THE ROLE OF AMUN
James P. Allen
I
nscriptions in Hatshepsut's mortuary temple at Deir el-Bahri
reflections of Amun himself. The god Amun-Re represented the
describe her conception as resulting from the union of her
primary exp'ression of this theology: Amun's creative force mani-
mother, Queen Ahmose, with the god Amun-Re, "[in] the
fest in the sun. Re 's life-giving power and authority were honored
incarnation [of] her husband, the Dual King Aakheperkare (Thut-
in their own right, but Amun was recognized as their ultimate
mose I),'" and record the god's decree that Hatshepsut "will exercise
source. As such, Amun-Re was "King of the Gods" and "Lord of
the function of kingship in this entire land ... rule the Two Lands
the Two Lands' Thrones."
(Egypt) and lead all the living.'" Acknowledged here as the source
Amun had first risen to prominence in the Eleventh Dynasty at
of Hatshepsut's existence and her kingship, Amun-Re was the amal-
Thebes, his primary center of worship from that time onward. His
gamation of two gods, Amun and Re, in a single deity. In
role in the Egyptian pantheon was 'closely linked to the patronage
Hatshepsut's time, this fusion of the two divinities was the dominant
of Egypt's rulers of the Middle and New Kingdoms (Eleventh-
theology of Egypt, with religious as well as political implications.
Twelfth Dynasties and Seventeenth-Eighteenth Dynasties, respec-
The god Re, whose name means "sun," was worshiped from
tively), both of which had originated at Thebes. These kings saw
the beginning of Egyptian civilization as the supreme force in the
Amun not merely as the god of their hometown but as the source
world. His chief center of worship was at Heliopolis (part of mod-
of their dynastic legitimacy. Even when they no longer resided at
ern Cairo), just to the north of Memphis, the political capital for
Thebes, they were either crowned there or, if the ceremony was
most of Egypt's history. Recognizing that the world's very exis-
held elsewhere, evidently felt the need to pay homage in Amun's
tence depends on the sun, the Egyptians saw in Re not merely one
Theban temple immediately after their coronation)
phenomenon of nature but the governing force from which all
The god's primary temple in Thebes was on the east bank of
natural phenomena derive. As such, Re was acknowledged as king
the Nile, at Karnak. Called "Of (all) places, the one that has been
of the world. In their role as rulers of the living-and thus, in
appointed," it was oriented perpendicularly to the Nile, with its
Egyptian eyes, as the supreme human power-Egypt's kings saw
sanctuary in the east. In Egyptian eyes, temples were homes' of the
both their own existence and their kingship as devolving directly
gods. Karnak served as Amun's state temple: like the king's
from Re. This descent was reflected in the title Son of Re, which
palace, it was his chief residence and site of contact with his sub-
Egypt's kings had used since the Fourth Dynasty, more than a
jects. The god also had a second Theban temple, at Luxor, two
millennium before Hatshepsut's time. Hatshepsut adopted the
miles south of Karnak, built parallel to the Nile. This was known
title as well, though in her case it was occasionally changed to
as Amun's Southern Residence and was viewed as the god's pri-
Daughter of Re, reflecting her gender.
vate enclave. On the west bank, the royal mortuary temples were
In the theology of the New Kingdom, the role of the god
also dedicated to Amun and belonged to Amun's Estate, which
Amun was that of the creator of the world. In that capacity, he was
included all the Theban temples. The mortuary temple of
thought to have existed before all else, independent of his cre-
Hatshepsut in the desert valley of Deir el-Bahri was built to face
ation. As such, Amun was unlike Re and the other Egyptian gods,
Karnak, and the valley itself was part of the region known as
who represented the elements and forces of nature. The true
Facing Its Lord.
extent of his being could not be discerned in these phenomena-a
During annual festivals the god's image was taken in proces-
quality reflected in his name, which means "hidden." Nonetheless,
sion from Karnak to the other Theban temples: to Luxor on the
the Egyptians felt Amun's presence in their daily lives. Since the
Beautiful Festival of the Residence, and to the mortuary temples
world in its entirety had been created by him, its elements and
on the west bank during the Beautiful Festival of the Valley.
forces could be seen not only as gods in their own right but also as
During the early Eighteenth Dynasty, these two celebrations were
held in September and May, respectively. The Valley Festival was
Hatshepsut's reign also witnessed the beginning of an intellec-
20)1-
tual movement centered on ~he god Amun -Re. This is manifested
its name refers to Deir el-Bahri, where his mortuary
primarily in nonroyal texts, particularly in hymns to the sun
temple was situated (like that of Hatshepsut later on). The
carved on stelae and in the tombs of Hatshepsut's officials. Such
instituted in the Eleventh Dynasty by Mentuhotep II (r.
2000 B.C,.);
Festival of the Residence is first attested in the Eighteenth
hymns were traditionally devoted to the sun as Re, Khepri (the
Dynasty and may have been initiated by Hatshepsut herself.
sun at dawn), Atum (the sun at sunset), or Harakhti (the sun as
~/
In Hatshepsut's time the temple at Luxor was little more than a
ruler of the world). Under Hatshepsut, however, they began to be
chapel for the reception of Amun's image during the Festival of
dedicated to Amun as well, as in this hymn inscribed on a statue of (
the Residence. Karnak was far grander. Begun in the Middle
one of her contemporaries:
Kingdom, it was enlarged or enhanced by most of Egypt's kings
thereafter. Hatshepsut's contributions included two obelisks, a
new sanctuary, and a series of offering chapels in front of the
Middle Kingdom sanctuary and a small shrine with two more
obelisks, facing the rising sun, behind it. Scenes and inscriptions in
her mortuary temple record the transport of two of these obelisks to
Karnak as well as the expedition she sent to Punt to procure incense
trees for her temple and that of the god. Hatshepsut also inaugurated
a second, north-south, axis at Karnak, extending toward the temple
of Luxor, by having a new pylon erected a hundred yards to the
south of the entrance to Karnak. Moreover, she added to the temple
of Amun's wife, Mut, which lay between Karnak and Luxor, and on
the west bank she had a new temple to Amun constructed at Medinet
Habu, where the god's body was believed to lie.
Although Hatshepsut had buildings for other gods erected or
enhanced throughout Egypt, her Theban constructions are by far
the grandest and most numerous of her reign. These gifts to
Amun were seen not merely as a duty but as a privilege granted by
Scribe Amenhotep says:
Oh, my lord and the gods' lord,
Amun, Lord ofthe Two Lands' Thrones,
Re-Harakhti, eldest god, who made what has been made,
unique, without equal,
perfect in sunlight, glittering in kindness,
sunlike one, lord ofappearance,
for you are air for noses
and one breathes only as you allow.'
! have come unto you that I may worship your perfection
from the time when you appear in the east ofthe sky
until the sun sets in the western mountain.
May you let me be in the following ofyour life force,
my mouth full ofthe sustenance that comes from
your offering stand.
(Dedicated) by the scribe and steward of the high priest
(of Amun), Amenhotep.5
the god himself. The dedicatory inscription on one of Hatshepsut's
Karnak obelisks expresses this view eloquently:
! have made this with a loving heart for my father, Amun, having
entered into his initiation ofthe First Occasion (i.e., having been
given knowledge ofAmun's role in the creation ofthe world) and
having experienced his impressive efficacy. ! have not been forgetful ofany project he has decreed. For My Incarnation (i.e.,
Hatshepsut herself) knows he is divine, and! have done it by his
command. He is the one who guides me. ! could not have imagined
the work without his acting: he is the one who gives the directions.
Nor have! slept because ofhis temple. ! do not stray from what
he has commanded. My heart is perceptive on behalfofmy father
and! have access to his mind's knowledge.! have not turned my
back on the town ofthe Lord to the Limit (an epithet ofAmun-Re
as the sun), but paid attention to it. For! know that Karnak is
heaven on earth, the sacred elevation of the First Occasion, the
Eye ofthe Lord to the Limit-his favorite place, which bears his
perfection and gathers his followers. 4
Such hymns represent not the incursion of Amun into the solar
cult but an expanded view of the sun as a manifestation of Amun:
as in this text, Amun and the sun god are addressed as a single
being. The texts do not generally occur on the monuments of
kings: their counterpart in the royal sphere is the solar chapels that
Hatshepsut established both in Karnak and in her own mortuary
temple at Deir el-Bahri. 6
These texts introduced into worship of the sun as a natural phenomenon aspects derived from the more abstract theology of Amun:
his status as the primordial creator, his accessibility as a personal
god, and his role as arbiter of ethical values. 7 They also stressed the
primacy of Amun over other gods, a concept that eventually led to
what Jan Assmann has called the "crisis of polytheism": the view
that all the gods could be understood not only as independent
entities but also, and ultimately, as manifestations of a single god,
Amun. This view did not reach its most profound expression until
the Nineteenth Dynasty, during the reign of Ramesses II (r. 12791213 B.C.),
but its beginnings can be traced to Hatshepsut's time.
The same sentiments undoubtedly governed all of Hatshepsut's
Hundreds of years before Hatshepsut, a similar view of divin-
construction projects for Amun, not only in Karnak but in the rest
of Thebes as well.
ity had been expressed in the Middle Kingdom composition
84
SETTING THE SCENE
known as the Instruction for King Merikare:
People, the flock ofthe god, are provided for.
He has made the sky and the earth for their heart . ..
s
He has made the heart air so that they may live
/
when they breathe.
,.
Hatshepsut, however, this personal view of divinity had gained
general currency and had become centered on the god Amun.
From royal monuments to private statues, the different manifestations of Amun's cult in the early Eighteenth Dynasty can be
They are his likenesses, who came from his body.
traced to this sense of a single, approachable god behind all the
He rises in the sky for their hearts.
phenomena of nature and human events.
He has made for them the plants, flocks, andfish
that feed them .' ..
He makes sunlight for their hearts and sails
(across the sky) to see them.
I.
The god knows every name. 8
The deity in this text is anonymous-though clearly envisioned,
at least in part, as the sun-and it is not known how widespread
such sentiments were in the Middle Kingdom. By the time of
II.
3. This sentiment is expressed in a stela of Ahmose I Cr. 1550-1525 B.C.), first
He has raised a shrine about them: when they weep
he is hearing . ..
Urkunden 4, p. 219,1.
2. Ibid., p. 221,11'9 and 14-15.
4·
5.
6.
7.
8.
king of the Eighteenth Dynasty, who was evidently crowned at a site north of
Thebes. See Wiener and J. P. Allen 1998, pp. 7, 17.
Urkunden 4, p. 363,1. 2, p. 364,1. 6.
Vandier 1958, pI. cux.
Assmann 1995, p. 102.
Ibid., p. 10.
Heick 1988, p. II,!. 10, p. 12,1. 8. Merikare was a king of the Ninth Dynasty,
about two hundred years earlier than the Instruction. The text is placed in the
mouth ofMerikare's father, as advice to his son.
Imagine you are writing an extended response on Hatsheput's religious policy.
Somewhere in the response you will include a paragraph about how the fusion of
Amun and Re into Amun-Re was strengthened during the reign of Hatpshepsut.
It will not be the most important paragraph in your response, but will be a key
indicator that you have a deeper knowledge of the topic than other students.
Write that paragraph.
Topic sentence:
Explanation:
Reference to Allen (secondary source) and a primary source (hymns to Amun).
THE ROLE OF AMUN
l
85