Political Changes In Akhenaten

Religion to ancient Egyptians was very important. It was part of almost every aspect of their

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.

Akhenaten is often not credited as being one of the great pharaoh’s of ancient Egypt; his name is not as recognized as his son, Tutankhamen. However he deserves acknowledged for being a revolutionary leader. Akhenaten is most well-known as being a spiritual enthusiast and instigator of revolution within the kingdom of Egypt. Many historians have recognized Akhenaten with being solely responsible for developing a religious revolution in Egypt. Nevertheless his struggles defined as the first true effort at instituting a monotheistic state in a polytheistic society, his efforts were not eternal. The reasoning behind his decisions to change Egypt's faith is still observed though to this day. “Today most historical resources believe Akhenaten

Historians' views as to why Akhenaten moved his capital to Amarna are distinctly contrasted, and the suggestions are numerous. These include three predominant theories promoted by various historians with divergent views of Akhenaten. These theories are all conceptually based on the concept of Akhenaten using Amarna to develop his religious ideals. Firstly, it is believed that having his revolutionary religious reforms reached their goals; Akhenaten employed the city of Amarna as an escape from Amun dominated Thebes. This would remove the distractions of other Gods and Deities still around in Thebes, and leave people free to worship the Aten. Secondly it is suggested that Akhenaten repositioned his capital to Amarna in order to escape the

Hatshepsut and Akhenaten have both revolutionized Egyptian art during their reign as rulers of Egypt. In the 18th Dynasty in Egypt, the art of both Queen/King Hatshepsut and Akhenaten represented them with features not corresponding to their biological sex or social gender. In several of her paintings and sculptures, Hatshepsut was often portrayed as a man despite that fact that she was a woman. On the other hand, Akhenaten was often portrayed with feminine features, something that was never done before in Egyptian art. There have been many different theories from historians as to why Hatshepsut, Akhenaten, and their artists may have done this, but nothing has yet to be confirmed.

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

In the typical life of an Egyptian citizen, one was constantly being influenced by their gods and goddesses because of his or her belief in a polytheistic religion. The gods and goddesses were believed to have power over the forces and elements over nature, and myths about them explained the connection they had between their

Akhenaten was known as a “heretic” pharaoh due to the radical changes he made during his reign as an Egyptian pharaoh. The people of Egypt had been worshipping many different deities all the time and Akhenaten was the first pharaoh to break the tradition by introducing monotheism, which was the worship to only one god. Other than reforming the religious beliefs, he also introduced arts of different styles to worship the Sun god, Aten. The changes made during Akhenaten’s reign had no doubt brought some effects to the lives of the Egyptians and also people from other countries later on.

Ma’at’s concept combines numerous factors that assume a complete disassociation in Egyptian imaginary. Ma’at forms the basis for understanding the civilization of Egypt in its entirety and longevity. Just like Ma’at, duality marks the history of Egypt whereby from the ancient philosophies of the Egyptians to their politics; duality premise has been the order of the day. The application of this duality helped them unite distinct cultures, while its recognition helped them to form a lasting civilization that had never been experienced before. In terms of religion, this dual nature remains by no means as clear as in Ma’at. Thus, the dual nature of Ma’at may be revealed in an intangible idea that embraces order, justice and balance, as well as an anthropomorphic goddess. As the other cultures faced challenges in explaining Ma’at concept through the use of multiple terms, the Egyptians used a single term, an aspect that provided a practical and positive distinct order principle.

Religion was a significant issue throughout the eighteenth dynasty of Egypt, also known as the Amarna period, and shortly after it. Within the infantry stage of the new pharaoh Akhenaten’s reign, he had turned the customary polytheistic religion worshiped by citizens for many years into a monotheistic worship of the Aten, a god represented by the sun disk. Furthermore, Akhenaten possessed such strong beliefs for the god Aten that he created a new city, Amarna, where all could worship Aten, singularly. Akhenaten's obsession caused the devotion of the Aten to become more of a cult than a religion. Within the Great Hymn to the Aten Akhenaten states that only he “knows” Aten, meaning when citizens pray to Aten, they are not allowed to pray directly

Again, in some portraits of Akhenaten and his family usually during the early period of his reign, his daughters and sometimes his wife Nefertiti are shown as sharing some of his deformities, his daughters certainly are usually shown as having highly unusual head shapes . Since the shapes of the heads of the princesses correspond with that of Tutankhamen’s, it is possible that they really were result of a genetic defect on Akhenaten part, though they were no doubt exaggerated.

Akhenaten came to the throne as Amenhotep IV.Early in his reign, the new pharaoh began to revise Egypt's religious system. The kingdom's broad pantheon of deities was now reduced to the sun god Aten. The worship of other

     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

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.

Amun-Re is often referred to as the most important and powerful god of Ancient Egypt. Amun-Re was the god of the sun. “Amun-Re is the main name of the sun god, but also has three different names in which describe the phases of life that Amun-Re goes through each day.”(Budge, Pg. 92) When examining the ancient Egyptian god Amun-Re, four main points must be understood, including: the origin of Amun-Re, the characteristics of Amun-Re, how Amun-Re was worshiped, and how Amun-Re impacted Egyptian life.