The gods of Egypt’s divine families could also be joined to one another. The most famous joined god is Amun-Ra, the king of the gods in the New Kingdom.
Amun (jmn, "the hidden one") began as a god of Thebes. When Theban kings reunited Egypt in the Middle Kingdom, Amun rose with them; several 12th Dynasty kings were named Amenemhat, "Amun is foremost". In the New Kingdom, joined with the sun god Ra as Amun-Ra, he became the great god of the state, and his temple at Karnak became the richest in Egypt.
Key idea
Gods could be joined into one: Amun-Ra joins the hidden god of Thebes with the sun god of Heliopolis. Joining added a form; it did not replace the older gods.
Why it works
Why join gods? Each god stood for a power. Amun was unseen and everywhere; Ra was the visible sun that gave life. Joined, Amun-Ra was both: hidden and shining, creator and king. Egyptian theologians often said one god "was in" another. Scholars call this syncretism. Other examples are Ra-Horakhty ("Ra, Horus of the Two Horizons"), Sobek-Ra and Ptah-Sokar-Osiris.
Worked example: Separate or joined?
A New Kingdom hymn praises Amun-Ra at Karnak, and another praises Ra at Heliopolis. Does the second show that Ra was replaced?
- Amun-Ra is a joined form.
- Ra kept his own cult and temple at Heliopolis.
- Both hymns can come from the same years.
Answer: No: Ra was still worshiped in his own right.
Worked example: A break in the story
Why were Amun’s name and images hacked out in many places during the reign of Akhenaten?
- Akhenaten put the sun disk, the Aten, above all gods.
- He closed the temples of Amun and had his name removed.
- Tutankhamun later restored Amun, whose name is part of his own.
Answer: Akhenaten’s religious change; it did not last.
Common mistake
Thinking a combined god replaced the older ones. Amun and Ra were still worshiped separately, side by side with Amun-Ra. Quick check: a joined name keeps both names, because both gods are still there.