he began as a theban wind and fertility god and ended up the supreme deity, with most of egypt's vast wealth dedicated to his temple. around the second millennium b.c.e., thebes and its cult of amun grew so powerful that it threatened worship of the sun god, ra. the two deities merged. amun-ra was hailed as a national god, the creator of the universe, the pharaoh's personal protector, and the god of war.