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AMMON

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Originally appearing in Volume V01, Page 861 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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AMMON , the Graecized name of an See also:

Egyptian deity, in the native See also:language Amin, connected by the priests with a See also:root meaning " conceal." He was, to begin with, the See also:local deity of See also:Thebes, when it was an unimportant See also:town on the See also:east See also:bank of the See also:river, about the region now occupied by the See also:temple of See also:Karnak. The XIth See also:dynasty sprang from a See also:family in the Hermonthite See also:nome or perhaps at Thebes itself, and adorned the temple of Karnak with statues. Amenemhe, the name of the founder of the XIIth dynasty; was compounded with that of Amun and was See also:borne by three of his successors. Several Theban See also:kings of the later See also:part and slew the priests. Ammon had yet another outburst of See also:glory. There was an See also:oracle of Ammon established for some centuries in See also:Libya, in the distant See also:oasis of See also:Siwa. Such was its reputation among the Greeks that See also:Alexander journeyed thither, after the See also:battle of Issus, and during his occupation of See also:Egypt, in See also:order to be acknowledged the son of the See also:god. The Egyptian Pharaohs of the XVIIIth dynasty had likewise been proclaimed mystically sons of this god, who, it was asserted, had impregnated the See also:queen-See also:mother; and on occasion wore the See also:ram's horns of Ammon, even as Alexander is represented with them on coins. The Egyptian See also:goose (chenalopex) is figured in the XVIIIth dynasty as sacred to Ammon; but his most frequent and celebrated incarnation was the woolly See also:sheep with curved (" Ammon") horns (as opposed to the See also:oldest native breed with See also:long See also:horizontal See also:twisted horns and hairy coat, sacred to See also:Khnum or Chnumis). It is found as representing Ammon from the See also:time of Amenophis III. onwards. As See also:king of the gods Ammon was identified by the Greeks with See also:Zeus and his See also:consort Mut with See also:Hera. Khnum was likewise identified with Zeus probably through his similarity to Ammon; his proper See also:animal having See also:early become See also:extinct, Ammon horns in course of time were attributed to this god also.

See See also:

Erman, Handbook of Egyptian See also:Religion (See also:London, 1907) ; Ed. See also:Meyer, See also:art. " Ammon " in See also:Roscher's Lexikon der griechischen and romischenMythologie; Pietschmann, arts. " Ammon," " Ammoneion" in Pauly-Wissowa, Realencyclopadie; and See also:works on Egyptian religion quoted under EGYPT, See also:section Religion. (F. LI,.

End of Article: AMMON

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