amon was identified with the sun god Ra of Heliopolis,
and was known as Amon-Ra, “the father of the gods, the fashioner of men,
the creator of cattle, the lord of all being.” As a universal god he became
the god of the Egyptian nation and the empire. The power of his high priest
rivaled that of the pharaoh, provoking political problems similar to modern
church-state rivalry. The most massive temple
ever built was constructed for Amon-Ra at Karnak. Amon was worshiped in
the ancient Greek colonies of Cyrene, where he was identified with Zeus,
and in Rome,
where he was associated with Jupiter.
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