Akhenaten : The Heretic King

In addition, it was an effort to institute a monotheistic tradition in the country that was quite unfamiliar for that era and unexpected for that level of the expansion of ancient Egyptian philosophy and evolution. In fact, religion was extremely important to ancient Egyptian society because people at the era deeply trusted on the natural forces and they created different cults worshiping gods of the sun, earth, and water. In such a way, they believed that through reverencing these gods they could merit their provision and, therefore, ancient Egyptians totaled for higher harvests, revenue and improved existence which they could achieve only with the support of various deities. Moreover, it is obvious the amount to which the attempt of Akhenaten to introduce monotheism in ancient Egypt was radical. It is obvious that the honoring of one god, Aten, should change the opinion of the surrounding world and the position of gods in the life of ancient Egyptian people.

Akhenaten's ancestry, together with his claimed "unlimited personal force of character" suggested he would not allow himself to be set aside by the priesthood. Breasted says that Akhenaten moved his capital to Amarna "endeavouring to displace it by the nationalism which had preceded it for twenty centuries." This further illustrates the possibility of a feud between the two aspects of Government. Aldred resolutely rejects this suggestion, saying "The idea of a struggle between an enlightened and progressive king on the one side and a reactionary and scheming priesthood on the other, will simply not stand up to closer scrutiny" . Aldred also suggests that a mere technicality in theology was all that separated Akhenaten's religion from that of Egyptian traditionalists . According to Aldred, the priesthood and the administration were as "indissolubly linked as they ever had been" . However he says clear distinction of power still remained, as demonstrated by Akhenaten's ability to subsequently reduce the status of the priesthood, his "mere surrogates" . This is a transparent contradiction, Aldred

Akhenaten, a pharaoh of ancient Egypt, had big shoes to fill when he stepped up to the throne. His father, Amenhotep III, had helped restore their country to its former glory by being a diplomat. Amenhotep negotiated with bordering nations to provide stable political alliances, and trade routes. Egypt,

The Egyptians believed that their pharaohs were the reincarnation of the sun god Re, the chief god who held the most power of all of the gods. This was believed because the pharaohs had immense power, governed huge areas of lands, and controlled vast resources such as gold and slaves. The pharaohs also elevated their status by building huge structures to the gods that seemed to transcend their earthly life, such as the pyramids and temples. The pharaohs used ordinary Egyptians to build the pyramids, not slaves, because the Egyptians wanted to please the god king so they would be guaranteed a place in the afterlife. The pharaohs also conquered thousands of square miles of land through military victories which seemed almost impossible for mere mortals. Similarly, the Mesopotamian kings were believed to be the sons of gods. The god the kings were related to depended on the city state’s main god, which was usually Anu. The king was also the chief priest which continued the relationship, keeping them close to the gods. The kings took on massive public works projects as well as military conquests which further cemented this belief. Because of the importance of the gods to these societies, their leaders were raised to a “godly” status as a reflection of their significance and as a result of their many accomplishments, which also gave the people a more tangible connection to the gods.

When Akhenaten took over the throne he made many religious changes. Firstly, he changed the religion from polytheism to monotheism. The people of Egypt have traditionally worshipped many Gods who were in human or animal forms, but when Akhenaten took over he introduced the idea of worshipping in one God; Aten or sun-disc (BBC). This shows he is a visionary because he is one of the first people in history to introduce such an idea. Now many religions worship one God, but the first person to ever think of this idea was Akhenaten, which shows he thought ahead of his time and developed a new trend. Moreover, he changed the temples to being open to more people and not just high priests. He introduced a new form of temple which had open roofs so the sunlight can shine on the worshippers. The temple was more open to the public and more accessible. In modern society areas of worship are open to the public, this is similar to what Akhenaten tried to accomplish. He tried to show that a place of worship

The Ancient Egyptian were polytheistic most of the time, which means that they believed in multiple gods. When Akhenaten was pharaoh, the Egyptians were monotheistic, meaning they worshiped only one god. He ended the worship of other gods and claimed that Aten, the lord of all was the only god in Egypt. The Egyptians didn't like this idea, so on their own,

Akhenaten or Amenhotep IV wanted to user in Aten the sun God. When he ruled it accompanied the revolutionary period called Amarna. He ruled around 1350-1334 B.C. This was in the 18th dynasty. When Akhenaten wanted to usher in Aten he tried to usher in a monotheistic cult. This made the power of priest limited and they was used to directing to a innumerable cult of gods

Akhenaten the first person that made his own religion by believing in one god. Akhenaten lived a very long life. As a child he was the last one out. his brothers and sisters would go to sermones and he could not. As an a adult he had made his own civilization.and he left a mark on the world by making is own region.

     During the New Kingdom of Egypt (from 1552 through 1069 B.C.), there came a sweeping change in the religious structure of the ancient Egyptian civilization. "The Hymn to the Aten" was created by Amenhotep IV, who ruled from 1369 to 1353 B.C., and began a move toward a monotheist culture instead of the polytheist religion which Egypt had experienced for the many hundreds of years prior to the introduction of this new idea. There was much that was different from the old views in "The Hymn to the Aten", and it offered a new outlook on the Egyptian ways of life by providing a complete break with the traditions which Egypt held to with

Upon inheriting the throne Amenhotep IV made the god Aten the single most powerful entity and with Aten's singular power in place all images of other gods within the Egyptian pantheon were eliminated. The Egyptians like the Israelites worshiped their national god as well their family deities at the same time. Eventually, the Egyptians eliminated their national god and continued to worship their deities, but the Israelites did just the opposite when they eliminated all of the deities concentrating on one God. There are those biblical scholars that believe Moses, an Egyptian prince, became influenced by the Egyptian religion of Atenism, which similar to Judaism believes in the worshiping of just one God.

Although Egyptians were polytheistic, they worshiped the sun god, Atum or Re, as he was the source of life. This is important because the Egyptian king took the title of “Son of Re”. The king, hence the descendant of the god, was the mother and father of all men without equal. The king akin to the living god, and his rule was law. Despite there being no laws, the words out of the king’s mouth were the law. As a king, he handles the army to protect his possessions and people.

During the reign of Nefertiti and Akhenaten there was monotheism and polytheism. These royals believed in the cult while other citizens still believed in Amun-Re and other Egyptian gods. It was one of the first religions to have one god and not multiple. Nefertiti’s reign also proved to the world that women were just as equal as men where. He husband would let her participate in rituals normally done by man and she was often seen by Akhenaten’s side at events instead of behind him. She even is seen as the brains to the start of the cult of Aten. Known to have more involvement with the religion than her

Amenhotep IV was the first pharaoh to challenge the Egyptian culture and religious beliefs. His decision to make Aten, “The God of the Sun Disk”, the only god, took power away from the temple priests. Before Amenhotep IV made the changes, Egypt practiced polytheism not only worshiping the Sun Disk God, but around 12 other gods with roles such as fertility, the sky, the Nile River, childbirth, etc. With Egypt practicing monotheisms the temple priest have lost control of any political or religious gain they once held. This will be the first time Egypt practices monotheism. In making this change Amenhotep IV became known as Akhenaten, “Shining Spirit of Aten”. Becoming Akhenaten was not the only changes reflected from his reign as pharaoh.

Jan Assmann, the famous Egyptologist, covers the essence of researching Egyptian theology in his classic work Theologie und Frömmigkeit einer frühen Hochkultur. Translated to English under the title “The search for God in Ancient Egypt”, the book tackles the complex goal of investigating Egyptian Theology and offers Assman’s scholarly theories on Egyptology. With that said, the focus of the book shifts away from the study of Egyptian deities and mythology but centers rather around the implication of divinity at a societal and individual level. Overviews of theology and piety take precedence over the specific practices and technical beliefs of Egyptian religion, though the latter is also heavily discussed to better elaborate on the former’s context.

According to the Advice to a Prince, gods only could judge and punish the ruler, for example, “if he (ruler) takes silver… Marduk, lord of Heaven and Earth, will set his foes upon him…” (Sanders, p.70). Consequently, we can assume that ruler’s power have increased enormously, since no matter what he does (even despotism) is supposed to be controlled by gods. Finally, the kingship in Israel has some differences as Jews are monotheistic. Nonetheless, the Jews believed in god’s involvement in daily life as well. More importantly, god (Yahweh) was believed to decide who the king is and whether he must be changed (Sanders, p.72). This shows some parallels with Assyrians where gods only could judge the ruler. As a result, it is seen that regardless of regions and number of gods (monotheism or polytheism) rulers in ancient times were connected with divine power. In fact, at ancient times rulers often represented the choice of god(s), whereas presently they represent the choice of people. This, I think, led to more fearful and respectful attitude towards rulers due to their divine support.