Amun

God whose name means 'the hidden one'. He was probably originally a god of the air, and despite his much more important position later, that is what he basically remained. Air is one of life's primary necessities and texts from the New Kingdom thus call him 'Lord of the Breath of Life'. The god first appears during the Middle Kingdom in Thebes, where he quickly superceded the god Montu. Although a number of kings of the 11th Dynasty were still called Mentuhetep (Montu is satisfied), by the 12th Dynasty Amenemhat ('Amun goes in front') had become a popular king's name. In Thebes, Amun formed a triad with Mut and Khons. As this city grew in political importance, so too did the position of Amun. As the god of the capital city he became the king of the gods (in Egyptian Imen-Ra nesut netjeru, later rendered Amonrasonther). From an early stage, Amun formed links with important gods from other places, such as Re, the god of Heliopolis, thus forming Amun-Re and appearing as such in many texts and representations. There were also links with Ptah of Memphis. Hymns from the New Kingdom praise the trio Amun, Re and Ptah: 'Three are all the gods, Amun, Re and Ptah, their equal does not exist'. At the end of the Ramesside Period, when the power of the king was waning, a divine state was created in Thebes with Amun at its head. Numerous decrees to do with life and death, people and gods were issued by him. Only once, and then for a very short time, was Amun deprived of his power - by Amenhotep IV / Akhenaten, who introduced the cult of the Aten and persecuted all other gods, particularly Amun. The god Amun is also known as a member of theOgdoad of Hermopolis. Together with his female counterpart, Amaunet (who occasionally takes over the role of Amun's consort in Thebes from Mut), he represents the primeval element of what is hidden in darkness. Once Amun had been 'introduced' in Thebes, priestly speculations created a leading position for Amun within the Ogdoad, which quickly resulted in Amun being regarded as the chief god of the eight; the eight were explained as the shape that Amun had assumed. Thus Amun was the begetter of the Ogdoad of which he was himself a part, a typically Egyptian 'aspective' way of looking at things. Amun is usually depicted as a man with a headdress with two tall feathers and a ribbon hanging down his back. His skin is often coloured blue. In as far as he is linked with the god Min, who wears the same headdress, Amun is depicted ithyphallically, with a flagellum suspended over his raised arm. The animals sacred to Amun were the ram and the goose

Amulet

An object designed to protect the wearer against disaster or to give him certain powers or help. Both the living and the dead could benefit from amulets, and it is often not possible to differentiate between these two target groups. The living usually wore amulets on a cord around the neck, as is shown in representations in tombs and on statues. The dead had amulets on their bodies or wrapped into the mummybandages. Signs of wear indicate that the amulets in question had already been used during life. Amulets acquired their magico-religious power by having a certain spell recited over them (numerous spells in the Book of the Dead are examples of this) but also from the material they were made of and the colours used. Faience, a shiny material and a symbol of regeneration, was a favourite material for amulets, particularly in the Late Period. A papyrus dating from the Roman Period contains a list of the materials to be used (plants and minerals) and their respective effects. Colour also offered a wide range of possibilities. Green, the colour of vegetation and regeneration, was frequently used, as was red, the colour of the sun above the horizon and of blood, but also of the enemy. The shape of the amulet also gave it power and many different shapes are known. Figures of gods were very popular. Bes and Taweret occur regularly, and in the Late Period many other gods appear as well. In addition, animals, usually with a divine significance, were important. Perhaps the most popular was the udjat-eye, but other body parts are also known. In a funerary context, the heart amulet, closely connected with the heart scarab, was popular. Crowns, jewels and objects of daily use have also been frequently found, as well as symbols such as the djed-pillar. Besides actual amulets, the dead were often given lists of sometimes as many as 75 different amulets. Depictions of amulets on papyrus, satisfactory substitutes for the original amulets, are also worth mentioning. Finally, the living are also known to have licked or eaten the drawing of an amulet on papyrus or a limb, thus imbibing its magical power

Amsterdam

In the Hague in the beginning of this century the private collection of the Banker Mr. C.W. Lunsingh Scheurleer was exhibited at the Museum Scheurleer. During the 1920's the Banker was alos able to buy a great part of the Von Bissing collection. Scheurleer contributed to the costs of excavations carried out by W.M.F. Petrie and thus acquired many objects through division after excavation. Unfortunately, in 1932 the bank Scheurleer had some problems and went bankrupt. In order to keep the collection in The Netherlands the Allard Pierson Foundation was established. The City of Amsterdam placed a school in the Sarphatistreer at the disposal of the Foundation and in 1943 the Allard Pierson Archaeological Museum of Amsterdam University was inaugurated. During the course of the years the Museum has expanded it's collection through gifts, purchase and permanent loans, like the Van Leer and Boeke-Cadbury collections and also the Dobborshabti collection. Due to the lack of space Amsterdam University bought the old building of the 'Nederlandse Bank' for the Museum and in 1976 the Allard Pierson relocated and opened.

The main focus of the Egyptian collection are the Pre- and Early Dynastic Period, the Amarna period, the Graeco-Roman period and Coptic Textiles.

Apart from the Egyptian Collection the Allard Pierson Museum owns objects from Greece, Rome, Etruria, Crete/Mycene, Cyprus and Western Asia

Amset

One of the four Sons of Horus, to whose particular protection the liver was entrusted once it had been removed from the body during mummification. He himself was protected or helped by the goddess Isis. The god was closely connected with the south. On sarcophagi from the Middle Kingdom on he is usually shown on the eastern side of the head end. Amset is the only one of theSons of Horus always depicted with a human head. The canopic jar in question thus also had a human-headed lid. Because the other Sons of Horus could also be depicted with human heads, it is not always immediately obvious if an anonymous depiction or canopic lid is of Amset. It has sometimes been assumed that the god was originally a goddess. This is not only indicated by the name, but also by the colour of the skin with which the god is usually depicted. A few representations are known from the Late Period showing the god as a woman

Ammut

Once a person arrived in theunderworld after death, he had to defend his deeds before a tribunal of gods with Osiris as the chairman. In the presence of Thothand Anubis, the heart of the deceased was weighed in a scale against Maat, the goddess of truth. If the judgement turned out to be negative, despite all precautions such as a negative confession or an adjuration to the heart not to testify against the deceased, then he fell victim to an animal standing guard by the weighing scales, called Ammut. This name means 'she who swallows the dead'. In later times in particular, it was believed that instead of swallowing the deceased or his heart, Ammut would punish him with a knife; other versions turn the animal into a fire-spitting being. Ammut is often depicted in the vignette accompanying the relevant text from the Book of the Dead (Spell 125). In some papyri, a notation explains that she is a composite being with the head of a crocodile, the body of a lion and the back end of a hippopotamus, and this is how most vignettes depict her

Amethyst

Transparent variety of quartzitecoloured by a manganese compound. Throughout Egyptian history, from the 1st Dynasty down to Roman times, amethyst was used to make beads and jewellery, amulets and scarabs. During the Middle Kingdom, amethyst was mined in the Wadi el-Hudi, twenty or thirty kilometers southeast of Aswan, where many quarries have been found with inscriptions from the expeditions. There were various other quarries, however, such as in the western desert about sixty kilometers north of Abu Simbel

Amenhotep IV

King of the 18th Dynasty ('c.'1351 - 1334 BC), the son of Amenhotep III and Queen Tiy. He was the husband of the famous queenNefertiti. Amenhotep decided early in his reign to break with existing religious beliefs. He concentrated entirely on worshipping only onegod (who had been worshipped before), called Aten, who was embodied in the visible sun disk. The existence of all other gods was denied by Amenhotep IV, and eventually these gods were persecuted by him. All over Egypt depictions and texts mentioning them were hacked out. Even the plural form 'gods' was not permitted. As a result of these actions, Amenhotep is often called the heretic king. During his reign, Amenhotep changed his name to Akhenaten ('He who acts beneficently for Aten') and moved his residence from Thebes to a place previously uninhabited, which he called Akhetaten ('horizon of Aten'). This city is now known as El-`Amarna, which has given its name to the entire period and its art. The art - and in this aspect, too, the period was revolutionary - is characterized by exageration of the forms of the human body

Amenhotep III

King of the 18th Dynasty, son of Tuthmosis IV, husband of QueenTiy and father of Amenhotep IV, who later became Akhenaten. Whether he was also the father ofTutankhamun is still disputed. His reign is mainly characterised by peace with the surrounding countries, although vassals in parts of the Egyptian empire in Asia continued to fight among themselves necessitating occasional forays by Amenhotep III. In general, the impression is that Amenhotep was not particularly interested in military affairs and only wanted to preserve the situation created by his predecessors. Within Egypt it was also occasionally unsettled, mainly because the steadily increasing dichotomy between the king on the one hand and the high officials and priests on the other. The king ruled for a long time; he celebrated Sed festivals in his 30th, 34th and 37th regnal years. Amenhotep chose the Aten as his personalgod, as is shown by various sources, but continued to worship the other gods as well. He thus prepared the way for the religious revolution of his son Amenhotep IV/Akhenaten. Under Amenhotep III, Egyptian art attained previously unknown quality. Massive construction works were begun, such as in the temple of Luxor, the Third Pylon in the temple of Karnak, a temple inNubia, and the king's mortuary temple on the west bank at Thebes, of which no more survives than two colossal statues of the king, now known as the Colossi of Memnon

Amenhotep II

The 7th king of the 18th Dynasty, co-regent and successor of Thutmosis III. His mother wasQueen Meritre-Hatshepsut. Amenhotep II was born inMemphis and received a military education. He ruled for more than 25 years, building on the military successes of his father and leading three campaigns to Syria. In the region around Kadesh, Amenhotep is supposed to have killed seven rulers with his own hands, and on his return to have hung their bodies from the walls of Thebes and Napata. This bears witness to the 'he-man' image of this king, who had a distinct preference for being depicted in bellicose situations. However, it is also possible that this was the result of a new royal ideology. It was quiet in Nubia; he installed Wesersatet as the viceroy of Kush. His building activities are mostly visible in the temples and shrines near Thebes and in Nubia. Amenhotep II is buried in tomb KV35 in the Valley of the Kings. Not only Amenhotep's mummy was found in this tomb, but also those of eight other kings, three women and a young boy. These mummies were all brought to Amenhotep's tomb on the orders of the high priest of Thebes, Pinedjem I (21st Dynasty), to protect them from tomb robbers. The decoration in his tomb, although incomplete, includes a complete version of the Amduat

Amenhotep I

Second king of the 18th Dynasty, the son of Ahmose I and Ahmose-Nefertari. It is assumed that he was very young when he acceded to the throne, and his mother probably functioned as regent for a time. Amenhotep continued the policies of his predecessor. He wanted to restore peace in Egypt and worked on rebuilding it. In addition, he penetrated further than Ahmose into Nubia and conquered that land, turning it into Egypt's most important source of gold. The famous medical papyrus Ebers was written during his reign. This contains a precise Sothic date, an important aid in establishing an absolute chronology. Amenhotep I and his mother are credited with the foundation of the workmen's village Deir el-Medinah. This is probably why he quickly became a protective deity of the Theban necropolis, and of Deir el-Medinah in particular, after his death. Together with his mother Ahmose-Nefertari, he had a mortuary temple on the west bank at Thebes. Amenhotep was particularly revered by the workmen of Deir el-Medinah. Stelae and texts on ostraca and papyrus indicate that a statue of the king was consulted as anoracle during processions. Once a year for four days, a great festival for Amenhotep was celebrated in the month Pamenoth, which bore the king's name (Pamenoth means 'the (month) of Amenhotep'). In connection with his role as the god of the necropolis, Amenhotep is often depicted on the inside of sarcophagi