Montu- Egyptian GodDeity"Lord of Thebes"
Also known as: Mnṯw, Monthu, Month, Mentu, and Menthu
Titles & Epithets
Domains
Symbols
Description
Falcon-headed war god of Thebes, the sun as weapon: its scorching heat turned against Egypt's enemies, its blinding light wielded like a blade. Warrior pharaohs were called 'mighty bulls of Montu,' and Thutmose III wore the epithet with particular pride.
Mythology & Lore
The Sun That Burns
Montu was Thebes' original patron god, the falcon-headed warrior who carried the sun's destructive force. His falcon head connected him to the sky and to Horus, while the sun disk between his double plumes marked him as a manifestation of Ra's martial fire. He carried the curved khepesh sword or a spear, striding forward where other gods stood still.
Several pharaohs of the Eleventh Dynasty took names in his honor: Mentuhotep, "Montu is satisfied." During the New Kingdom, Amun rose to become King of the Gods, and Montu was eclipsed in his own city. He kept his war god role but became secondary in the Theban hierarchy, the fierce guardian displaced by the hidden one.
The Bull
Warrior pharaohs were called "mighty bulls of Montu." The epithet tied royal martial prowess to the god's sacred animal: the Buchis bull, a living incarnation of Montu worshipped at Hermonthis. Each Buchis bull was selected for its distinctive markings and buried with full honors when it died.
Thutmose III was particularly associated with this title. His annals at Karnak describe campaigns that expanded Egypt from Nubia to the Euphrates, and in those records the king moves through battle as Montu's instrument, the god's fury given a chariot and an army.