most inner part of the temple. Only to be approached by certain priests using the proper rituals. Even in public parade is mobile shrine was covered. Amen is now seen as somewhat of a universal god. God of the air who is everywhere and is unlimited. Amen was represented in human form sometimes with ram's head or as a ram. His face was often painted blue to show that he was invisible. When Thebes became the capital of Egypt the priests of Amen seized the moment to enhance their own fortunes. They claimed that their God was more than just another form of the sun god. They claimed that Amen had been worshiped at Heliopolis in north Egypt under the names of Re ,Khepera, Temu and Heru-khuti and that the attributes of these gods were contained in the god Amen. His priests insisted that their God was equal with the other great gods of other ancient cities such as Memphis and Heliopolis. This enabled them to finally add the name of Re to Amen's and create the all powerful god Amen-Re. He was now seen as an invincible, invisible creative power which was the source of life for all heaven and earth. The priest declared that there was no other god like him, and that he was the greatest of all. This enhanced the power base for the priesthood of Amen. Because of the hidden nature of Amen, only priests were allowed to perform rituals and daily functions of the hidden god. This of course created image that the priests were men above men. Almost godlike. As we have discussed before Amen was becoming a powerful god that the kings needed to pay respect to. Large temples were built to Amen, and much gold and wealth was given to these temples by the king. So now we see the priesthood as a powerful and wealthy class of men were the sole audience of a powerful god. This makes the priesthood a powerful organization. And the High Priest of Amen was most powerful of all. He obtained the rank of Vizier which was a chief administrator, and mini...
