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Lot Essay
The Ammon heads may be seen here as symbols of strength and protection, with the birds of Zeus, the eagle, below. Ammon was the Greek name of an Egyptian oracle god, gaining recognition when Alexander the Great later claimed to be his son. The oracle was situated in the Siwa oasis where the Libyan desert tribes worshiped a ram shaped god and certainly the cult of Ammon appears to have remained Libyan in character and only superficially egyptianized.
The name Zeus Ammon was adopted by the first Greeks to visit the shrine. His cult spread throughout the Greek world with the help of the poet Pindar (522-445 B.C.), who was the first Greek to dedicate an ode to the new god, Zeus Ammon. One of the new centres of this cult was Athens, another centre being the Macedonian town Aphythis, where the young Macedonian crown prince Alexander would have seen the statue. Alexander was greeted as Ammon's son, and started to believe that he was a demi-god, reputedly at times wearing the horns of his divine father Ammon on public occasions; certainly after his death he was depicted in this fashion.
The name Zeus Ammon was adopted by the first Greeks to visit the shrine. His cult spread throughout the Greek world with the help of the poet Pindar (522-445 B.C.), who was the first Greek to dedicate an ode to the new god, Zeus Ammon. One of the new centres of this cult was Athens, another centre being the Macedonian town Aphythis, where the young Macedonian crown prince Alexander would have seen the statue. Alexander was greeted as Ammon's son, and started to believe that he was a demi-god, reputedly at times wearing the horns of his divine father Ammon on public occasions; certainly after his death he was depicted in this fashion.