Scope: Here we see the most enigmatic and controversial pharaoh in Egypt’s long history. We will use his reign to illustrate what happens when the three pillars of Egyptian society—religion, the military, and the pharaoh—are altered. We will also discuss the claim that Akhenaten was the first monotheist and “the first individual in history.”
Outline
I. Akhenaten is going to change everything in what was the most conservative society in history.
A. The unchanging climate and regularity of the Nile led to the concept that change was bad.
B. Art was practically paint-by-numbers. There was little creativity, no word for “artist” in ancient Egyptian, and no signed pieces.
C. Politically, the pharaoh was central, the symbol of Egypt for thousands of years, a fact emphasized by the kings lists.
D. Egyptian religion honored the same gods for 2,000 years.
E. Divine Order—Maat—means “status quo.”
II. Amenhotep IV began a traditional reign.
A. He was coregent with his father for four or five years, perhaps because of Amenhotep III’s dental problems.
B. He completed his father’s monuments in traditional style.
C. He married Nefertiti, a beautiful commoner.
III. Amenhotep IV soon instituted major changes.
A. He changed his name, about year 5, an act that had great meaning in Egypt. His new name was Akhenaten.
B. In art, Akhenaten was shown as deformed: spindly neck and arms, breasts, wide hips, elongated face. This had never been done before; the pharaoh was traditionally well muscled and vigorous.
C. The pharaoh instituted monotheism, the world’s first: “There is no god but Aten.” This was a stunning declaration in a world of polytheistic religions.
IV. Akhenaten’s temples at Karnak also indicate the changes from a closed, massive style to one more open to the sun.
A. One temple is named Gem-Pa-Aten—“Aten is found.”
1. His heb-sed festival was celebrated, but there are only representations of Akhenaten, not other gods, in the shrines.
2. Did they really have this festival—or is it just painted on the walls?
B. These temples were eventually dismantled, the stones used as filler in later buildings.
1. In this century, the Akhenaten Temple Project attempted to put together a 45,000-piece jigsaw puzzle to rebuild on paper several of these temples.
2. It was discovered that Nefertiti had her own temple, devoted only to women. In the Old Kingdom, women never would have had such power.
V. Akhenaten may have been forced to move from Thebes to Tell el Amarna, his Holy City in the desert.
A. It was an isolated spot, 200 miles north of Thebes, absent of previous temples or gods.
B. His followers made up a cult, building a city in the desert from scratch.
C. The boundary stelae around the city present a kind of sermon on the mount:
1. Akhenaten says to his followers that Aten showed him the site.
2. No images of Aten can be fashioned.
3. There will be no more military.
4. Akhenaten will never leave the city.
5. Only Akhenaten knows the Aten.
D. The palace was a place of beauty.
E. Nobles’ houses were in the northern and southern suburbs.
F. Tombs of the nobles give clues to life in the city.
1. They were built on the east bank of the Nile.
2. But none was completed. Did the followers of Akhenaten believe in an afterlife?
G. The royal tomb was isolated, as in the Valley of the Kings.
VI. Akhenaten was unusual both as a man and a king.
A. He was a religious leader and mystic.
1. He wrote the “Hymn to the Aten.”
2. He presented an abstract god, for all people. Egypt was no longer special.
B. He is shown in art as a family man with six daughters, everyday scenes that had never appeared earlier.
C. But something tragic happened during his reign. Diplomatic correspondence reveals problems.
1. The military was ignored.
2. Foreign connections were overlooked, and Egypt became isolated.
3. Akhenaten died in the seventeenth year of his reign, and his followers were no doubt troubled about what course to take.
VII. Was Akhenaten a flower child or a confirmed elitist? One thing we can be sure of is that he left an incredible legacy.
A. He is the first recorded proponent of monotheism.
B. Egyptologist James Henry Breasted called him “the first individual in history.”
C. He was a religious visionary.
D. Art produced during the period is still unsurpassed in quality.
E. Tutankhamen was probably his son—and his greatest legacy.
Essential Reading:
Cryil Aldred, Akhenaten, King of Egypt.
Supplementary Reading:
D. B. Redford, Akhenaten, the Heretic King.
Questions to Consider:
1. Why did Amenhotep IV change everything?
2. What were the social and economic effects of the change to monotheism?