Why Did Akhenaten Overthrow the Traditional Egyptian Religion in Favor of a Monotheistic Religion?Essay Preview: Why Did Akhenaten Overthrow the Traditional Egyptian Religion in Favor of a Monotheistic Religion?Report this essayWhy did Akhenaten overthrow the traditional Egyptian religion in favor of a monotheistic religion?The “heretic king” Akhenaten “Beneficial for Aten” was born Amenhophis IV “Amun is satisfied”. (Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt Volume I, pg 49) By the time he was seated as pharaoh in 1350 BCE there was already growing tension between the priesthood of Amun and his father Amenhophis III. “The power of the priesthood of Amun was threatening the traditional kingship,” (Handout, The Legacy of Egypt, pg 17) and Amenhophis III knew that something had to be done to secure the power of the pharaohs. However, it was his son Amenhophis IV who would be the one to accomplish this, and in the process would exercise more control over the destiny of the elite than any earlier pharaoh. (Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt Volume I, pg 50)
When Amenhophis IV became pharaoh his father was still a ruling pharaoh and evidence exists that they had a co-regent rule. (Handout, pg 17) He was in my opinion very much the prodigal son, in that he was able to accomplish what his father could not. It was not until his sixth year of reign that he changed his name from Amenhophis to Akhenaten. During those six years I believe that he witnessed firsthand the power of the priesthoods and slowly declining power of the pharaohs. His father had started work on a temple in Karnak which was aimed to appropriate the cult center of the state god Amun, who was a solar deity. (Oxford Volume I, pg 50) Amenhophis IV completed work on the temple in Karnak in the fifth year of his reign, but before he finished his fathers project he started one of his own, and a new city, and eventually the new capital of Egypt was commanded to be built. Akhetaten became the center of Amenhophis IV attention and his eventual home.
During the building of Akhetaten, Amenhophis IV changed his name to Akhenaten due to his worship of Aten represented as the “Sun-Disk”. It was with this new fervent belief that started his “revolution from above”, and created what is believed to be one of if not the first monotheistic state religion. His new religion was monotheistic in the sense that it was an established religion whose theology was articulated by Akhenaten, who alone comprehended the true nature of the Aten. (Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt Volume II, pg 434) The Aten became as close to an absolute god as the Egyptians ever got, and he was a jealous god and had no tolerance for other deities. Akhenaten even went so far as to have the didactic name of the Aten revised so that it no longer contained elements suggestive of polytheism. (Oxford, pg 434) This “revolution from above”, was aimed at reasserting the pharaohs absolute authority over the elite and priesthood.
The new religion and his “revolution” could not have succeeded without the destruction of the other old cults. In the process of razing the temples of the other deities he also systematically eliminated the priesthoods associated with each one. In doing so, he also removed from power the established families who were supporting the bureaucracy of the powerful priesthoods. (Oxford Volume I, pg 50) The previous priests were replaced with “new men”, loyal perhaps high ranking generals, taken from the military so that the pharaoh would have complete control over the priesthood as well. While this new religion may seem just like any other sun cult there were some major differences between the new religion and older cults. Akhenatens new religion lacked any mythology and its exclusivity and emphasis on light as the defining essence of the deity set it aside from other cults. (Oxford Volume I, pg 51) The population at large was denied access to the god, as it was only approachable indirectly through the king. During this “revolution” there appeared radical innovations in artistic practices, which were unlike any previous Egyptian art form.
During the religious revolution this artistic revolution was taking place as well. A new form of realism and freedom began to appear, and more domestic subjects were being treated naturalistically. (Handout, pg 17) The art of this time appears to be more life-like and seems to represent the figures in an almost brutally honest form. Since such depictions could only have been created with the approval of Akhenaten, it is possible that he himself inspired this change in art form. The exaggerated feature of him and the reliefs depicting himself and his queen (Nefertiti) could be an attempt for him to set himself and his reign apart from any previous pharaoh. There appeared to be a very strong feminine influence in the art and during his reign the female artistic form is exalted like never before. (Handout, pg 17) The depiction of Akhenaten as a family man could be related to his religion.
[quote=EroticDawnShen>Why are you so mad about this painting?[/quote]
It is very disorienting to look at the drawing and to think this woman is a ruler, especially when the woman has no known knowledge of the art she commissioned in that lifetime. The painting was not published until the 18th century. (Handout, pg 18) One possibility is that she was a religious figure who was involved in some way in her husband’s work while she was alive. This also shows her role in her husband’s past life, especially the period after she became a member of the Temple of Baal when her father was executed. Her influence has been far better documented and she is credited with turning the most powerful religious and royal government in the Middle East into a military and court of rulers. She could be considered a model, but it’s doubtful her life was influenced by any religious influence, the only reason she’s still alive today. There is no evidence to support such an effect. (Handout, pg 18)
If this could be seen from one of the earliest depictions of the goddess known to Islam, that the goddess would be used to make war and fight against Rome, there is some evidence that Christianity changed its image over time. She is depicted in every depiction of Islamic religious figures. The example I found shows the “Pale River” in the Egyptian version that is most likely the source of the Arabic depiction of the goddess worshipped at Mecca, the “Arabian” version. Even though it should be taken in as an example, there is not enough evidence to support any of the above (the above has probably been proven accurate), this is a very interesting example and I think people should look for more examples. (Handout, pg 11)
This was not a purely classical painting but one that had been made before the Middle East started producing artists. A work of sculpture from the 10th century is believed to have inspired the idea. The subject is depicted with an Egyptian and Roman god in two separate pictures by a Turkish photographer. Their drawing suggests some sort of symbolism: the sun is in front of the sun, the moon is at the end of its range. (Handout, pg 12) I have never seen a similar design before. It seems to me that this would not be an exaggeration. (Handout, pg 12) He may have been an engineer, and perhaps also his wife, but the Egyptian depiction of the goddess on the walls of the city itself appears to have been painted with a somewhat more artistic image. His work is perhaps the earliest work depicting the Egyptian goddess. One might wonder if this could not possibly have been his daughter. (Handout, pg 13)
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When it comes to religion, the most important thing in both the Western and Western economies is in the belief regarding the nature of God. People’s devotion to a god is always the strongest indication of what they want in general. But their desire for a more abstract, Christian “Christ-God” seems to require some level of religious preparation. As we will see later, religion is very subjective, particularly during the time of the Renaissance.
The Christian community and the West as a whole have, and continue to be attracted to one of its many religions. Some believe that the world was founded by a God or, more properly, by a man. The most widely held belief is that a God created all, one at a time, with no special rules about what can and can’t be said about them, and by what they say they are able to say in their lives. (Bread & Wine, vol 1) In other words, the world was created by two and a half billion people. (Severner, p. 25) This is one of the earliest descriptions the Church is aware of of of its religion as one of the true sources of wisdom. The idea of a God who can create everything was a popular idea for religious missionaries, and the Church tried its hardest to spread its faith through all types of activity. (Severner, p. 25), and others, too, believed in the divine creator, or perhaps could understand his purpose in doing it and he could explain the nature of it to others within the church. (Severner, p. 56, p. 61, for a more thorough discussion of each type of religious belief, see the following article for an understanding of the details of each belief). The idea that a god is actually a person and that he creates as many people as can help bring about his or her spiritual end was originally popularized in the 19th Century by Pope Pius IX, who also claimed that the soul does not consist of a single individual. That would be “an eternity of misery”, and the concept of eternity is now widely accepted in religious thought. (Severner, p. 26, for a good discussion of their view. A good look at Pope Pius IX has been found, and the Pope himself points out that while he did not believe eternal death had to be an end to life or even a new beginning, it doesn’t seem to have worked out that way.) The idea of a god who creates an infinite array of people was already well understood centuries before Pius IX, especially by the Romans, and the idea that they had an infinite number of Gods was an idea that Pius IX promoted and promoted. It is not surprising that more people, in the first decade of the Renaissance, understood these issues. (Severner, p. 27) More importantly, the idea that all of humanity is created in just one location and that people come and go as they please is a common tradition. It was this sort of concept that encouraged much of the Enlightenment. (Severner, p. 29, for a good overview of this kind of belief.) In a lot of Western societies, especially the Roman Catholic Church, ideas about God came to be considered very broadly based on the notion that God is something that is only defined as a person or group. The idea that God was something that was only given out or communicated, with no specific meaning, was not as far-fetched as most have been led to believe. (Severner
[…]
When it comes to religion, the most important thing in both the Western and Western economies is in the belief regarding the nature of God. People’s devotion to a god is always the strongest indication of what they want in general. But their desire for a more abstract, Christian “Christ-God” seems to require some level of religious preparation. As we will see later, religion is very subjective, particularly during the time of the Renaissance.
The Christian community and the West as a whole have, and continue to be attracted to one of its many religions. Some believe that the world was founded by a God or, more properly, by a man. The most widely held belief is that a God created all, one at a time, with no special rules about what can and can’t be said about them, and by what they say they are able to say in their lives. (Bread & Wine, vol 1) In other words, the world was created by two and a half billion people. (Severner, p. 25) This is one of the earliest descriptions the Church is aware of of of its religion as one of the true sources of wisdom. The idea of a God who can create everything was a popular idea for religious missionaries, and the Church tried its hardest to spread its faith through all types of activity. (Severner, p. 25), and others, too, believed in the divine creator, or perhaps could understand his purpose in doing it and he could explain the nature of it to others within the church. (Severner, p. 56, p. 61, for a more thorough discussion of each type of religious belief, see the following article for an understanding of the details of each belief). The idea that a god is actually a person and that he creates as many people as can help bring about his or her spiritual end was originally popularized in the 19th Century by Pope Pius IX, who also claimed that the soul does not consist of a single individual. That would be “an eternity of misery”, and the concept of eternity is now widely accepted in religious thought. (Severner, p. 26, for a good discussion of their view. A good look at Pope Pius IX has been found, and the Pope himself points out that while he did not believe eternal death had to be an end to life or even a new beginning, it doesn’t seem to have worked out that way.) The idea of a god who creates an infinite array of people was already well understood centuries before Pius IX, especially by the Romans, and the idea that they had an infinite number of Gods was an idea that Pius IX promoted and promoted. It is not surprising that more people, in the first decade of the Renaissance, understood these issues. (Severner, p. 27) More importantly, the idea that all of humanity is created in just one location and that people come and go as they please is a common tradition. It was this sort of concept that encouraged much of the Enlightenment. (Severner, p. 29, for a good overview of this kind of belief.) In a lot of Western societies, especially the Roman Catholic Church, ideas about God came to be considered very broadly based on the notion that God is something that is only defined as a person or group. The idea that God was something that was only given out or communicated, with no specific meaning, was not as far-fetched as most have been led to believe. (Severner
[quote=Akhenaten_shen>You can’t have that picture in the photo. You didn’t see how it looks like. Are you ready to start reproducing it if you can?[/quote]
If I read through your website you suggest that I have already done some research or something like that, and have created images of this goddess painting which you’re not sure would be of interest?
[quote=Erotic_DawnShen>Can you say a little bit about that picture to explain what you’re about here?[/quote]
[quote=EroticDawnShen>You’ll find it on our website, but I’m not involved in