Nefertiti: the infamous Queen of Egypt, known throughout the ages for her spectacular beauty. But Nefertiti was much more than a pretty face. Though very little is known of her childhood, it is made clear through ancient images that Nefertiti was very powerful. Even after her strange disappearance, it is possible that she could have continued to rule beside her husband (as a man), or even assumed the position of Pharaoh under an alias. Like her origins, her fate is clouded by fiction as well. Her tomb has never been found, and most of the evidence of her reign has been destroyed. But, by sifting through history, it may be possible to discover the real Queen Nefertiti.. Nefertiti wasn’t always the grand Queen of Egypt. It is most likely …show more content…
Egyptian society had been strictly polytheistic until Akhenaten rose to power. He changed the religion to Atenism, the monotheistic worship of the sun-disc, Aten. The Pharaoh changed his name from Amenhotep to Akhenaten in a bold move to signify the transition to Atenism. Nefertiti followed his example, changing her name to Neferneferuaten, which roughly translates to “beautiful are the beauties of Aten, beautiful woman has come”. This period in Egyptian history is called the Amarna Period. Throughout this period of cultural upheaval, Nefertiti stood beside her husband’s decision to change the religion. She was in fact often depicted leading worship, a role that, before the duel rule of Akhenaten and Nefertiti, was reserved for Pharaoh’s only. There are also ancient images of Nefertiti riding chariots, and slaying the enemy. This drastic change in art had much to do with the conversion to Atenism. Aten was a creative god who encouraged expression. Along with the nature of their new god, Pharaoh Akhenaten decreed that all royal portraits be accurate representations of the royal family. As noted by award-winning author and Yale graduate Esther Friesner in her historical fiction novel Sphinx’s Princess, “This says a lot about Akhenaten, since his surviving statues show him with a potbelly, an oddly shaped head, and numerous other physical characteristics that might lead
During the late 1970s, one teacher questioned the role of the queen in ancient Egyptian art. The author Nancy Luomala from the article “Matrilineal Reinterpretation of Some Egyptian Sacred Cows,” contemplated on the ancient Egyptian power, and the matrimonial decline that men were able to acquire the position of Pharaoh. Luomala speculates that "the Great Egyptian Wife made whomever she married into a living king, whether brother or commoner "(Luomala pg.30). (THESIS???)
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
Queen Nefertiti, the most powerful woman in Egypt since the Pharaoh Hatshepsut 100 years earlier. She was as influential as she was beautiful, being a partner in power with her king and husband, Akhenaten. Together, the couple co-reigned over Egypt attempting to completely transform Egyptian religion.
Egyptian ancient civilization was born along the Nile River and lived for more than 3,000 years. Not only famous for the pyramids at Giza staying there with dignity reminding the wonderful past, Egypt is also famous for its pharaohs. Nefertiti and Cleopatra important figures of Egypt, famous for their beauties and deeds appear remarkable in many parts of the great ancient history. Staying in front of each other these queens have so many differences but so many things in common too. Each lady has her own personality and beauty and did great things for her country and people. But what do modern and ancient people think about them? Do they respect and admire them the same?
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
Cleopatra and Empress Wu Zetian were two very powerful women of their time. Cleopatra, Last Pharaoh of Egypt. As queen of Egypt, Cleopatra is one of the most famous female rulers in history. Cleopatra’s family ruled Eygpt for more than 100 years before she was born around 69 BC.
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
If you want to know what her name is her name is queen Tiye. She is married to Amenhotep III and she had 8 kids and their name are Akhenaten, Tuthmose, Sitamun, Henut-taneb, Isis, Nebet-iah, and Baketaten. Queen Tiye mother and father names are used to be queen Yuya and king Tuya but they past away. Then we queen Tyie was gave birth to her kids then i think either 2 or 3 year ago one of her son died. She was a queen of Egypt of the 18th dynasty. She had exerted an enormous and a big influence of her dear husband and her son. Queen tiye believed in a formal traditional polytheistic in her own religion in Egypt. So she really wanted to do something about it. After she completed her mission of what she was doing. She died in her early sixites
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 Bust of Queen Nefertiti, which was created in 1340 BC by an unknown artist, is perhaps the most famous depiction of the Queen during her reign. The bust, being held at the Egyptian Museum in Berlin, shows an important connection between the artist and the queen herself
Tell el-‘Amarna, the city built by Heretic Pharaoh Akhenaten was located between Luxor and Cairo along the Nile. The city was occupied during the reign of Akhenaten and abandoned after his death by his son, Pharaoh Tutankhamun. Although the city was along occupied for a short period of time, archaeologists have been able to reconstruct a fairly accurate representation of the city. However, because the city was associated with Aten and the religion of the heretic king, the city was partially destroyed and nearly all evidence of the culture during the reign of Akhenaten was destroyed. Although the Egyptian people attempted to erase this pharaoh from history, the city tells the story of the time through the few pieces of art, the tombs, and the city plans. The articles written by Croker and one of the ones written by Kemp discuss the value of architecture and how it related to status within the society of the time. The other articles written by Ikram, and Kemp, Stevens, Dabbs, Zabecki, and Rose discuss the art, religion, and ritual practices. The city of Amarna was created on the basis of abandoning the old gods in favor of the worship of a single god, Aten. Societies in ancient history were based primarily on religion, and while archaeologists try to use Amarna as a basis for the study of New Kingdom Egypt because the religions changed Amarna should not be used as a template. Akhenaten aimed to abandon the old ways
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.
Through the years of Egyptian art, many various pieces hold a great deal of significance and beauty to their names. One piece in particular, known as the Bust of Nefertiti, which was crafted by Thutmose, radiates beauty as well as demonstrates a number of characteristics and skills from Egyptian art. This portrait came about during the 18th dynasty around 1350-1335 BCE. The piece shows Nefertiti, who was a queen of Egypt, from the neck up. The Bust of Nefertiti was made to portray Akhenaten's wife as an elegant beauty with a soft facial expression, using curving contour accompanied by a few other methods to display these features.