Akhenaten - Heretic Pharaoh or Visionary?
Akhenaten is an odd ball among Egyptian pharaohs. In a culture where adherence to tradition was a widely respected virtue, he skewed Egyptian belief right and left. As pharaoh, Akhenaten became a religious revolutionary, the so-called first monotheist in history. Ancient Egyptians had always worshipped Re-Herakhty,
the creator sun god as a supreme universal deity. Aten was the visible
manifestation of this god, the solar disk, with all its beneficial
aspects to nature and to the well being of all Egyptians. Each region
in Egypt had their local gods and goddesses, who were more or less
important in relation to the city associated with their worship.
By the time the new king ascended to the throne as Amenhotep IV,
during the Eighteenth Dynasty, the god Amen of Thebes had become
a very powerful god. Amen and Re were usually merged into one god,
Amen-Re, Lord of Thebes.
Akhenaten simplified this syncretism by proclaiming the visible
sun itself as the only deity, effectively doing away with Amen and
Re and all the deities of the Egyptian pantheon. This action had
disastrous consequences on the politics of the country and even
beyond. It created a turmoil for the priests of Amen, whose power
and wealth had been steadily increasing and represented a challenge
to the pharaoh's authority. Egypt's foreign allies were also affected
by the pharaoh's neglect of his political duties as ruler of a massive
empire, and conflicts along Egypt's borders promptly arose. In the
meantime, the pharaoh had decided in the fifth year of his reign
to move the capital from Thebes to a new city, Akhetaten, The Horizon
of Aten, presently known as Amarna.
This new capital would be entirely devoted to the worship of Aten,
with him and his beautiful wife Nefertiti
as high priests. After Akhenaten's death, Egypt returned to the old ways. Akhetaten was quickly abandoned and its temples destroyed. His name was erased from the King's List and his mummy has never been found. But his legacy of one universal god prevailed. Mystery of the Sun God's servant: A lavish tomb records the rise and fall of a heretical pharaoh and the staying power of a savvy CFO. Read the full story here. More Akhenaten information: Pharaoh
Akhenaten - Crystalinks Akhenaten
of Amarna, 18th Dynasty Pharaoh of Ancient Egypt Egypt:
Rulers, Kings and Pharaohs of Ancient Egypt: Amenhotep IV Akhenaten
the "heretic" pharaoh BBC
- History - Akhenaten and the Amarna Period
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