Summary
Amun-Ra was the king of the Egyptian gods: Amun, the hidden god of Thebes, joined with Ra, the ancient sun god. When Theban kings united Egypt and built an empire, their local god became the greatest in the land, and his temple at Karnak grew into the largest religious site in the ancient world. He was shown as a man with a tall double-plumed crown, sometimes with blue skin, and his sacred animals were the ram and the goose.
Amun and Ra: Two Gods Become One
- Ra was the sun god of Heliopolis, one of the oldest and greatest gods of Egypt, the creator who sailed across the sky by day and through the underworld by night. From the Old Kingdom, kings called themselves “son of Ra”.
- Amun, “the hidden one”, was a god of Thebes (modern Luxor), unseen like the wind, and mysterious even to the other gods.
When princes from Thebes reunited Egypt around 2000 BC, and again around 1550 BC, their god rose with them. By joining Amun with Ra as Amun-Ra, priests made him both the hidden power behind creation and the visible sun: the “king of the gods”.
The Family of Amun
At Thebes, Amun-Ra was worshipped with his wife Mut, a mother goddess shown with a vulture crown, and their son Khonsu, the moon god. Each had a temple at Karnak. Amun was also linked with Min, the god of fertility, and his sacred animals, the ram with curving horns and the Nile goose, appear all over Thebes, most famously in the avenue of ram-headed sphinxes at Karnak.
Karnak and the Festivals of Amun
For 2,000 years, kings added to Amun’s temple at Karnak: pylons, obelisks, courts and the Great Hypostyle Hall. At its height the temple owned vast estates, herds and fleets, and employed tens of thousands of people. Read how in the economy and trade of ancient Egypt.
- The Opet Festival: every year the statue of Amun sailed in a golden boat from Karnak to Luxor Temple, where the god renewed the king’s divine power. The procession is carved on the colonnade of Luxor Temple, and the Avenue of Sphinxes was its road.
- The Beautiful Festival of the Valley: the god crossed the Nile to visit the temples and tombs of the west bank, and families feasted at the graves of their ancestors.
Amun and the Kings
- Hatshepsut claimed to be Amun’s own daughter, and carved the story of her divine birth at Deir el-Bahari.
- Thutmose III gave Amun the riches of his campaigns.
- Akhenaten closed Amun’s temples and erased his name, until his son Tutankhamun restored him.
- The high priests of Amun became so powerful that around 1070 BC they ruled southern Egypt themselves.
8-Day Cairo, Siwa and White & Black Desert Adventure
Planning the trip itself? Start here.
View This TripThe Oracle of Amun at Siwa
Far out in the Western Desert, the oasis of Siwa held a famous oracle of Amun, consulted by the Greeks as Zeus-Ammon. In 331 BC, Alexander the Great made the long journey across the desert to ask the god about his future; ancient writers say the priests greeted him as the son of the god. The ruins of the Temple of the Oracle still stand on a rocky hill in the oasis.
Where to See Amun-Ra in Egypt
| Where | What to see |
|---|---|
| Karnak | The great temple of Amun-Ra, the ram sphinxes and the sacred lake |
| Luxor Temple | The temple of Amun’s Opet festival |
| Temple of Hatshepsut | The divine-birth reliefs and the sanctuary of Amun |
| Siwa Oasis | The Temple of the Oracle |
See Karnak and Luxor Temple with an Egyptologist on our Luxor East Bank tour, and meet the other gods in ancient Egyptian gods.
Amun-Ra: FAQ
Who is Amun-Ra?
The king of the Egyptian gods: Amun, the hidden god of Thebes, joined with Ra, the sun god.
What is the difference between Amun and Ra?
Ra was the ancient sun god of Heliopolis; Amun was the hidden god of Thebes. From the Middle Kingdom they were worshipped together as Amun-Ra.
Where is the temple of Amun-Ra?
At Karnak in Luxor, the largest religious complex of the ancient world.
What are Amun’s symbols?
A tall crown of two plumes, the ram and the goose.
Who were Amun’s wife and son?
Mut, the mother goddess, and Khonsu, the moon god: the Theban Triad.
