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<p>[QUOTE="Nvb, post: 3454796, member: 99531"]The idea of of Ammon goes back to the ancient Egyptians c. 2500 - 2000 BC and their king of the gods and creator, Amun.</p><p>The Egyptians would later fuse Amun and the sun god Ra to get Amun-Ra, and by the New Kingdom the Egyptians would come to see all their gods as different manifestations of Amun.</p><p><br /></p><p>While the earliest depictions of Amun had two plumes on his head, we do know that his symbol became the Criosphynx, or ram-headed sphynx. Amun's association with the ram may have begun when the Egyptians conquered the Kushites to the south, whose chief deity was also a wooly ram with curved horns (which itself may have originated from the Kerma culture in Nubia, whose sun god was also in the form of a ram)</p><p><br /></p><p><i>See attached, Criosphynx</i></p><p><br /></p><p>This particuarly important figure transcended many cultures and took many forms.</p><p>The Greeks would absorb Amun into their own belief system where he became known as Zeus-Ammon, and later to the Romans as Jupiter-Ammon. The ram's horns would become Ammon's central, defining feature in the classsical world.</p><p><br /></p><p><i>See attached, Bust of Ammon, circa 150-200AD, c/o The British Museum</i></p><p><br /></p><p>My most recent 2 auction wins have featured these glorious horns, and it is one of my favourite motifs in ancient numismatics.</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Egypt, Alexandria. Hadrian, Drachm circa 134-135AD (year 19)</b></p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]918384[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>Egypt, Alexandria. Dattari. Hadrian, 117-138 Drachm circa 134-135 (year 19), Æ 34.9mm</p><p>27.33g</p><p>Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust r. Rev. L ƐΝΝƐΑΚΔ Bust of Ammon r., set on basis, crowned with disc. RPC 5944. Dattari-Savio Pl. 93, 7819 (this rev. only.</p><p><i>From the Dattari collection.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><b>Celts in Eastern Europe AR Tetradrachm. Zweigarm Type. </b></p><p><b>Circa 3rd century BC</b></p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]918388[/ATTACH]</p><p>Celticised, bearded head of Zeus to right, with two 'horns of Ammon'; the neck truncation and dotted border forming volutes / Stylised rider wearing crested helmet on horseback to left, right arm outstretched; wheel and pellets before. Göbl, OTA pl. 25, 291/5 (same dies); Lanz 585 (this coin).</p><p>24mm</p><p>13.30g</p><p>12h</p><p><br /></p><p>Horns up cointalkers \m/</p><p>I hope you'll share your coins depicting this all-important chief deity[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="Nvb, post: 3454796, member: 99531"]The idea of of Ammon goes back to the ancient Egyptians c. 2500 - 2000 BC and their king of the gods and creator, Amun. The Egyptians would later fuse Amun and the sun god Ra to get Amun-Ra, and by the New Kingdom the Egyptians would come to see all their gods as different manifestations of Amun. While the earliest depictions of Amun had two plumes on his head, we do know that his symbol became the Criosphynx, or ram-headed sphynx. Amun's association with the ram may have begun when the Egyptians conquered the Kushites to the south, whose chief deity was also a wooly ram with curved horns (which itself may have originated from the Kerma culture in Nubia, whose sun god was also in the form of a ram) [I]See attached, Criosphynx[/I] This particuarly important figure transcended many cultures and took many forms. The Greeks would absorb Amun into their own belief system where he became known as Zeus-Ammon, and later to the Romans as Jupiter-Ammon. The ram's horns would become Ammon's central, defining feature in the classsical world. [I]See attached, Bust of Ammon, circa 150-200AD, c/o The British Museum[/I] My most recent 2 auction wins have featured these glorious horns, and it is one of my favourite motifs in ancient numismatics. [B]Egypt, Alexandria. Hadrian, Drachm circa 134-135AD (year 19)[/B] [ATTACH=full]918384[/ATTACH] Egypt, Alexandria. Dattari. Hadrian, 117-138 Drachm circa 134-135 (year 19), Æ 34.9mm 27.33g Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust r. Rev. L ƐΝΝƐΑΚΔ Bust of Ammon r., set on basis, crowned with disc. RPC 5944. Dattari-Savio Pl. 93, 7819 (this rev. only. [I]From the Dattari collection. [/I] [B]Celts in Eastern Europe AR Tetradrachm. Zweigarm Type. Circa 3rd century BC[/B] [ATTACH=full]918388[/ATTACH] Celticised, bearded head of Zeus to right, with two 'horns of Ammon'; the neck truncation and dotted border forming volutes / Stylised rider wearing crested helmet on horseback to left, right arm outstretched; wheel and pellets before. Göbl, OTA pl. 25, 291/5 (same dies); Lanz 585 (this coin). 24mm 13.30g 12h Horns up cointalkers \m/ I hope you'll share your coins depicting this all-important chief deity[/QUOTE]
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