Egyptian religious poetry

14 EGYPTIAN RELIGIOUS POETRY

Akh-en-aten. “Glory of the Sun-disc.’ A king of the late xviiith dynasty. He introduced a new type of religion and art. He was known to his contemporaries as “ that criminal”? ; modern writers call him “ the heretic King”. He moved the capital from Thebes to a place which he named Akhet-aten, ‘‘ Home of the Sun-disc’’; it is now known as Tell el Amarna.

Amen ot Amon (Gr. Ammon). “The Hidden One.” Chief god of Thebes, and from the xviiith dynasty onwards was the chief god of all Egypt. Often depicted with the head of a ram with curved horns.

Amentet. The West as the place to which the dead go.

Amon-em-hat (Gr. Amenemmes). “Amon as the Chief.” There were four kings of this name in the xiith dynasty, of whom the third was celebrated for his engineering works in the Fayum, and for building the great Labyrinth described by Herodotus and Strabo.

Amon-hotep (Gr. Amenophis). “ Amon is content.” There were four kings of this name in the xviiith dynasty, of whom the fourth changed his name to Akh-en-aten.

Amu-people. A generic name for Asiatics.

Anubis (Eg. Ynpu). The jackal-headed god of death.

Apis (Eg. Hapi). The bull-god of Memphis. He was the “Jiving soul of Osiris” and was the incarnation of the Nile.

Apophis (Eg. Aa-pep). The great serpent, the enemy of Ré, which lies in wait to attack the Sun-boat, and is foiled by various deities and all the Sun-worshippers.

Archer Tribes. There were nine Archer Tribes (also called the Nine Bows) originally, but the phrase was often used to express all the hostile tribes on the borders of Egypt.