Introduction
Amun began as one of the eight Hermopolitan primordial deities, paired with Amaunet as the personification of hiddenness, but rose over the course of Egyptian history to become the supreme state god of the New Kingdom, worshipped above all at Thebes (modern Luxor).
Family
- Spouse: Mut (married)
- Children: Khonsu
From Hidden God to King of the Gods
As Amun's cult center at Thebes grew in political importance, particularly from the Middle Kingdom onward, his theology expanded to absorb and dominate much of the rest of the pantheon, most significantly merging with the sun god Ra as Amun-Ra, "king of the gods." At Thebes he formed the Theban Triad with his consort Mut and their son Khonsu. New Kingdom royal theology also cast Amun as the literal divine father of reigning pharaohs, taking the form of the king himself to visit the queen — a legitimizing myth recorded for both Hatshepsut and Amenhotep III.
Ancient Egyptian religion spanned three millennia and many regional cult centers, so parentage, roles and even gender pairings for a given deity often differ between the Heliopolitan, Hermopolitan, Memphite and Theban theological systems; the account above follows the most widely attested classical version.