Apedemak

Apedemak or Apademak (likely pronounced Abedemak in Meroitic because of the absence of the phoneme /P/ in Meroitic) was the Chief deity in the ancient Kushite pantheon. Often depicted as a figure with a male human torso and a lion head, Apedemak was a war god worshiped by the Meroitic peoples inhabiting Kush. He has no Egyptian counterpart. As a war god, Apedemak came to symbolize martial power, military conquest, and empire for the Meroitic peoples. Apedemak is also closely associated with Amun, the state-sponsored Egyptian deity during the preceding Napatan period, and is assumed to hold an equal level of importance.