| The Temple of
Khnum at Esna was built in Greco-Roman
times by the Ptolemies. The temple
remains consist only of the first
hypostyle hall of columns. It was
dedicated to the ram headed god Khnum. The god
Khnum was worshiped at Esna as the
Creator. He embodied all things, and was
closely associated with the process of
conception.
At
Elephantine, he was seen as the guardian
of the source of the Nile.
Khnum
is a good example of a god who meant
different things to different peoples
along the Nile.
There
was no clearly defined pantheon of gods
recognized by all Egyptians. The power
and scope of responsibilities for the
gods varied with the political powers of
their followers.
The
god Amun was made powerful by the
decision of the Kings to locate their
administration at Thebes.
Akhenaten
was trying to create a power locality
when he moved the government to Amarna
where there was no local deity.
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