Early Egyptian Religious Beliefs and Akhenaten's Reforms

Egypt peaked in three different Kingdom periods with it's continuous growth in civilization. The Old Kingdom has taken place in the 3rd millennium BC. The Old Kingdom was a period of riches and peace but was then followed by a downfall of cultural decline and disagreements of the people. Most known as the time between the third dynasty to the sixth dynasty

In addition, Dynasties tended to be clustered under three kingdoms Old, Middle and New Kingdoms. The Old Kingdom was 3100-2200 BC. It was fundamentally productive and successful period of ancient Egypt. During this period many accomplishments were made, for example, art and architecture, divine kingship, religion, social and economic stability, and prosperity. This was the period that saw the construction of the most important sights to the Pharaohs of Egypt, the pyramids of Giza.

The history of ancient Egypt is divided into three blocks of time referred to as kingdoms. The kingdoms were named as the Old Kingdom, the Middle Kingdom, and the New Kingdom. This essay highlights the differences among the three kingdoms in terms of politics, economics, sculpture, and architecture.

The Ancient Egyptians believed that the pharaoh was a god himself, and that his power was given to him by the god Ra. Other pharaohs also believed in this as well which was the case with Zoser, and the pharaohs of the preceding dynasties.

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

Akhenaten was an Egyptian king during the New Kingdom and he tried to change the Egyptian religion. In the readings the document titled The Great Hymn to the Aten describes why king Akhenaten tried to change the ancient religion, and why this ended up being very important later on. What he tried to do was change the Egyptian religion by introducing something similar to monotheism. Though the main reason for this significant change was, according to the readings, “He ordered this change to downgrade the influence of the rich priests of Amen-Re, the local deity from Thebes who rose to national prominence in the New Kingdom and became Re (the sun god)” (Readings, p.23). So he basically did this because of rich priests from Thebes’s growing influence

Upper and Lower Egypt were united for the first time under one ruler, however, this would come to an end around 2200 B.C.. In much of the Egyptian hieroglyphs, the Pharaoh was often depicted as almost larger than life, with great power and much of Egyptian art is a celebration of his accomplishments. The formation of a royal absolutism occurred during this period, with the Pharaoh and a small-centralized administration, composed mainly of royal kin and relatives, overseeing all aspects of Egyptian life. The Pharaoh was looked at as a living god among the Egyptian people, who assured the success of Egypt as well as its peace. "The Pharaoh belonged both to the world of the gods and the world of men, and he was seen as a bridge between them. Some of the local deities represented various aspects of nature, such as the earth and the sky, or the Nile and it's gifts of fertility. So the king, living in their midst, could bring the Egyptians into a harmonious relationship with their divinities and with the forces of nature upon which their whole existence depended" (Hawkes 43).

Amenhotep IV was considered an "unusual ruler in the history of ancient Egypt". He reigned for 17 years, from c.1353 - 1336 BCE. He had changed his name around 1348 BCE to Akhenaten ("One Who Is Effective on Behalf of the Aten"). He would be considered a radical in our times, and had radically changed many aspects of the culture, some of which involved; the political, spiritual, and cultural life of the country. During this transforming time, there were radical changes in royal artisitic conventions, introducing the New Amarna Style.

The New Kingdom began in 1557. For many centuries Egypt was led by foreign leaders known as the Hyksos who divided Upper and Lower Egypt.The last Hyksos leader Ahmose I died 1525 bce which led the people to revolt to defeat the Hyksos and reunite Upper and Lower Egypt. After two years, Egypt was able to drive out the Hyksos and reunite the two parts of Egypt This began the start to the New Kingdom

First, the Middle Kingdom begins from 11th Dynasty to the end of the 12th Dynasty (2040-1763 B.C.E.). It can be identified by many events that took place at this time. The names of the kings of the 11th Dynasty of the Middle Kingdom were Intef I (2134 - 2117 BC), Intef II 2117 - 2069 BC), Intef III (2069 - 2060 BC), Mentuhotep I (2060 - 2010 (BC), Mentuhotep II (2010 - 1998 BC), Mentuhotep III (2010 BC – 1998 BC) and Mentuhotep IV (1998–1991 BC). Moreover, The Middle Kingdom was a time of achievements for the ancient Egyptians. The Eleventh Dynasty starts with a succession of rulers, Intef I – III, the Middle Kingdom begins with the reunification of Egypt when Nebhepetre Mentuhotep I ousted the kings of Herakleopolis, and The Eleventh Dynasty

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.

The ancient Egyptians had a polytheistic religion which was followed by all citizens with a strict set of moral codes and beliefs. This strictness of religion even spread into Egyptian government with kings being responsible for communication with the gods, as well as actively maintaining and changing the religion in every reign. Naturally, if these Egyptian morals and beliefs were able to spread into the government of ancient Egypt and gain a significant importance, they most certainly were present in the lives of Egyptian citizens. Ancient Egyptian morals, beliefs, and pieties were meant to be attempts used by priests in order to communicate and understand with the gods. This means that ancient Egyptians were required to act in certain ways, perform certain tasks, and blindly follow certain people in the hopes it would lead to a good relationship with their gods and a rewarding afterlife.

The Old Kingdom of Egypt, ruled by the 3rd to the 6th dynasties, spanned the five centuries between about 2755 bc and 2255 bc. In about 3100 bc the country was united under one rule by strong chieftains from the south. The idea, however, that Egypt was divided into two distinct parts—Upper Egypt in the south and Lower Egypt in the north—persisted. The unification of Egypt, or one of the stages leading to it, is commemorated on the carved stone Palette of King Narmer (c. 3100 bc, Egyptian Museum, Cairo), on which the king, wearing the crown of the south, is shown subjugating peoples of the north.

Egyptians were significantly religious, and religion expected a section in about all parts of their step by step lives. Exactly when the out of date Egyptians experienced circumstances of peace and thriving, they attributed credit for the achievement to their divinities. The Egyptians encountered quite a while of imperative quality and saw this state as the mama' at, which was Egyptian for the "regular demand". Regardless of the way that they pondered incredible demand and alter in their overall population to be

The story of Ancient Egypt began about 8000 years ago when people began to settle in the Nile Valley and started to raise their own crops and animals. (Ancient Egypt) From 3400BC to 1786BC, the Egyptians themselves ruled Egypt. Lower and Upper Egypt was united with the lands upstream to form one country under one king. The first period of Egyptian civilization -- The Old Kingdom, lasted from 2686BC to 2181BC. Soon after that, the Egyptians gained control of Nubia, and extended the land that was being farmed from 2050BC to 1786BC. From 1663BC to 332BC, the Egyptians were ruled by many different groups, such as the Hyksos (a group of Asian settlers who ruled for 100 years), the Thebans (who established the New Kingdom), and the Greeks. However, in 30BC, conquest was finally complete as Egypt fell under the control of the Roman Empire. (Illustrated Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt)