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In ancient Egypt, the Ram, an obvious symbol of fertility, was associated with the sun deity, Amun-Ra. The ram was also associated with other deities such as Khnum. Amun was an Egyptian ram-headed god, often depicted as a bearded man wearing a cap with two tall plumes. The era of this Theban sky god's greatest ancestry occurred in the 16th century BC when the Egyptians expelled the Hyksos and extended the imperial frontiers into Canaan. The rivalry with Re was eliminated by emerging Amun with Re as Amon-Re, except during the reign of Akhenaton. As a dynastic guardian, Amon-Re, king of the gods, incarnate in the role of the ruling pharaoh, and out of the tribute of Asia great temples were built for his worship at Luxor and Karnak. Khnum, the Egyptian ram god was credited with creating life on a potter's wheel at the behest of the other gods. He was also said to control the annual inundation of the Nile, although the inundation is physically generated by the god Hapi. The goddesses Satis and Anuket assisted him in this supervisory role. His major cult center was on Elephantine Island near the first cataract of the Nile (near modern Aswan), where mummified rams sacred to Khnum have been found. He also had an important cult center at Esna, to the north of the first cataract. He was usually depicted in human form with a ram's head - the horns extending horizontally on either side of the head - often before a potter's wheel on which a naked human being was being fashioned.
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