image of the pharaoh between its front legs. Amen
stood supreme for 2,000 years in Kemet and
Nubia, and even when the deity was temporarily
superseded by another such as the case of Aton
during the 18th dynasty, Amen always returned to
his same prominence.
Power and ProminenceIn the New Kingdom, the power of Amen was
nearly absolute. Amen is paired with the sun god,
Ra, and is referred to as “a fierce red-eyed lion.”
He is called “the eldest of the gods of the eastern
sky” inThe Book of the Dead. No two priests
were ever any more important in protecting the
name of a god than two brothers, Hor and Suti,
who were the masters of the Waset temple in the
18th dynasty during the reign of Amenhotep III.
They were the architects involved in the construc-
tion of many of the buildings dedicated to Amen.
On a granite stelae now found in the British
Museum, the two brothers had written the hymn
that begins, “Amen when he rises as Harakhti.”
This added prestige to the deity Amen and thrust
him in the forefront of the Egyptian pantheon. He
is called “the king of the gods” at first in the White
Chapel of Senursert I of Dynasty XII. Furthermore,
“Amen-Ra king of the gods” nesu netjeru was a
title given to illustrate the connection between
Amen and the mightiest of the sun gods.
Many Egyptian leaders were given names that
reflected the name of Amen (e.g., Hatshepsut
Khenemet Amen, which means “united with
Amen”; Amenemhat, which means “Amen is pre-
eminent”; Amenhotep, which means “Amen is
satisfied”; and Mery Amen, which means
“Beloved of Amen”).
Hatshepsut called Amen “great in majesty” and
had written on one of the obelisk (tekenu) set up
at the Waset temple that Amen was her father.
Indeed, the office of king that she held was given
to her, she claimed, by the king of the gods, Amen,
her father.
Thutmoses III, not to be outdone by
Hatshepset Khenemet Amen, pushed the Egyptian
army deep into Asia, claiming the territory in the
name of Amen. In fact, Thutmoses wrote the
names of the vanquished kings on leather and had
those names deposited in the great temple at
Waset (Karnak) so that Amen would not forget
the king’s triumphs in the name of Amen. The gift
of Amen to Thutmoses had been nothing less than
the complete domination of the world the
Egyptians knew.
In one of the most written about battles in
ancient history, the name of Amen comes into
play again. Rameses II, the great monarch of
Egypt, is on the battlefield of Kadesh by the river
Orontes; when he finds himself in distress, he
calls out to Amen to remember his paternal
responsibilities. Rameses is surrounded by 2,500
enemy chariots. He asks Amen not to abandon
“his son.” The situation looked hopeless, and
Rameses chides the god, “Does Amen favor the
Asians? Has not Rameses given Amen the spoils
of war, chariots, monuments, endowments of
lands, cattle, and wives? Did Amen count these
gifts from previous campaigns as nothing?”
According to Rameses, the god answered him by
giving him the hand strength equal to 100,000
soldiers and the per aa cuts his way out of the
hostile enemy territory. Of course, the reinforce-
ments arrived just in time for Rameses to tell his
story for history.
Nothing illustrates the power of Amen more
than the two temples on the eastern bank of the
Nile River in the town today called Luxor, but
known in ancient times as Waset. There is the
temple of Luxor, which is Mut’s main abode, but
also a temple of Amen. Then there is Ipet-sut,
the most sacred place where they count off
places as tributes are brought. Here in a vast
enclave of spiritual grounds and religious build-
ings, the name Amen reverberated for centuries
and the people called the place “Akhet,” mean-
ing “the place where the light of dawn first
emerges” because it was a place of education
and spiritual enlightenment. Amen was active
here as the god who advises, instigates, and
fights for Egypt.Molefi Kete AsanteSee alsoGodFurther Readings
Asante, M. K. (2007).The History of Africa. London:
Routledge.
Budge, E. A. W. (1904).The Gods of the Egyptians or
Studies in Egyptian Mythology. London: Methuen.38 Amen