Akhenaten was a pharaoh of Egypt who reigned over the country for about seventeen years roughly between 1353 B.C. and 1335 B.C. (Jarus). Akhenaten was one of the children of Amenhotep III and his wife Queen Tiye. Little is known about his early life; this is mainly because, unlike his four sisters and one brother, he was not depicted on the monuments and other structures that his father built (Roberts, page 37). Akhenaten created his own religion, due to the fact that his family never taught him the ways of praising the original Egyptian Gods. He began worshipping the visible sun, which he called the Aten, and he changed his own name to Akhenaten (Beneficial to the Aten) (Brier and Hobbs, p. 23). “Amenhotep insisted that the proper way to
Akhenaten wanted to build new temples, statues, monuments, and artifacts to establish that Akhenaten worshipped Aten the sun god. Meanwhile, statues of old gods were destroyed. Therefore, even statues of former pharaohs, including even those of Akhenaten’s own father were ordered to be destroyed (Jacobs, page 6). Akhenaten gave orders to destroy and ban all monuments that represented any other Gods besides the God of Aten, the one and only God for Akhenaten. Amenhotep IV built temples, royal workshops, buildings, and religious centers for his people to worship the god Aten in Akhetaten. “Akhenaten’s reign, he changed the long form of the god’s name so that, in essence, the Aten became ‘not just the supreme god but the only god.’” (Jarus) Normal citizens who did not have any power in Egypt were forced to pray directly to Akhenaten, instead of Aten. It was a rule that Amenhotep established because it was a border line between the people and the sun god Aten. A few Egyptians appeared to have added the word “Aten” to their name in honor of the god (Roberts, page 41). The changes that Akhenaten enforced upon all Egyptians was getting out of control, due to the fact that after thousands of years in believing in multiple gods, he forced a change within the beliefs of his people, to believe in the God
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 great respect. Yet at the same time, there were many commonalties between these new ideas and the old views of the Egyptian world. Although through the duration of his reign, Amenhotep IV introduced a great many changes to the Egyptian religion along with "The Hymn", none of these reforms outlived their creator, mostly due to the massive forces placed on his successor, Tutankhamen, to renounce these new reforms. However, the significance of Amenhotep IV, or Akhenaten as he later changed his name to, is found in "The Hymn". "The Hymn" itself can be looked at as a contradiction of ideas; it must be looked at in relation to both the Old Kingdom's belief of steadfast and static values, as well as in regards to the changes of the Middle Kingdom, which saw unprecedented expansionistic and individualistic oriented reforms. In this paper I plan to discuss the evolvement of Egyptian Religious Beliefs throughout the Old,
The reunification of upper and Lower Egypt catalysed the syncretism of prominent sun deities Amun and Re. Consequently, a powerful cult emerged that became the prevailing religious ideology, as well as an important political power base which secured dynastic legitimacy. The importance and impact of the Amun cult is diverse, as it developed social cohesion, shaped the ideology of kingship, facilitated economic and military prosperity, and formed a new power base; the Amun Priesthood.
King Tut wasn’t a famous pharaoh but he did have mighty power.have you ever wondered what King Tut ment to the egyptians. I know I sure do. What's interesting about this question is there’s many many theories but there is only one true answer. Many people don't know who King Tut was, why he has his own tomb or even is King Tut still a major part in Egyptian history. ("King Tut Biography." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 07 Nov. 2013).
Amenhotep IV was born in c. 1365 BCE during the 18th dynasty in Egypt to Pharaoh Amenhotep III and Queen Tiye (Aldred 11). He was given his name in honor of the Gods Amun and Re whom Amenhotep III sought to be the earthly representative of (Bratton 17). Amun-Re was the creator God, and Re was the God of the sun (Assmann 485-6). Combined, these two deities were the most powerful God and are therefore normally referred to by their conjoined name of Amun-Re (Redford 97). Although Re was the sole Sun God, there were others under him who were individually responsible for a specific detail of the sun-God. Aten was an aspect of R...
“The pharaoh of ancient Egypt is normally described as the typical example of a divine ruler” (J. Ray, Hatshepsut, Vol 44, Issue 5, 1994) The ancient Egyptian world has seen hundreds of pharaohs; some excelled and some didn’t. Many of the pharaohs were men, only few females succeeded in gaining such great power, yet some did... specifically Hatshepsut. Few pharaohs of the 18Th Dynasty have aroused as much controversy as Hatshepsut. Hatshepsut was the sixth pharaoh of the New Kingdom and set up co-regency with her nephew and stepson, Thutmose III. (J. Lawless, Hatshepsut, a Personal Study, 2010) Hatshepsut created many junctions in history through politics, building programmes and military. This makes her so recognised in modern day studies, though almost all evidence of her existence has been partially or completely destroyed. Due to this many theories have been created about the standard of her reign.
Pharaoh or President? “The nobility of securing the people’s will, is more important to me than Egypt’s rule,” said Egyptian president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, who is currently working to make Egypt a better place. Hatshepsut (1538 BC - 1458 BC) was the first female pharaoh in Egypt and ruled for about 20 years. Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, born in Cairo, Egypt in 1954, is the current president of Egypt who came into office during the summer of 2014.
In Ancient Egypt there were over 29 Kings and Pharaohs and over 5 Queens. Some of the most famous kings and queens were: Ramses II, Ramses III, King Tut, Cleopatra, and Nefertiti.
Egypt is a city bound to its history and tradition. Portraiture in Egypt was the inspiration for many cultures and stood as heavy influence for the catalyst of portraiture development around the world. Portraiture in ancient Egypt was constant and predictable until the late eighteenth century when Amarna style portraiture was introduced. The Amarna style stands out in Egyptian history for its severe contrast and break in tradition. The rendering of the body changes completely and deviates from what is expected of Egyptian art. This falls into the same time when Amenhotep IV was introducing other changes into Egyptian culture as well. As Amarna style progresses it is accompanied by the institution of Egyptian henotheism. Over two thousand deities were to be abandoned during Amenhotep IV’s eighteen year reign. His name would become Akhenaten and the Amarna style would be grouped into a class of ancient art surrounding Akhenaten, his family, and the sole god Aten.
Akhenaten had a dream to reform Egypt. He changed the way they worshiped, the way they lived and even the way they created art. His rule was a time of great change for Egypt, however his ideas and reforms were met with little support or enthusiasm. He used tremendous amounts of Egypt’s recourses and time for all his reforms, he also consumed a lot of his own time on these problems rather than on his pharaonic duties. During the 5th and 6th years of his reign Akhenaten set the boundaries for his new capital, Akhetaten, 350 kilometres north of Thebes. It was to be a city dedicated to Aten and all who worshiped him, however like most of Akhenaten’s reforms once his rule concluded, like so many other of his attempts to change Egypt, this too would be abandoned. Akhenaten led an artistic reform, changing the way that Egyptian artists portrayed the people of Egypt. He moved away from the false grandeur that had always been used and opted for a more stark and realistic approach, possible even an exaggerated ugliness. He himself was depicted as a gaunt, frail and pot-bellied man with a stern and imposing face rather than a strong radiant god king as previous pharaohs had always b...
The history of LGBTQ* is not a brand new topic in the history. Actually, there are many of LGBTQ* histories are recorded all way the beginning of the creation of humans, which the today’s special History Channel documentary focusing on LBGTQ* topics. I will be speaking about Hatshepsut, who is one of the well-known Pharaoh of Egypt who was portrayed in the pictures as a male.
Egyptian religion is polytheistic. The gods are present in the form of elements of life – natural forces and human condition. Greek religion is also polytheistic. Like Egypt, the Greek gods exist to represent different aspects of life, but they also play an active social role in the people’s lives. In Greek mythology, the gods have feelings and flaws as the normal people do. Greek Gods have even had children and committed adultery with people. The Egyptian gods interact more with each other than with the people. They interact with the people more on a supernatural level. Osiris, the Egyptian god of agriculture and afterlife, judges people when they die. Amon, the king of gods, is hidden inside the ruler (This “king of gods” title was not always so as the popularity of Aton, the sun-disk rose through the reformation of Pharaoh Akhenaton in 1369-1353 BC). Hebrew religion, being monotheistic, had only one all-powerful god. Instead of being believed by the people to be somewhere in the world, the Hebrew god was completely separated from the physical universe. Abraham in Canaan (about 1800 BC) is the first known practicer of monotheism. As for monotheistic resemblance in other cultures, the Greek god Zeus is seen as a leader of the other gods, but not independent of them. Akhenaton’s short-lived reform of Egyptian religion reveres Aton as the source of all life. This is the earliest religious expression of a belief in a sole god of the universe. Akhenaton’s challenge to the power of the priests did not last beyond his own lifetime.
to 2650 B.C., changed his name to the more commonly known Zoser. It was Zoser
For example, Akhenaten worshiped only one god, Aton, the sun god. For this reason, he had denounced all other Egyptian gods and goddesses as false and disregarded worship for them. Thus, Akhenaten’s monotheism failed to find a place among his people. Furthermore, Akhenaten’s god didn’t bring comfort and tranquility to his people either. In fact, Ancient Egyptians were distressed and yearned for their familiar god, for those gods made Egypt flourish with wealth and might. Even so, Akhenaten had outlawed the gods of Egypt’s past with the help of his wife, Nefertiti. But, when Akhenaten and Nefertiti died, their religion and god died with them. In fact, Akhenaten’s own son restored the former gods and goddesses into their proper places of worship. Unfortunately, Akhenaten’s reign still could not be erased from the Ancient Egyptians minds and they took their revenge. The mummified body of Nefertiti was mutilated. She suffered damages to her mouth, preventing her from speaking before the gods in the afterlife. Thus, Nefertiti will not find rest, doomed from entering paradise because she cannot speak her name in front of the gods who she had help outlaw in
Tutankhamun was a very effective ruler of the Egyptian empire because he reformed the religion after his father had changed it during his reign. During Akhenaton’s (Tutankhamun’s father) reign he changed the main religion of Egypt from polytheism (the worship of many God’s) to