Amenhotep's Religious Revolution

The work I chose to analyze was from a wall fragment from the tomb of Ameneemhet and wife Hemet called Mummy Case of Paankhenamun, found in the Art Institute of Chicago. The case of the Mummy Paankhenamun is one of the most exquisite pieces of art produced by the Egyptian people during the time before Christ. This coffin belonged to a man named Paankhenamun, which translates to “He Lives for Amun” (Hornblower & Spawforth 74). Paankhenamun was the doorkeeper of the temple of the god Amun, a position he inherited from his father.

Early on in his reign Akhenaten began introducing new artistic styles, both in relation to religion and personal portrayals of the royal family. After moving the capital from Thebes to Amarna in search of new land on which to worship Aten (the God of sun/light) the artistic portrayal of the god changed to become one the most symbolic and abstract depictions of a God in Ancient Egypt (Weigall 1922, 120). The new depiction of Aten became a sun disc with long rays extending hands down to earth, and often to the royal family or the king himself. This can be thought of as symbolising the power given to the king by the Gods (Kempt 1989, 173). Akhenaten also introduced his own style of royal artwork, in which the royal family was represented in an exaggerated manner. The most notable of these exaggerations was the changes to facial features, such as the long skull and chin, and large oval eyes. This is thought to perhaps represent the separation of the royal family from everyday Egyptian people, however this contradicts with the meaning of another change to Amarna artwork, the personal, intimate portraits of the king’s family life (Kempt 1989, 265).

Akhenaten, also known as Amenhotep IV, is considered a very successful and important pharaoh of Ancient Egypt by historians. He was the son of Amenhotep III, and after his death he inherited a prosperous, peaceful, powerful and wealthy nation. He ruled during the 18th dynasty, from 1353–36 BCE. However, early during his reign it was already noticeable that he was to become an unconventional pharaoh, due to the fact that he dedicated his life to the sun god, Aten. This was unusual to the previous rulers in Egypt, as they dedicated their lives to all gods, as the population worshipped many different gods, depending on their lifestyle. The debate now is, were his alternative decisions he made during his rule beneficial to the development of Egyptian religion?

This investigation attempts to correctly analyze in what way the geography of Egypt influenced the ancient Egyptian religion. This query is very relevant because, certain geographical items influenced the creation of the ancient religion that helped shape many religions that are very prevalent today such as Christianity and Judaism. The issues that will be addressed are how the great Sahara Desert surrounding the civilization, the Nile river that nourishes the whole population, and how the overall common beliefs and myths built the foundation of the ancient Egyptian religion and subsequently influenced modern day religions. This analysis will focus on the time period of 3110 BCE to 550 CE and the place being examined is the country of Egypt. This will be accomplished through the exploration of research documents and informational novels.

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.

Amenhotep IV commenced his reign in 1353 BCE and was of the 18th Dynasty of Egypt. When Amenhotep IV came to power, the priests of Amun had been gradually growing in power and were almost equal with the royal house in terms of wealth and influence. During the 5th year of his reign he outlawed the ancient religion which was centered on the worship and offerings to many Gods in particular those of the composite deity Ra-Amun-Horus (Ra- daytime sun, Amun- underworld sun, - Horus- the sunrise). He then changed his name to Akhenaten, proclaiming himself to be the living incarnation of the all-powerful, single deity known as ‘Aten’ (The visible sun). Traditionally, as described in the Coffin Texts of the Middle kingdom, the ‘Aten’ was the name for the sun-disk and in the "Story of Sinuhe", Amenemhat I is described to have soared into the sky, uniting with the Aten, his creator. The early stages of "Atenism" was as a henotheistic religion (devotion to a single god but recognising the existence of others), but quickly developed into a monotheistic system where the worship of all other Gods was banned, including the making and worship of idols, allowing only the rayed sun-disk to be displayed as a representation of ‘God’, for the ‘Aten' was the sole deity. Ordinary people could not worship the Aten

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,

As a result, Amenhotep III soon shifted attention and investment of resources to various solar deities/cults including Nekhbet, Thoth, Hathor, Ptah, and largely developed interest in the Aten “the dazzling sun disk”. His self-deification as Amun and later Aten as discussed by Jan Assman, aside from reinforcing control of territory, was a direct political challenge to the power of the Amun priesthood, as evident through his depiction at the Soleb temple with the horns of Amun. In his identification and claims to be an incarnation ofAmun, a main deity, who he no longer fell subject to the Amun priesthood’s religious will, but rather was in a more dominant position over them, further reasserting his authority as Pharaoh-god. Influences of Aten were starting to feature prominently as religious symbolism, such as the replacing of the neb glyph/ traditional depiction of the solar boat with new iconography and epithets on royal regalia; and adding Aten to names of buildings, royal barges and even his daughter, Bakenaten. This rebellion endured and most possibly shaped his son,

Explain the distribution of power in Old Kingdom Egypt and the first intermediate period, the social, political, and economic reasons for the constructors of pyramids, and Egyptian belief concerning the afterlife.

Along with his striking religious changes, Akhenaten also led a political revolution, namely in the perception of the pharaoh. One of the most visible changes in Akhenaten’s reign was a drastic change in art. Public perception of the pharaoh was essential to political power, but Akhenaten's portraits do not portray the pharaoh in the “larger-than-life” style associated with other New Kingdom rulers. Firstly, Akhenaten was feminine in appearance, and is shown affectionately playing with his children and Nefertiti. Amarna art is realistic and Akhenaten chose to portray a reality no other pharaoh had been willing to show. Nicholas Reeves explains these changes: “In Akhenaten’s ‘new look’ these striking changes in composition and gesture, which

     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

The reign of Tutankhamun had a significant impact on ancient Egyptian society due to the upheaval the revolution of the very foundation of Egyptian beliefs by Tutankhamun’s father Akhenaten created, followed by the restoration of the original belief system during Tutankhamun’s reign. In order to explore this further, a brief background of Akhenaten’s reign needs to be looked at in order to understand why the main religion of Egypt was changed so suddenly. Tutenkhamun came to the throne as a young child, therefore he had advisers who would look after state affairs for him. Who were they and how much control did they have over the young king? Finally the restoration of the old gods and the relocation of the religious and political centers to

This first act as king brought with him a shocking speculation and hostility between his throne and the priesthood of Amun. Inside the temple was an entirely new style of art, which was often described, as “naturalistic” in Akhenaten’s portrayal of the human body. No longer was the Pharaoh portrayed as half animal with the perfect body fitted for the afterlife. Akhenaten and the royal family were shown with long toes, massive hips, extremely long fingers, skinny torso, ample breasts, big buttocks, and an elongated face. This exaggeration of the royal family’s bodies altered classic Egyptian art and became better known as Amarna Art.

The Ancient Egyptians were a civilization of great creativity and expression, but also a civilization with a very strict position on tradition, and I found them absolutely fascinating. When learning about King Tutankhamen’s mysterious legacy, I was very intrigued by the pleas that Tutankhamen’s wife Ankhesenamun wrote to the king of the Hittites after her husband’s premature death. Her letters were desperate and emotional and very powerful to read and definitely gives its readers, whether they’re students or historians, a real sense of mystery and that the queen knew more than what she was willing to say. Egypt was known for its long line of powerful kings, each wanting to prove themselves more powerful than their predecessors, and the

In Terrance Coffey’s first book, Valley of the Kings, Coffey resurrects the pharaohs, kings, queens, and citizens of ancient Egypt and other nations. Set in the time period 14th century B.C.E., this novel is filled with love, wars, and politics. It begins with Amenhotep III and his addiction to a fatal drug, and continues with his oldest son, Amenhotep IV, who renames himself to Akenaten. The pharaoh’s regrettable decision to separate from Thebes and the kingdom’s pantheon heightens the battle between royalty and religion, which comes to a point when Akenaten’s chief wife, Nefertiti, declares herself a pharaoh after her husband’s death. She is soon succeeded by her son and the heir to the throne, the young King Tut, who can’t escape his