Through the Eras

Religionhis priesthood accordingly. Eventually, Amun, joinedwith Re to form the god Amun-Re, rose to become thestate god of Egypt, known as Amun-Re, king of the gods,lord of the thrones of the two lands. During the ThirdIntermediate Period (1075–656 B.C.E.), the priesthoodof Amun at Thebes became the virtual rulers of southernEgypt, and one of the most important priestly officeswas that of God’s Wife of Amun.SELF-BIRTHING GOD OF AIR. Egyptian artists usuallydepicted Amun as a human wearing a cap adornedwith two tall, multi-colored feathers. His skin is blue,perhaps related to Amun’s association with the wind andair. His principle cult center was at Karnak, where hewas worshipped in conjunction with his consort Mut,a goddess representing motherhood, and their sonKhonsu, whose name means “the wanderer” and representsthe moon. Amun was associated with the ram andgoose. In the Hermopolitan cosmogony, Amun is oneof the sixteen gods representing the state of the worldbefore creation. Egyptologists gave it this name becauseit is thought to have originated in Hermopolis, beforebeing transferred to Thebes. The gods of this cosmogonyform an Ogdoad, or group of eight pairs ofdeities. This group includes Nu(n) and Naunet (representingthe primeval water and formlessness), Huh andHuhet (spaciousness), Kek and Keket (darkness), andAmun and Amaunet (concealment). Another traditiondescribes how Amun, in his form of Kematef (a serpentdeity), fathers the Ogdoad. This idea of Amun beinghis own progenitor, and therefore having no creator, isalso encountered in the form of Amun Kamutef,“Amun, bull of his mother.” This epithet states thatAmun was his own father. Amun was closely associatedwith kingship. Reliefs from New Kingdom temples describea myth in which Amun falls in love with the queenof Egypt. He visits her in the guise of her current husband,the reigning king, and fathers the next king ofEgypt. When the child is born, Amun acknowledges hispaternity, and presents the child to the gods as the futureking of Egypt.SOURCESJan Assmann, Egyptian Solar Religion in the New Kingdom.Re, Amun and the Crisis of Polytheism (London: KeganPaul International, 1995).J. F. Borghouts, Ancient Egyptian Magical Texts (Leiden,Netherlands: E. J. Brill, 1978).J. Gwyn Griffiths, The Conflict of Horus and Seth (Liverpool,England: University Press, 1960).E. Otto, Egyptian Art and the Cults of Osiris and Amon(London: Thames and Hudson, 1968).Geraldine Pinch, Magic in Ancient Egypt (Austin: Universityof Texas Press, 1994).THEOLOGYDEEDS OF THE CREATOR GOD. According toEgyptian mythology, the gods were responsible for thecreation and sustaining of the world and everything in it.One question that needed to be worked out, however,was the nature of the gods’ continuing relationships withtheir creations, particularly man. In the Middle Kingdom(2008–1630 B.C.E.) text known as the Teachings forMerykare, the king’s father explains the creator god’s actionson behalf of man. After establishing order by vanquishingchaos (described as the “water monster”), thegod provides breath and light for his children. For food,he provides them with plants, cattle, fowl, and fish. Thecreator god continues to take an interest in his creation,and every day he watches them as he sails through thesky. When they are sad, he takes notice. In order to aidhis children, the god provided them with rulers to protectthe weak, and perhaps most importantly, with heka(“magic”) “to ward off the blow of events.”EVIL. But if the gods created the world, and outfittedit for the benefit of man, how is it that it containselements which are inimical to man? Here scholars encounterthe Egyptian view of theodicy, how to accountfor the presence of evil in a world created by the gods.In the Egyptian view, isfet (“evil”) was not the creationof the gods. Evil resulted from the actions of mankind.Egyptian texts contain several references to a rebellionby mankind. In the text from the time of Merykare it issaid that the creator god “slew his foes, reduced his childrenwhen they thought of making rebellion.” In a passagefrom the Middle Kingdom Coffin Texts Spell 1130,the creator god states that “I made every man like hisfellow, but I did not command that they do evil. It istheir hearts that disobey what I have said.”BOOK OF THE HEAVENLY COW. More referencesto a rebellion of mankind find mythological expressionin the New Kingdom composition known as the Bookof the Heavenly Cow. This text appeared first in the tombof Tutankhamun (1332–1322 B.C.E.), and thereafter inseveral royal tombs of the New Kingdom. The text statesthat at one time Re ruled as king over gods and men.When Re grew old, mankind began to plot against him.Re summoned the other gods to a meeting to discuss hisresponse to mankind’s actions. In the story, Nun advisesRe to send his fiery eye (Hathor) to destroy those whoplotted against him. Hathor undertakes her task with rel-220 Arts and Humanities Through the Eras: Ancient Egypt (2675 B.C.E.–332 B.C.E.)