Apedemak: the lion-headed war god of Kush

The Kingdom of Kush shared many gods with Egypt, including Amun and Isis. But Kush also had gods of its own, and the most striking was Apedemak, a war god shown with the body of a man and the head of a lion.

Who was Apedemak?

Apedemak was a god of war and victory, and a protector of the king and queen. Kushite rulers prayed to him before battle and thanked him after it. He was also linked to fertility and the land. His lion head made sense in Kush, where lions were the ultimate symbol of royal strength.

Where to see him today

Apedemak’s best-known temple is the Lion Temple at Naqa, in Sudan, built in the 1st century A.D. by King Natakamani and Queen Amanitore. Its walls show the royal couple with the lion god, and one famous carving shows Apedemak as a snake with a lion’s head. Another major temple to him stands at Musawwarat es-Sufra, not far away. Both are part of the “Archaeological Sites of the Island of Meroë”, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

In the series

In Episode 6 of Kandake, after the queen loses an eye in battle, the priestess tells her: “Apedemak took your eye, my Queen, so that you could see with his.” The queen’s new power is pure fantasy. Apedemak, and the devotion of Kush’s rulers to him, are real.

Why he matters

Apedemak is a reminder that Kush was not a copy of Egypt. It had its own language (Meroitic), its own writing, its own architecture and its own gods. Its rulers, including warrior queens like Amanirenas, stood under the protection of a lion.