Horns of Ammon

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A coin depicting Alexander the Great, conqueror of Egypt, with Horns of Amon on his head

The horns of Ammon were curling ram horns, used as a symbol of the

ammonite because of that historical connection.[1]

Classical iconography

Jupiter Ammon, depicted in a terracotta fragment.
A fossil ammonite, showing its horn-like spiral

Ammon, eventually

Ancient Semitic pantheon.[2] Egyptian pharaohs came to follow this religion for a while, Amenhotep and Tutankhamun taking their names from their deity. This trend caught on, with other Egyptian gods also sometimes being described as aspects of Amun.[3]

Ammon was often depicted with ram's horns, so that as this deity became a symbol of supremacy, kings and emperors came to be depicted with Horns of Ammon on the sides of their head in profile, as well as the deities not only of Egypt, but other areas, so that Jupiter was sometimes depicted as "Jupiter Ammon", replete with Horns of Ammon, after Rome conquered Egypt, as was the Greek supreme deity

Dhu al-Qarnayn” (The Two-Horned One), a supposed reference to his depiction on Middle Eastern coins and statuary as having horns,[4][5] consistent with the view of most scholars on Islamic exegesis that Dhu al-Qarnayn was Alexander the Great.[6][7]

Pliny the Elder was among the earliest writers known to have associated spiral shells with the deity Ammon, referring to them as ammonis cornua (horns of Ammon) in his book Naturalis Historia.[8] Considering the relative rarity of ammonite fossils in Egypt, this may have originated with fossil snail shells like natica hybrida found in Mokattam limestone near Cairo.[1]

The direct attribution of the Horns of Ammon with fossil cephalopod shells became common during

Conrad Gesner. These led to a widespread association that climaxed with paleontologist Karl Alfred von Zittel naming the class of animals Ammonoidea
in 1848.

References

  1. ^ a b The Origin Of Geological Terms: Ammonites
  2. ^ World History Encyclopedia: Yahweh
  3. ^ The horns of Ammon; "The biblical narrative, however, is not as straightforward as it may seem as it also includes reference to the Canaanite god El whose name is directly referenced in 'Israel' (He Who Struggles with God or He Who Perseveres with God). El was the chief deity of the Canaanite pantheon and the god who, according to the Bible, gave Yahweh authority over the Israelites."
  4. ^ Recent Ancient Coin Acquisitions Focus on Alexander the Great
  5. ^ Ammonite to Ammolite
  6. ISBN 978-0-19-006754-0
    .
  7. S2CID 251486595
    .
  8. ^ NH 37.40.167
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