Amun
God of Thebes, "Lord of the throne of Egypt, Master of the Apts (Karnak)", whose name Manetho read as "concealed" — "He whose name is hidden is Amen". Herodotus says "the Egyptians call Zeus 'Amon'" and explains his ram's head with a story of Heracles; Plutarch agrees that Amoun is the Egyptian Zeus; the Karnak hymns make him king and father of the gods.
Why this wins its question: Encyclopaedias give Amun's whole history from the Middle Kingdom to Alexander. This object gives what three ancient witnesses say — the Zeus equation with its sentence, the hidden name in both Greek and Egyptian words, the Karnak titles — and no more.
Key takeaways
- Both Greek witnesses make him Zeus, and Plutarch preserves Manetho's etymology 'concealed' — which the Egyptian hymn confirms: 'He whose name is hidden is Amen'.
- Herodotus's ram story is a Greek myth (Heracles) transposed onto a Theban image; the Karnak hymns give the Egyptian titles instead.
- Amen is a latecomer to the theology: Budge notes his absence from the one connected creation text.
Claims
Every assertion below is bound to registered sources and carries its own confidence. Weight them; do not treat the page as uniformly authoritative.
Herodotus: "the Egyptians call Zeus 'Amon'" (Hdt. 2.42.5). The Thebans explain their ram-headed images and their refusal to sacrifice rams by a story that Zeus, unwilling to be seen by Heracles, "show[ed] himself displaying the head and wearing the fleece of a ram"; once a year at the festival of Zeus they flay a single ram, dress the image in its fleece, and mourn and bury the ram (Hdt. 2.42.3–6).
"The priests of Zeus of Thebes" told Herodotus that two priestesses carried off by Phoenicians founded the oracles of Dodona and of Libya (Hdt. 2.54.1), and the priestesses of Dodona said a black dove "told the Libyans ... to make an oracle of Ammon; this also is sacred to Zeus" (Hdt. 2.55.3); among Egyptian oracles Herodotus lists one "of Zeus" (Hdt. 2.83.1).
Plutarch: "most people believe that Amoun is the name given to Zeus in the land of the Egyptians, a name which we, with a slight alteration, pronounce Ammon. But Manetho of Sebennytus thinks that the meaning concealed or concealment lies in this word", while Hecataeus of Abdera calls it a form of address used to the invisible supreme god (Plut. Is. 9).
The Cairo hymn hails "Amen-Ra, Lord of the throne of Egypt. Master of the Apts (Karnak) ... King of heaven, first-born son of earth", "Chief of all the gods, Lord of Truth, father of the gods, maker of men", "Power made by Ptah", and "Amen-Ka-mutef" (Budge Lit. ch. XII, Hymn to Amen-Ra).
A Leyden papyrus says "All the gods are three, Amen, Ra and Ptah, and there are none like unto them. He whose name is hidden is Amen. Ra belongeth to him as his face, and his body is Ptah"; Amen "delivereth whom he pleaseth, even from the Tuat", "heareth the petitions of him that appealeth to him", and "His wife is the earth" (Budge Lit. ch. XII).
On the Karnak stele Amen-Ra tells Thothmes III "I have given unto thee strength and conquests over all lands ... The Chiefs of all lands are grouped in a bunch within thy fist" (Budge Lit. ch. VIII); "according to the Thebans" the Creator "was Amen (Ammon)", though the connected creation text of 305 BC never mentions him (Budge Lit. ch. VI).
Questions answered
- Why did Herodotus call Amun Zeus?
- Herodotus: "the Egyptians call Zeus 'Amon'" (Hdt. 2.42.5). The Thebans explain their ram-headed images and their refusal to sacrifice rams by a story that Zeus, unwilling to be seen by Heracles, "show[ed] himself displaying the head and wearing the fleece of a ram"; once a year at the festival of Zeus they flay a single ram, dress the image in its fleece, and mourn and bury the ram (Hdt. 2.42.3–6). source
- Why does Amun have a ram's head?
- Herodotus: "the Egyptians call Zeus 'Amon'" (Hdt. 2.42.5). The Thebans explain their ram-headed images and their refusal to sacrifice rams by a story that Zeus, unwilling to be seen by Heracles, "show[ed] himself displaying the head and wearing the fleece of a ram"; once a year at the festival of Zeus they flay a single ram, dress the image in its fleece, and mourn and bury the ram (Hdt. 2.42.3–6). source
- What does the name Amun mean?
- Plutarch: "most people believe that Amoun is the name given to Zeus in the land of the Egyptians, a name which we, with a slight alteration, pronounce Ammon. But Manetho of Sebennytus thinks that the meaning concealed or concealment lies in this word", while Hecataeus of Abdera calls it a form of address used to the invisible supreme god (Plut. Is. 9). source
- What is the oracle of Ammon?
- "The priests of Zeus of Thebes" told Herodotus that two priestesses carried off by Phoenicians founded the oracles of Dodona and of Libya (Hdt. 2.54.1), and the priestesses of Dodona said a black dove "told the Libyans ... to make an oracle of Ammon; this also is sacred to Zeus" (Hdt. 2.55.3); among Egyptian oracles Herodotus lists one "of Zeus" (Hdt. 2.83.1). source
- Who are the three gods Amun, Ra and Ptah?
- A Leyden papyrus says "All the gods are three, Amen, Ra and Ptah, and there are none like unto them. He whose name is hidden is Amen. Ra belongeth to him as his face, and his body is Ptah"; Amen "delivereth whom he pleaseth, even from the Tuat", "heareth the petitions of him that appealeth to him", and "His wife is the earth" (Budge Lit. ch. XII). source