# Khonsu

Source: https://luxor101.com/ancient-luxor/gods/khonsu
Language: en

# Khonsu

The moon god, and the child of the Theban triad.

**Also written**: Khons · Chons · Khonsu-em-Waset-Neferhotep · خنسو

Useful clues to take into the temple.

## How to recognise them

Khonsu commonly has a youthful sidelock, a wrapped body and a lunar disc with a crescent. He may also be falcon-headed. The lunar crown is a useful clue; read the accompanying name when it survives.

## Who they were

Khonsu is the third member of the Theban triad (a group of three deities worshipped together), the son of Amun and Mut, and a moon god whose name is usually connected with a verb meaning “to cross” — the moon crossing the sky. He was also a healing god: an oracle statue of Khonsu was believed to cure, and one famous inscription describes such a statue being sent abroad to heal a foreign princess. His temple stands in the south-west corner of the Karnak precinct and is one of the most complete and legible temples in Luxor, precisely because it is small enough to read as a single plan.

## Where you meet them

Khonsu’s temple occupies the south-western part of Karnak’s Amun precinct. Its sequence of courts, halls and sanctuary helps explain temple planning; ask separately about current admission and the permitted route. At Luxor Temple, look for Khonsu with Amun and Mut in the Opet scenes.

God

## Who they are shown with

[

God

### Amun

Amun often wears a crown with two tall feathers and may appear as a man or in ram-related forms. These are useful clues, but other gods can share attributes: inscriptions and the surrounding scene help confirm an identification.

](https://luxor101.com/ancient-luxor/gods/amun)[

God

### Mut

Mut often appears as a woman with a vulture headdress and the double crown. She can also take a lioness form. These attributes guide recognition, but inscriptions and the scene’s context are needed when deities share features.

](https://luxor101.com/ancient-luxor/gods/mut)[

God

### Horus

A falcon or falcon-headed figure may represent Horus, but several deities use falcon imagery. Crown, accompanying text and the action in the scene provide the more reliable identification.

](https://luxor101.com/ancient-luxor/gods/horus)

Continue reading

## Where to look

1–1 / 3

[Temple complex · East bank

### Karnak Temple Complex

Two thousand years of building, rebuilding and royal ambition, gathered around the temples of Amun.

](https://luxor101.com/ancient-luxor/karnak)[Temple · East bank

### Luxor Temple

A temple of Amun in the heart of today’s city, shaped by royal ritual and the annual Opet festival.

](https://luxor101.com/ancient-luxor/luxor-temple)[Temple · West bank

### Medinet Habu

Colour survives here wherever the roof did — on a temple built by a king fighting to hold Egypt together.

](https://luxor101.com/ancient-luxor/medinet-habu)

Sources & further reading 3

Tier 2 The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt, Richard H. Wilkinson 

Thames & Hudson

Tier 2 Egyptian Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Goddesses and Traditions of Ancient Egypt, Geraldine Pinch 

Oxford University Press

Tier 2 The Complete Temples of Ancient Egypt, Richard H. Wilkinson 

Thames & Hudson

Source review is incomplete. Consultation dates are shown only for checked references.

Published works and institutional references for further reading.

[Sources and review status](mailto:corrections@egyptmore.com?subject=Luxor101%20correction)

[Gods](https://luxor101.com/ancient-luxor/gods)