The Akhenaten: An Unusual Ruler In The History Of Ancient Egypt

The thirty-eight-year reign of the Egyptian Pharaoh, Amenhotep III was a period of unparalleled stability and wealth in the history of the New Kingdom. During the reign of Amenhotep III, Egypt grew to be the world’s “Super Power,” and had great influence on a large scale. The key features of his reign included:

Amenhotep IV better known as Akhenaten is one of the most interesting pharaohs to have ever ruled over Egypt (BBC). He changed his name to Akhenaton, which means 'the servant of Aten' early in his reign (ehistory). He came into power around 1353 BCE and stayed in power for 17 years (BBC). His wife was queen Nefertiti and they had six daughters, he also fathered king Tut (BBC). Akhenaten was a true visionary as he made revolutionary changes to the religion and art of Ancient Egypt.

Pharaohs were governors of the Ancient Egyptian realm who broadcasted themselves as sons of gods who upheld Ma’at – the Egyptian order of life. Most pharaohs ruled in a typical and expected way carrying the beliefs of their ancestors- though not all ruled this way. Akhenaten of the 18th Dynasty New Kingdom was not an “archetypal” pharaoh as seen through his goal to change Egyptian religion from polytheism to monotheism and through his building project in Amarna. Though he used traditional means to incorporate his changes he did so in an atypical way. After all his attempts at reform all was forgotten when he died and Egypt returned to the religious beliefs it had beforehand. This essay will analyse historical evidence that demonstrates

The figure on the right is King Sahure, the second ruler of the fifth dynasty. He is the larger of the two figures, is wearing a large head piece and is sitting on a throne. The figure

Fig. 1 Statue of Yuny and Renenutet, ca. 1290–1270 BCE.; Fig. 2 Akhenaten and his Family,18

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

on Relief of A Winged Genius also appears on other reliefs within the palace walls. The

Akhenaten was born at around 1362 B.C. He was the son of Amenhotep III and Queen Tiye. When he was a child, Akhenaten was a family outcast: he was never depicted in any of the family portraits, there were no records of him going to any public events, and is thought to have never received any honors. His brother, Thutmose was going to be the successor of his father who was the Pharaoh Amenhotep III. However, it is believed that Thutmose unexpectedly died and Akhenaten, the next one in line succeeded the throne. However, another theory suggests that Queen Tiye wanted Akhenaten to succeed the throne. We do not know what actually happened but we do know that he ended up reigning as Amenhotep IV.

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

     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

had grown up in the most powerful family in ancient Egypt. Once he became pharaoh and ruler of Egypt’s empire in 1378 BCE, he changed his name to Akhenaten, “effective spirit of Aten”, and was known to the people as “the heretic king. Early in his reign, Akhenaten encouraged ideas by using art as a way of emphasizing his political and religious intentions of doing things differently; therefore,

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.

Have you ever wondered how Ancient Egypt helped shape the world today? Ancient Egyptians were a group of folks who were heavily influenced by religion. They feared dying anywhere but Egypt. The Egyptian Empire held a fascinating and very distinctive culture. Being one of the world 's most advanced cultures and creating tons of wealth is what separated them from everybody else. Between the outstanding artwork, teaching methods, and amazing pyramids is what helped their society advance altogether. No other civilization of the ancient world history had such a popular appeal and none as important as human society and its organization. Egyptians have made great steps in shaping the world we all know today, which have made studying their culture and society easier than some previous historical eras.

I find this piece to be very mysterious. Why does the head become narrow at the top? The face seems to be of an older woman, as shown by the wrinkles indented within the sides of the nose and the mouth, although they are not as prevalent as the one of NYC. There’s a soft jaw line of a woman. What is interesting to me is the indented/concave region of the eyes. Instead of forming an extruding eye with a pupil, the sculptor chose to extract the material to form the eye, unlike the piece we saw of Abu, with eyes stamped with bitumen tar. The lips are very well sculpted, and textured well. It seems like it would mean a lot to a Pharaoh who has lost his mother, or who hopes to forever remember his family. To see the portrait of his family along with himself would’ve made him feel happy and in the presence of his family. I feel this way much of the time when seeing photos of lost family members with me beside them within the photos. It’s like an everlasting memory of that person and being with them in the memory.

The subject of the artwork is Nefertiti, who was the wife of Akhenaten. In addition to being a wife, Nefertiti was also a queen of Egypt. Nefertiti is posed in a very graceful stance. She looks very calm and put together. Due to the curvature of the very elongated neck, the Bust of Nefertiti is poised into a relaxed pose, while maintaining her eternal beauty at the same time. These features are also noticeable when moving the focus towards the eyes, which are slightly closed enough to see her eyelids in addition to her actual eyes. Her eyes are composed into a very natural state; they aren’t widened as if they are portraying a specific facial expression. Her entire face has a peaceful and very naturalistic look. Although often times portraits in Egypt were made to be exaggerated and never depicted what the person actually looked like, this piece