ting
variants of this group are 5, with the four genii standing on seven of the
nine petals of the flower, which is placed between two buds, the idea of
centrality being thus conveyed; and 7 where an inverted triangle replaces
the flower and reveals some of the deeper meaning attached to this symbol.
In 1 and 3 the flower is surmounted by the hawk crowned with the Ra sign
which, as has already been stated, symbolizes circuition around a central
point of fixity. The names for hawk=hak (_cf._ ak and cabal=middle, also
hak=king) and her or hur (_cf._ hru=upper, the above, and ur=four=Horus)
reveal its appropriate use as rebus and symbol of the central "sun" god.
In 8, instead of the Ra sign, the hawk wears the peculiar double diadem
with a circle at its base, which is the particular attribute of the images
of the ram-headed god Amon who is represented in no. 12, holding the ankh
sign and accompanied by the kheper sign, composed of a circle, surmounted
by a cone and supported by a pedestal. It is well known that the ram=ser,
sart or sar, was the form under which the supreme divinity was worshipped
at Thebes, the real metropolis of the whole land of Egypt, during many
centuries.(113) The name Amon, also given as Ammon, Amoun, Hammon,
resembles Amen closely enough to justify the identification of Amon as a
form of Amen-Ra, the concealed god.

[Illustration.]

Plate VII.

In this connection it is noteworthy that the ram=sar or sart conveys the
same sound as the goose=sar or sa, the employment of which, as a pole-star
symbol, will be discussed further on, and that the king of Egypt was
termed "the living ram (of Amon) on earth" and "the engendering ram." From
Mr. J. P. Mahaffy we learn that, under the Ptolemaic rule, "it seems
likely that among the strict prescriptions for all the solemn acts of the
king, it was directed that he should assume the insignia of the god Amon,
his ram's horns, fleece, etc, when visiting the queen" (History of Egypt,
London, 1899).

Under the Ptolemaic dynasty, the identification of Amon with Amen-Ra
receives support from the magnificent monumental votive ram, preserved at
the Berlin Museum, which was dedicated by king Amenophis III, which bears
on his head, the disk with the uraeus serpent, the familiar sign of the
"hidden god."(114)

While the diadem of Amen-Ra sufficiently identifies the hawk on the lotus
as a form of the "hidden