The Egyptian texts describe him as “The king of Gods.” However, if one is to judge from the mythological tales, nothing predestined the deity to have this status. In the Old Kingdom, Amun seems to have been relatively unknown, as the only mention of his name appears in the “The Pyramid Texts,” the first inscription if which dates back to Unas, a pharaoh of the 5th Dynasty. In fact Amun’s integration into the pantheon goes back to the Middle Kingdom. He appeared in Thebes, and progressively his cult began its ascendancy. Many attributes of other divine beings were conferred upon him, and he became, at the beginning of the 18th Dynasty, a state god, universal and creative.
The origin of Amun is quite mysterious. For some, he was one of the eight primeval gods of the cosmogony at Hermopolis, known as Amun and coupled with Amaunet. For others, he was a god of air, wind and atmosphere, who came from Middle Egypt. For others he was born in Thebes, which would explain why his main shrine was in the city. But whatever Amun’s origin, it seems perfectly clear that until the Middle Kingdom, his part in the religious organization of the country was relatively small. On the other hand, after the 12th Dynasty his cult became very popular and Amun quickly became the dominant figure of the Egyptian Pantheon. As his reputation increased, the clergy decided to create a theology in complete harmony with his new personality.
The Theban cosmogony combined elements from Hermopolis, Heliopolis and Memphis, to which were added new attributes. It was told that at the beginning of the time the snake Kematef, “the one who has accomplished his time” emerged from Nun at exactly the explacement of the town of Thebes. He started the process of creation and, when his time was up, he gave bith to Irta, “the one who made the earth,” and retired into a long sleep.
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