Amun-Re

In very early times each town had its own town-god as well as a number of lesser gods. There were also gods that everybody worshiped. The most important of these were Ra, the sun-god; Horus, the sky-god; and Osiris, the god of the dead. When a town grew in influence, its town-god became more important too. People worshiped him as part of their allegiance to the town. After Thebes became the capital, the worship of its town-god, Amen, spread throughout Egypt. The people combined his worship with that of Ra, and in this form called him Amen-Ra. Temples were raised to Amen throughout Egypt. The most splendid was the temple at El Karnak, in Thebes. The Story of Ra and Osiris - The people believed that every day Ra, the sun, sailed across the sky in his boat. Every night he disappeared into the underworld, in the west. In the underworld, they thought, was another Nile River. Osiris, the ruler of the underworld, had the sun's boat pulled along this river until at last it crossed the horizon and the sun rose again. Osiris had been murdered by his brother Set but lived again in the underworld as king of the dead. The people looked to Osiris to give them, too, a life after death. Osiris was usually shown in human form, tightly swathed in linen like a mummy and wearing a high crown. Amun-Re was king of the gods. Amun (hidden) and Re (approachable). He became the chief deity of the Middle and New Kingdoms.