Unit 3 Week 8: Akhenaten by pwhitefield

Robert Chadwick: First Civilizations p. 182

pawhitefield — 2022-03-23 23:36:52 UTC

In terms of Akhenaten’s religion, the traditional view maintained that he made a clean, sharp break from existing religious beliefs. Breaking with the past, the young king conceived the idea of monotheism, the belief in one god, as opposed to polytheism, the belief in many gods. Egypt had hundreds of gods and countless shrines, altars, and temples dedicated to them.

Then, almost overnight, Akhenaten forcibly replaced them all with his brand of solar monotheism. Some commentators have given him the title of “heretic king” because he destroyed Egypt’s long-standing religious traditions; others have seen him as a great
religious reformer who, centuries before the Old Testament prophets, advanced human spirituality by concentrating all religious beliefs into one supreme godhead, and even advancing the concept of a “trinity”
of gods.

Laura Taronas: Harvard University

pawhitefield — 2022-03-23 23:40:43 UTC

What, then, was this new religion that motivated Akhenaten to upend so many elements of Egyptian society? The answers are rooted in uncertainties, leading Egyptologists to long debate the nature of Akhenaten’s transformation. Scholars have argued in favor of monotheism, henotheism, agnosticism and almost everything in between. What is certain, though, is this new religion elevated the Aten to the position of state deity and centered largely on its worship. Akhenaten further reshaped Egypt’s religious sphere through the persecution of some traditional gods, most notably Amun – Egypt’s state deity for much of the 18th dynasty. Sometime around his fourth regnal year, Akhenaten even dispatched agents to erase the names and images of certain gods from existing texts and monuments.

Joshua Mark: World History Encyclopedia

pawhitefield — 2022-03-23 23:44:40 UTC

Amenhotep III ruled over a land whose priesthood, centered on the god Amun, had been steadily growing in power for centuries. By the time Amenhotep IV came to power, the priests of Amun were on almost equal standing with the royal house in wealth and influence.

By the time of Amenhotep IV, the cult of Amun owned more land than the king. In the 5th year of his reign, Amenhotep IV outlawed the old Egyptian Religion and proclaimed himself the living incarnation of a single all-powerful deity known as Aten and, by the 9th year, he had closed all the temples and suppressed religious practices.

Amenhotep IV moved his seat of power from the traditional palace at Thebes to one he built at the city he founded, Akhetaten, changed his name to Akhenaten, and continued the religious reforms which resulted in his being despised as `the heretic king' by some later writers while admired as a champion of monotheism by others.

Historian Lewis Spence

pawhitefield — 2022-03-23 23:46:45 UTC

"With the exception of Ra and Osiris, the worship of Amun was more widespread than that of any other god in the Nile Valley; but the circumstances behind the growth of his (Akhenaten) cult certainly point to its having been disseminated (spread) by political rather than religious propaganda."

Historian Barbara Watterson

pawhitefield — 2022-03-23 23:47:51 UTC

"By the ninth year of his reign, Akhenaten had proscribed (forbade) the old gods of Egypt, and ordered their temples to be closed, a very serious matter, for these institutions played an important part in the economic and social life of the country. Religious persecution was new to the Egyptians, who had always worshipped many deities and were ever ready to add new gods to the pantheon. Atenism, however, was a very exclusive religion confined to the royal family, with the king as the only mediator between man and god".

Professor Jane Hill: Akhenaten (Amenhotep IV)

pawhitefield — 2022-03-23 23:49:54 UTC

Akhenaten has been described as a visionary who cut through the formality of Egyptian religion to establish a connection with one God, the Aten. To some, Akhenaten was the first Monotheist who may have been inspired by Joseph or Moses. However, it is by no means as simple as that. Although Akhenaten’s religion did center on one god, it was not strictly monotheistic and was by no means identical to the Israelites. It seems that the Apis cult was maintained and other gods are still mentioned in inscriptions (although they are usually solar gods or personifications of abstract ideas). In fact, the names of the Aten (which were written in a cartouche) describe the god in terms of the other gods.

Furthermore, it seems that the personal relationship with the Aten did not extend to the common people, just the Royal Family. Akhenaten and his family are frequently shown worshipping the Aten or simply enjoying everyday activities beneath the protective rays of the Aten disk, reinforcing the link between the king and his god. Ordinary people could not worship the Aten directly, they worshipped the King and the royal family. This gave the king absolute power over secular and religious life in Egypt. For this reason, some have suggested that Akhenaten’s motivations were cynically political. They argue that the king was worried about the growing power of the priests of Amun, as his father Amenhotep III had been. By establishing a new order which rejected Amun in favour of the Aten (who was accessible primarily to the king) he took religion back from the priests.

As well as Nefertiti, Akhenaten surrounded himself with a number of powerful women whom he clearly adored and respected. Each of the royal women had her own sunshade temple where she could worship the Aten. They were generally located within beautiful gardens complete with ritual pools where the wonders of nature could be enjoyed. The Armarna women, in particular Nefertiti, seem to have represented the feminine aspect of the Aten as creator.