Apedemak

Apedemak or Apademak (originally, due to the absence of the /p/ phoneme in Meroitic, it was probably pronounced 'abademak' (Father king, Aba meaning father and mak meaning king) ) was a major deity in the ancient Nubian and Kushite pantheon. Often depicted as a figure with a male human torso and a lion head, and at the temple of Naqa with a snakes body and a lion's head. Apedemak also appears as a three-headed leonine god with four arms., Apedemak was a war god worshiped by the Meroitic peoples inhabiting Kush. There are no counterparts of him in Ancient Egyptian religion, As a war god, Apedemak came to symbolize martial power, military conquest, and empire. 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, In Meroe he became the Head of the Kushite pantheon.