Amon

dark diorite statue of the God Amon from ‘Ipet-Sut’ , the highly sacred Precinct of Amon-Ra at ‘Uaset’-Thebes (“Karnak”); dated to reign of King Tutankhamon (1336-1327 BCE), now in the Louvre Museum..

-HYMN TO THE GOD AMON-RA-
from the Boulaq Papyrus (XVIII Dinasty, 1552-1295 BCE)

“Praise to Amon-Ra
The Bull of On-Heliopolis, Prince of all the Gods,
The Good and Perfect God, the Beloved One,
The Giver of Life to all animated things.

Hail to You, Amon-Ra, Lord of ‘Ipet-sut’,
Prince of ‘Uaset’-Thebes of the North and of the South,
The Bull of His Mother, the First in His field,
Whose step is large,
Prince of Upper Egypt,
Lord of Kush (Nubia),
Sovereign of Punt,
The Greatest in Heaven, the Higher on Earth,
Lord of All,
The One Who is in all things, Unique among all the Gods,
The Beautiful Bull of the Ennead of the Gods,
Prince of all the Gods,
Lord of Maat, Father of the Gods,
Maker of mankind, Creator of beasts,
Lord of All, Creator of fruitful trees,
He Who makes grass to grow, Feeder of cattle,
Beautiful One in the form fashioned by Ptah,
Beautiful and darling Youth to Whom the Gods give honour,
Maker of things above and below,
Enlightener of the Two Lands,
The One Who joyously passes through the Sky
King of Upper and Lower Egypt,
Ra of the Ones whose words are Truth and Justice,
Prince of the Two Lands, Glorious in Power, Lord of Might,
Supreme Creator of the whole Earth,
The One Whose forms are greater than every God,
In Whose Beauty the Gods jubilate,
Praised in ‘Per-ur’ (“the Great House”, the most ancient Sanctuary of Upper Egypt)
Crowned in ‘Per-Neser’ (“the House of Flame”, the most ancient Sanctuary of Lower Egypt),
Whose fragrance the Gods love
When He comes from the land of Punt,
Abounding in scent when He comes back from Kush (Nubia),
Beautiful of Face when He comes from the Divine Land.
The Gods bow before Him
When They acknowledge His Majesty as Their Lord;
Lord of Terror and Fear
Greatest and Mighty,
Lord of Crowns,
Flourishing in provisions, Maker of nourishment
Glory be to You, Creator of Gods
You Who have uplifted the Sky,
You Who have stretched the Earth.

He Who is awakened in strenght, Min-Amon,
Lord of Eternity, Maker of everlastingness,
Praised, First One,
Prince of ‘Uaset’ of the North and of the South (On-Heliopolis and ‘Uaset’-Thebes),
Whose horns are strong, beautiful of face,
Lord of the High White Crown,
Your Double Plumes are lofty,
Your Tiara is one of beauty,
And Your White Crown is high.
Mehen and the Two Ladies, Nekhbet and Outo, are the ornaments of Your face,
And the Crowns of the South and North,
And the Nemes Crown,
And the ‘Hemhem’-Crown
Are Your adornments in Your Temple.
Your Face is Beautiful,
Benignily You receive the ‘Atef’ Crown,
In the Land of the South and in the Land of the North there is love for You,
You receive the Crowns of the South and the North,
The Lord of Life receives the Sceptre,
You are the Lord with the breastplate, armed with the whip.
Gracious King Who rises like the Sun crowned with the White Crown,
Lord of beams, Creator of Light,
To Whom the Gods give praises,
He Who stretches forth His arm for the ones He loves,
But Who consumes His enemies with flames,
His Eye overthrows the unrighteous-ones,
His dart strikes down the swallower of the ocean,
And causes the serpent nik to throw up what he has swallowed.

Hail to You, Ra, Lord of Maat,
Whose shrine is hidden, Lord of the Gods,
Kheper-Ra in His boat,
Whose commands the Gods accomplish,
Atum, Creator of mankind,
He Who has distinguished their nature and Who gave to them life.
He Who has distinguished the colours of the human races
He Who listens to the poor who is in distress
Gentle of heart when one praises to Him
Deliverer of the timid man from the violent,
He Who pacifies the strong and the weak,
Lord of judgment in Whose mouth there is Wisdom,
The Nile overflows because of the love for Him,
The Sweet, the Beloved,
At Whose coming mankind lives,
Opener of every eye,
Proceeding from the firmament,
His mercy created the Light,
The Gods rejoice at His Beauty
And Their hearts live when They see Him.

Oh Ra, adored in Ipet-Sut,
Great of apparitions in the House of the Benben, oh Heliopolitan,
Lord of the New-Moon,
In His honour are celebrated the sixth and the seventh days of every month,
Life, Health and Strength to You, O Sovereign and Lord of all the Gods,
Who are visible in the midst of Heaven,
Ruler of mankind,
Lord of the Ancestors of the Netherworld,
Whose name is hidden from His children
In His name of Amon.

Hail to You Who are in peace
Lord of the joy of heart,
You, O Crowned Form,
Lord of the High Plumed Crown,
Whose Plumes are exalted,
Whose tiara is beautiful,
Whose White Crown is lofty,
The Gods love to look upon You,
The Crowns of the South and of the North are established upon Your head.

Your Love pervades the Earth,
Beloved are You as You pass through the Two Lands,
As You send forth rays from Your two Beautiful Eyes.
The dead are rapturous with delight when You shine.
Your beams arise, and mankind is cheered by Your rising,
The cattle toddles in joy before Your beams when You shine in full power.
Beloved are You when You are in the Southern Sky,
And You are esteemed lovely when You are in the Northern Sky.
Your Beauties takes possession of and carry away all hearts,
And the Love for You subdues all,
Your Beautiful Form makes the hands to tremble,
All hearts are pacified at beholding You

The One maker of all things,
Creator and Maker of beings,
From Whose eyes mankind proceeded,
From Whose mouth the Gods were created,
Maker of grass for the cattle,
Maker of fruitful trees for mankind,
Causing the fishes to live in the river,
Causing the birds to fill the air,
Giving breath of life to those in the egg,
Feeding the birds that fly,
Giving food to the birds that perch,
Giving food to the creeping and the flying beings equally,
Providing food for the mice in their holes,
Feeding the flying beings living on trees.

Hail to You for all these things,
The One alone with many hands,
Lying awake while all men lie asleep,
He Who seek out the good of His creatures,
Amon the Lasting-One,
Atum-Harakhty,
‘Salutations to You’ is in all their voices,
‘Glory be to You for Your mercy upon us,
Thanks be to You while You create us’.
‘Hail to You’ say all the wild beasts,
‘Glory be to You’ says every foreign land.

From the height of Heaven, to the breadth of the Earth,
To the depths of the sea,
You are praised,
The Gods adore Your Majesty
And They exalt the Glory of Their Creator,
Jubilating before You, Their Begetter
They say:
‘Welcome in peace, oh Father of the Fathers of all the Gods,
Who raises the Heaven and Who fixes the Earth,
Maker of beings, Creator of existences,
Life, Health and Strength to You, King and Chief of the Gods,
We worship Your glory as You create us,
We praises You as You have fashioned us,
We sing Hymns to You on account of Your mercy on us.

Hail to You, Creator of all beings,
Lord of Maat, Father of the Gods,
Maker of human beings and Creator of beasts,
Lord of grains,
He Who gives life to the beasts of the desert,
Amon, Bull of the beautiful face,
Beloved in Ipet-Sut
Great of apparitions in the House of the ‘Ben-ben’,
Crowned in On-Heliopolis,
Judge of Horus and Seth in the Great Hall,
Chief of the Great Ennead of the Gods.
The One, without peer,
First One in ‘Ipet-Sut’,
He of On-Heliopolis at the head of His Ennead,
Living by Maat forever,
Dweller of the Horizon, Horus of the East,
because of the love for You, the desert yields silver, gold,
the precious lapis lazuli,
spices and incense from the land of Kush (Nubia),
and fresh myrrh for Your nostrils,
You Who come back from the land of Kush with a gladdened face,
Amon-Ra, Lord of the Thrones of the Two Lands,
Chief in ‘Ipet-Sut’,
the Sovereign on His Throne.
King alone, Unique among all the Gods,
of many names, unknown is their number,
rising in the Eastern Horizon, setting in the Western Horizon,
overthrowing His enemies (the enemies of the Gods),
dawning on His children daily and every day.
Thoth raises His eyes,
He delights Himself with His blessings,
the Gods rejoice in His beauties, which those who are in His following exalt.
Lord of the ‘Mesketet’ and of the ‘Mandjet’ Boats (the Solar Boats of the Night and of the Morning) which pass through the firmament in peace.

Your servants rejoice beholding the overthrow of the wicked, his limbs pierced with the sword, the fire devoures him, his filthy soul beaten out of his filthy body and his feet carried away, his body and his soul are annihilated:
the Gods rejoice,
the servants of the Sun-God Ra are in peace,
On-Heliopolis is full of joy,
the enemies of Atum are overthrown and ‘Uaset’-Thebes is in peace, On-Heliopolis is full of joy,
the heart of the Lady of Life is pleased at the overthrow of the enemies of Her Lord,
the Gods of ‘Kher-aha’ (modern “Cairo”) make salutations,
Those of the Hidden Chamber bow down as They see the Mighty One in His strength:
You are the Power of the Gods and the Righteousness and Truth of the Two Thebes, O Lord of ‘Ipet-Sut’, in Your name of Maker of Righteousness and Truth (Maat).

Lord of Food, Lord of Sacrifices,
the Bull of Offerings in Your name of Amon the Bull of His Mother (Amon-Kamephi),
Maker of human beings,
causing all things which are to exist
in Your name of Atum-Kheper-Ra,
the Great Falcon making each body to rejoice,
benignly making each breast to rejoice.
You are the Form of all the forms,
High Crowned Creator,
The wings of Nekhbet are spread around Him,
Outo (‘Uadjet’) is on His forehead.
The hearts of the dead go out to meet Him,
the hearts of the human beings seek Him
and Those Who are in Heaven turn to Him.
When He appears to the mortals,
He rejoices the Earth with His apparitions.
Hail to You Amon-Ra, Lord of the Thrones of the World,
Your City loves Your radiant light.

Finished well as it was found”

-HYMN TO THE GOD AMON-RA-
from the Cairo papyrus 58032
(translation from J.L. Foster, “Hymns, Prayers, and Songs”)

“The splendid God, Lord of all the Gods, Amon-Ra,
Lord of the Thrones of the Two Lands, Foremost in ‘Ipet-sut’,
splendid Soul Who came to be in the beginning,
Great God Who dwells in Truth,
Primordial God Who engendered the first Gods,
through Whom every God came to be.
Most unique of the unique, Who made all that is,
Who began the world back in the First Time.
Whose features are hidden, yet frequent His appearances,
and there is no knowing how He flowed forth.
Gloriously powerful, beloved, majestic,
mighty in His theophanies, magnificent,
powerful Being through Whose being each being came to be,
Who began becoming with none but Himself.

Who brought light to the World at the Creation,
great Solar orb Who brightens the sunbeams,
Who offers Himself so that all human beings may live,
sailing about above without being wearied.
Early riser Whose ways endure,
Aged One Who rises at dawn with the vigor of youth,
Who reaches the ends of eternity, circles about the sky,
traverses the place below to brighten the world He had created.

Amon-Ra, the God Who fashioned Himself on His own,
Who created Heaven and Earth to His desire,
eldest of the ancient ones, most eminent of the exalted ones,
greater than all the Gods,
Virile Bull with sharp horns,
at Whose Great Name the Two Lands tremble.
Eternity arrives under His power,
He Who reaches the far end of Eternity.
Great God Who began Existence,
Who seized the Two Lands through His strength.

Ram-headed Majesty in ancient guise,
with mien more pleasing than all the other Gods,
Wild Lion with glowing eye,
Lord of the raging fire against His enemies.
Ancient Nun Who revealed Himself in His own good time
to bring to life what came forth from His potter’s wheel.
Who steps across the sky, traverses the NetherWorld,
and at dawn repeats His practice of the day before.”

-HYMN OF PRAISE TO THE GOD AMON-
hieratic graffito from the tomb of Pe-Ra
(translation from “The Graffito from the Tomb of Pere” by A. H. Gardiner)

“Giving praise to Amon, prostration before Osiris Onnophri, by the ‘Uab’-priest, scribe of the divine offerings of Amon in Thebes, Pauah, born of Itefseneb. He says:
-My heart desireth to see Thee,
Thou Lord of the ‘shauab’-trees (the persea-tree), when Thy throat taketh the northwind.
Thou givest satiety without eating, Thou givest ebriety without drinking.
My heart desireth to see Thee.
My heart rejoices, O Amon, Thou champion of the man in distress.
Thou art the father of the motherless, the husband of the widow.
Agreeable it is the pronunciation of Thy name. It is like the taste of life. It is like the taste of bread to the child, a loincloth to the naked.
Thou art like the taste of …..-wood in the season of the heat.
Thou art like the flower…..with……a father of his……
Thou art like the taste of the oaths in the King’s name, the breath of freedom to a man who has been in prison.
Peaceful is ….. the man of virtue……….
Turn Thyself to us, Thou Lord of Eternity!
Thou wast here ere aught had come into existence.
Thou art here.
Thou causest me to see a darkness of Thy giving. Illumine for me, that I may see Thee.
As Thy ‘Ba’-soul endureth, and as Thy beautiful, beloved face endureth, Thou shalt come from afar, granting that this servant, the scribe Uah, may see Thee. Give to Him “Enduring is Ra, enduring is Ra!”
Verily, the worship of Thee is good, perfect, and beautiful, O Amon, Thou Lord Great to seek if only he be found.
Turn away fear. Place joy in the hearts of men.
Joyful is the man that sees Thee, O Amon. He is in festival every day.
For the ‘Ba’-soul of the ‘Uab’-priest, the scribe of the Temple of Amon Pauah, born of Itefseneb. To thy ‘Ba’! Spend a happy day in the midst of thy fellow-townsmen! His brother, the outline draughtsman, Bathay”

 

-HYMN OF KING TAHARQA TO THE GOD AMON-RA-
from the inscription of King Taharqa in the peristyle court north of the Sixth Pylon of the Great Temple of Amon-Ra at ‘Ipet-Sut’ ,  ca. 674 BCE

“This noble God, Lord of all the Gods,
Amon-Ra, Lord of the Thrones of Two Lands, He Who presides over Ipet-Sut,
the noble Ba (the soul) that rises in heaven,
Whose images are secret, Whose forms are numerous, Whose true form is unknown,
He Who made the sky, Who raised it for His Ba,
He Who has marked the Two Lands with His name,
the noble power, beloved, prestigeous,
mighty in His appearances, lord of respect,
whose manifestation is mighty,
through Whose manifestations all manifestations manifest themselves,
great solar orb that darts forth his rays,
when He gives himself, everyone lives,
He Who crosses the heaven tirelessly early in the morning,
Whose rites endure on and on,
Great Elder, the Sovereign Who lives in Maat,
Greatest of the Great, Grandest of the Grand,
the Great One Who is greater than the other Gods,
Whose might comes as far as the extent of eternity carries,
the Elder Who was first to come into existence,
He Who siezes the Two Lands by His victory,
the Cyclical Eternity, He Who passes through eternity,
Father of Fathers, Mother of Mothers,
He Who raises Himself above the Ennead,
the Oracle Who forsees what is coming before it happens,
Whose work is to assure the cyclical eternity and the infinite duration,
King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Amon-Ra, Lord of the Thrones of Two Lands,
Lord of Heaven, Earth, Water, and Mountains.

Thus He says, Your son Whom You love, the Son of Ra, Taharqa, King of Upper and Lower Egypt”

 

 

-THE ONE THOUSAND CHANTS IN HONOR OF THE GOD AMON-RA-
from the pap. Leiden I 350

VI stanza:
“Every region is in awe of You, and even those in the NetherWorld praise Your Majesty,
Your name is exalted, powerful, and mighty,
the waters of the Euphrates and the circling Ocean are in awe of You,
Hapy (the Nile-God) makes offerings to You when He arrives on Earth and among the islands in the Great Green Sea (the Mediterranean Sea),
hills and fertile lands come to You full of wonder,
and every rebel and unrighteous country is in fear of You,
the people of Punt come to You,
and the God’s Land (Punt) blossoms for love of You,
ships are brought to You, full of fragrant resins,
to make Your Temple festive with the fragrant aromas of festival,
the incense trees waft to You sweet odors and abundance of myrrh to mingle with Your breathing,
the bees make the honey for You, how pleasing is the taste of such sweetness,
there are oils and aromatic roots mixed with resins to distill the unguents which are put about Your body,
unguents for Your forehead, frankincense and perfumes for Your hair,
the cedar trees grow for You, and Your sacred boat is built,
the mountains make the stones flow down for You, to elevate the gates of Your Temple,
river-ships and ships of the open sea are out on the waters laden and headed for Your presence,
the River (the Nile) flows north and the Northwind blows toward the south, bringing offerings to Your Ka (the spirit) with everything that exists,
there is no God who is so far-reaching as You, the entire Earth is Your domain.”

X stanza:
(translation from J.L.Foster, “Hymns, Prayers, and Songs)

“Né (‘Uaset’-Thebes) is the pattern for every city,
both waters and land came from Her in the Beginning:
then sands came to underlie the fields
and form Her foundations on the heights become land,
and then faces appeared within Her
to establish each city in its true Name.
A city is named according to its purpose,
by the authority of Né (‘Uaset’-Thebes), the Eye of Ra.

Her Majesty came down as the potent and prospering Eye
to join the world through Her to the ‘Ka’ (the spirit) of the God,
at peace, alit to dwell in Asheru (the precinct of Mut at ‘Uaset’-Thebes)
in Her form of Sekhmet, the Lady of the Two Lands.
“How mighty She is”, they said about Her,
“in Her Name of ‘Uaset’, Dominion, the City which shall be!”
Prosperous in Her Name of ‘Udjat’-Eye, the Protecting One;
Divine Eye in the Solar disk before the face of Her Lord,
Shining in glory, guiding from Her high throne
in Her name of ‘Ipet-sut’, one without equal.

Each city carries Her image
to make itself great like Né (‘Uaset’-Thebes): She is the pattern.”

 

 

-Zeus-Amon (Ammon):

the God Zeus-Amon, ca. 150-200 CE, now in the British museum…

“When Alexander was conducted by the priests into the Temple and had regarded the God for a while, the one who held the position of prophet, an elderly man, came to Him and said, “Rejoice, son! Take this form of address as from the God also”.
He replied,
“I accept, father; for the future I shall be called Thy son. But tell me if Thou givest me the rule of the whole Earth.”
The priest now entered the sacred enclosure and as the bearers now lifted the God and were moved according to certain prescribed sounds of the voice, the prophet cried that of a certainty the God had granted Him His request, and Alexander spoke again,
“The last, O spirit, of my questions now answer; have I punished all those who were the murderers of my father or have some escaped me?”
The prophet shouted,
“Silence! There is no mortal who can plot against the One Who begot him(Amon is the real father of Alexander the Great).
All the murders of Philip, however, have been punished. The proof of his divine birth will resist in the greatness of his deeds; as formerly he has been undefeated, so now he will be unconquerable for all time.”
(Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica XVII, 51)