Ammon

Ammon, a god of the ancient Egyptians, worshipped especially in Thebes (No-Ammon), and early represented as a ram with downward branching horns, the symbols of power; as a man with a ram's head; and as a complete man with two high feathers on his head, bearded, sitting on a throne, and holding in his right hand the sceptre of the gods, in his left the handled cross, the symbol of divine life. Ammon, his wife Mut ('the mother'), and his son Chensu, form the divine triad of Thebes: their worship was at its greatest height under the 18th to the 20th dynasty. The name signifies the hidden, unrevealed deity; and in Egyptian mythology he held the highest place. His undefined character may serve to explain how other deities were identified with Ammon. After the 18th dynasty we find in hieroglyphics the name Amun-Ra frequently inscribed, indicating a blending of Ammon with the sun-god Ra. Similarly, the representation of Ammon with a ram's head shows the blending of him with Kneph. From about the time of the 21st dynasty, he came to be considered the god of oracles, and as such was worshipped in Ethiopia and in the Libyan Desert. Twelve days' journey west of Memphis, in the desert was a green oasis fringed with a belt of palm trees, on which rose the temple of Ammon. Hither came pilgrims laden with costly presents; among them Alexander the Great and Cato of Utica. Alexander was hailed as the actual son of the god by the priests, quick to anticipate the wishes of the hero. The Persian conqueror Cambyses sent against the temple an expedition, which perished miserably in the sands. The worship of Ammon spread at an early period to Greece, and afterwards to Rome, where he was identified with Zeus and Jupiter.