Amen-Ra was an amalgamation of sun gods, originating as the local sun deity, Amen, of the south Egyptian city of Thebes. Upon the ascension of the Theban Pharaohs, who notably drove the Hyksos out of Egypt around 1570 B.C., Amen was made equal to Ra and would later absorb most of Ra’s aspects as Amen-Ra (the kingship of the Gods being associated with the mid-day sun, or Ra as it is referred to in this form), thus becoming the chief of the Egyptian Pantheon. The priesthood of Amen-Ra would later become famed for its numerous political intrigues, eventually culminating in two different events, the Amarna heresy of Akhenaten (who sought to eliminate the Priesthood of Amen and replace Amen with the rival god Aten) and the later ascension of the High Priests of Amen to the throne of Egypt, the ultimate conclusion of their political scheming (albeit one which one lasted a relatively short time).
Amen’s influence also extended to the south, where he became the primary god of the Nubians who would later supply their own dynasty for Egypt. He even finds an unusual reference in the modern day where an obelisk, originally dedicated in his honor, stands in St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican, now topped with a cross.
Many of Amen’s ritual aspects, including the hymns addressed to him, are adaptations of earlier hymns to Ra, the later hymns often giving him aspects of many more gods. The following portions of text are presented for interest, especially for the cosmological elements in them.
Hymn from the Papyrus of Hu-nefer
“Homage to thee, O Amen-Ra, who dost rest upon Maat; as thou passest over the heavens every face seeth thee. Thou dost wax great as thy majesty doth advance, and thy rays shine upon all faces. Thou art unknown, and no tongue hath power to declare thy similtude; only thou thyself. Thou art One, even as he that bringeth the tena basket. Men praise thee in thy name, and they swear by thee, for thou art lord over them. Thou hearest with thine ears and thou seest with thine eyes. Millions of years have gone over the world, and I cannot tell the number of those through which thou hast passed. Thy heart hath decreed a day of happiness in thy name of ‘Traveller.’ Thou dost pass over and dost travel through untold spaces requiring millions and hundreds of thousands of years; thou passest through them in peace, and thou steerest thy way across the watery abyss to the place which thou lovest; this thou doest in one little moment of time, and then thou dost sink down and dost make an end of the hours.”
Hymn from the 20th/21st Dynasty
“Praise be to Amen-Ra, the Bull in Annu, the chief of all the gods, the beautiful god, the beloved one, the giver of the life of all warmth to all beautiful cattle. Homage to thee, O Amen-Ra, lord of the thrones of the two lands, the governor of the Apts (Thebes, north and south), thou Bull of thy mother, who art chief in thy fields, whose steps are long, who art lord of the land of the South, who art lord of the Matchau peoples, and prince of Punt, and king of heaven, and firstborn god of earth, and lord of things which exist, and stablisher of creation, yea, stablisher of all creation. Thou art One among the gods by reason of his seasons. Thou art the beautiful Bull of the company of the gods, thou art the chief of all the gods, thou art the lord of Maat, and the father of the gods, and the creator of men and women, and the maker of animals, and the lord of things which exist, and the producer of the staff of life (i.e. wheat and barley), and the maker of the herb of the field which giveth life unto cattle. Thou art the beautiful Sekhem who was made by Ptah, and the beautiful Child who art beloved. The gods acclaim thee, O thou who art the maker of things which are below and of things which are above. Thou illuminest the two lands, and thou sailest over the sky in peace, O king of the South and North, Ra, whose word hath unfailing effect, who art over the two lands, thou mighty one of two-fold strength, thou lord of terror, thou Being above who makest the earth according to thine own designs. Thy devices are greater and more numerous than those of any other god. The gods rejoice in thy beauties, and they ascribe praise upon thee in the great double house, and at thy risings in the double house of flame. The gods love the smell of thee when thou comest from Punt (the spice land), thou eldest born of the dew, who comest from the land of the Matchau people, thou Beautiful Face, who comest from the Divine Land (Neter-ta). The gods tremble at thy feet when they recognize thy majesty as their lord, thou lord who art-feared, thou Being of whom awe is great, thou Being whose souls are mighty, who hast possession of crowns, who dost make offerings to be abundant, and who dost make divine food.
Adorations be to thee, O thou creator of the gods, who hast stretched out the heavens and made solid the earth. Thou art the untiring watcher, O Amsu-Amen, the lord of eternity, and maker of everlastingness, and to thee adorations are paid as the Governor of the Apts. Thou hast two horns which endure, and thine aspects are beautiful, and thou art the lord of the ureret crown, and thy double plumes are lofty, thy tiara is one of beauty, and thy White Crown is lofty. The goddess Mehen, and the Uatcheti goddesses (Nekhebet and Uatchet), are about thy face, and the crowns of the South and North, and the Nemmes crown, and the helmet crown are thy adornments in thy temple. Thy face is beautiful and thou receivest the Atef crown, and thou art beloved of the South and the North; thou receivest the crowns of the South and the North, and thou receivest the amesu sceptre, and thou art the lord of the makes sceptre, and of the whip. Thou art the beautiful Prince, who risest like the sun with the White Crown, and thou art the lord of radiant light and the creator of brilliant rays. The gods ascribe praises unto thee, and he who loveth thee stretcheth out his two hands to thee. Thy flame maketh thine enemies to fall, and thine Eye overthroweth the Sebau fiends, and it driveth its spear through the sky into the serpent-fiend Nak and maketh it to vomit that which it hath swallowed.
Homage to thee, O Ra, thou lord of Maat, whose shrine is hidden, thou lord of the gods; thou art Khepera in thy boat, and when thou didst speak the word the gods sprang into being. Thou art Temu, who didst create beings endowed with reason; thou makest the colour of the skin of one race to be different from that of another, but, however many may be the varieties of mankind, it is thou that makest them live. Thou hearest the prayer of him that is oppressed, thou art kind of heart unto him that calleth upon thee, thou deliverest him that is afraid from him that is violent of heart, and thou judgest between the strong and the weak. Thou art the lord of intelligence, and knowledge is that which proceedeth from thy mouth. The Nile cometh at thy will, and thou art the greatly beloved lord of the palm tree who makest mortals to live. Thou makest every work to proceed, thou workest in the sky, and thou makest to come into being the beauties of the daylight; the gods rejoice in thy beauties, and their hearts live when they see thee. Hail, Ra, who art adored in the Apts, thou mighty one who risest in the shrine: O Ani, thou lord of the festival of the new moon, who makest the six days’ festival and the festival of the last quarter of the moon. Hail, Prince, life, health, and strength, thou lord of all the gods, whose appearances are in the horizon, thou Governor of the ancestors of Aukert (the underworld), thy name is hidden from thy children in thy name ‘Amen.’
Hail to thee, O thou who art in peace, thou lord of joy of heart, thou crowned form, tho lord of ureret crown, whose plumes are exalted, whose tiara is beautiful, whose White Crown is lofty, the gods love to look upon thee; the crowns of the South and North are established upon thy brow. Beloved art thou as thou passest through the two lands, as thou sendest forth rays from thy two beautiful eyes. The dead are repturous with delight when thou shinest. The cattle become languid when thou shinest in full strength; beloved art thou when thou art in the southern sky, and thou art esteemed lovely when thou art in the northern sky. Thy beauties take possession of and carry away all hearts, and love for thee maketh all arms to relax, thou beautiful form maketh the hands to tremble, and all hearts melt at the sight of thee.
Hail, thou form who art one, thou creator of all things; hail, thou Only One, thou maker of things which exist. Men came forth from thy two eyes, and the gods sprang into being as the issue of thy mouth. Thou makest the green herbs whereby cattle live, and the staff of life for the use of man. Thou makest the fish to live in the rivers, and the feathered fowl in the sky; thou givest the breath of life to that which is in the egg, thou makest birds of every kind to live, and likewise the reptiles that creep and fly; thou causest the rats to live in their holes, and the birds that are on every green tree. Hail to thee, O thou who hast made all these things, thou Only One; thy might hath many forms. Thou watchest all men as they sleep, and thou seekest the good of thy brute creation. Hail, Amen, who dost establish all things, and who art Atmu and Harmachis, all people adore thee, saying, ‘Praise be to thee because of thy resting among us; homage to thee because thou hast created us.’ All creatures say, ‘Hail to thee’! And all lands praise thee; from the height of the sky, to the breadth of the earth, and to the depths of the sea thou art praised. The gods bow down before thy majesty to exalt the Will of their Creator; they rejoice when they meet their begetter, and say to thee, ‘Come in peace, O father of the fathers of all the gods, who hast spread out the sky, and hast founded the earth, maker of things which are, creator of things which exist, thou Prince (life, health, and strength), thou Governor of the gods. We adore thy Will (or, souls) for thou hast made us; thou hast made us and hast given us birth.’
Hail to thee, maker of all things, lord of Maat, father of the gods, maker of men, creator of animals, lord of grain, who makest to live the cattle on the hills. Hail, Amen, bull, beautiful of face, beloved in the Apts, mighty of rising in the shrine, who art double crowned in Heliopolis; thou art the judge of Horus and Set in the Great Hall. Thou art the head of the company of the gods, Only One, who hast no second, thou governor of the Apt, Ani at the head of the company of the gods, living in Maat daily, thou Horus of the East of the double horizon. Thou hast created the mountain, and the silver and real lapis-lazuli at thy will. Incense and fresh anti are prepared for thy nostrils, O beautiful Face, who comest forth from the land of the Matchau, Amen-Ra, lord of the thrones of the two lands, at the head of the Apts, Ani, the chief of thy shrine. Thou king who art One among the gods, thy names are manifold, and how many they are is unknown; thou shinest in the eastern and western horizons, and overthrowest thy enemies at thy birth daily. Thoth exalteth thy two eyes, and maketh thee to set in splendour; the gods rejoice in thy beauties which those who are in thy following exalt. Thou art the lord of the Sektet Boat and of the Atet Boat, which travel over the sky for thee in peace. Thy sailors rejoice when they see Nak overthrown, and his limbs stabbed with the knife, and the fire devouring, and his limbs stabbed with the knife, and the fire devouring him, and his filthy soul beaten out of his filthy body, and his feet carried away. The gods rejoice, Ra is content, and Annu (Heliopolis) is glad because the enemies of Atmu are overthrown, and the heart of Nebt-Ankh (Isis) is happy because the enemies of her lord are overthrown. The gods of Kher-aha rejoice, and those who dwell in the shrine are making obeisance when they see thee mighty in thy strength. Thou art the Sekhem (i.e, Power) of the gods, and Maat of the Apts in thy name of ‘Maker of Maat.’ Thou art the lord of tchfae food, the Bull of offerings in thy name, ‘Amen, Bull of his mother.’ Thou art the fashioner of mortals, the creator, the maker of all things which are in thy name of Temu-Khepera. Thou art the Great Hawk which gladdeneth the body; the Beautiful Face which gladdeneth the breast. Thou art the Form of many forms, with a lofty crown; the Uatcheti goddesses (Nekhebet and Uatchet) fly before his face. The hearts of the dead go out to meet him, and the denizens of heaven turn to him; his appearances rejoice the two lands. Homage to thee, Amen-Ra, lord of the throne of the two lands; thy city loveth thy radiant light.”
Introductory Supplication to Amen-Ra from the Papyrus of Nesi-Kehnsu (21st Dynasty)
“This holy god, the lord of all the gods, Amen-Ra, the lord of the thrones of the two lands, the governors of Apt; the holy soul who came into being in the beginning; the great god who liveth by Maat; the first divine matter which gave birth unto subsequent divine matter! The being through whom every god hath existence; the One One who hath made everything which hath come into existence since primeval times when the world was created; the being whose births are hidden, whose evolutions are manifold, and whose growths are unknown; the holy Form, beloved, terrible, and mighty in his risings; the lord of wealth, the power, Khepera who createth every evolution of his existence, except whom at the beginning none other existed; who at the dawn in the primeval time was Atennu, the prince of rays and beams of light; who having made himself to be seen, caused all men to live; who saileth over the celestial regions and faileth not, for at dawn on the morrow his ordinances are made permanent; who though an old man shineth in the form of one that is young, and having brought the uttermost parts of eternity goeth round about the celestial regions and journeyeth through the Tuat to illumine the two lands which he hath created; the God who acted as God, who moulded himself, who made the heavens and the earth by his will (or heart); the greatest of the great, the mightiest of the mighty, the prince who is mightier than the gods, the young Bull with sharp horns, the protector of the two lands in his mighty name of ‘The everlasting one who cometh and hath his might, who bringeth the remotest limit of eternity,’ the god-prince who hath been prince from the time that he came into being.
He is the conqueror of the two lands by reason of his might, the terrible one of the double divine face, the divine aged one, the divine form who dwelleth in the forms of all the gods, the Lion-god with awesome eye, the sovereign who casteth forth the two Eyes, the lord of flame which goeth against his enemies; the god Nu, the prince who advanceth at his hour to vivify that which cometh forth upon his potter’s wheel, the disk of the Moon-god who openeth a way both in heaven and upon earth for the beautiful form; the beneficent god, who is untiring, and who is vigorous of heart both in rising and in setting, from whose divine eyes come forth men and women; at whose utterance the gods come into being, and food is created, and tchefau food is made, and all things which are come into being; the traverser of eternity, the old man who maketh himself young, with myriads of pairs of eyes and numberless pairs of ears, whose light is the guide of the gods of millions of years; the lord of life, who giveth unto whom he pleaseth the circuit of the earth along with the abode of his divine face, who setteth out upon his journey and suffereth no mishap by the way, whose work none can destroy; the lord of delight, whose name is sweet and beloved.
At dawn mankind make supplications unto him the Mighty one of victory, the Mighty one of twofold strength, the possessor of fear, the young Bull who maketh an end of the hostile ones, the Mighty one who doeth battle with his foes, through whose divine plans the earth came into being; the Soul who giveth light from his two Utchats (Eyes); the god Baiti who created the divine transformations; the holy one who is unknown; the king who maketh kings to rule, and who girdeth up the earth in its courses, and to whose souls the gods and the goddesses pay homage by reason of the might of his terror; since he hath gone before that which followeth endureth; the creator of the world by his secret counsels; the god Kepera who is unknown and who is more hidden than the other gods, whose vicar is the divine Disk; the unknown one who hideth himself from that which cometh forth from him; he is the flame which sendeth forth rays of light with mighty splendour, but though he can be seen in form and observation can be made of him at his appearance yet he cannot be understood, and at dawn mankind make supplication unto him; his risings are of crystal among the company of the gods, and he is the beloved object of every god; the god Nu cometh forward with the north wind in this god who is hidden; who maketh decrees for millions of double millions of years, whose ordinances are fixed and are not destroyed, whose utterances are gracious, and whose statutes fail not in his appointed time; who giveth duration of life and doubleth the years of those unto whom he hath a favour; who graciously protecteth him whom he hath set in his heart; who hath found eternity and everlastingness, the king of the South and of the north, Amen-Ra, the king of the gods, the lord of heaven and of earth, and of the deep, and of the two mountains in whose form the earth began to exist, he the mighty one, who is more distinguished than all the gods of the first and foremost company.”
Source:
The Gods of the Egyptians, Volume 2, E.A. Wallis Budge, 1904, Chapter 1
Kotharian Lightning 