akhenaten and monotheism

8/22/2019 Akhenaten and Monotheism

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Akhenaten and Monotheism


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Akhenaten and MonotheismIntroduction: The History of Monotheism

Eastern societies embrace monotheism

more broadly, more strictly and earlierthan their Western counterparts

e.g. Egypt and Judea

Islam is the strictest form of monotheism yet

cf. pants


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most important to historians, the Hebrew

religion is not the earliest form ofmonotheism attested in the historicalrecord

moreover, Hebrew monotheism developedslowly over time, as well see in Section 11

that is, long before Hebrew records confirmthe growth of a monotheistic religion inCanaan, the Egyptians experimented with a

novel form of single-deity worship


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during the reign of the mysterious

pharaohAkhenaten the big question then is:

Did Akhenatens religioninfluence or somehowaffect the growth of

monotheism among theancient Hebrews?


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Akhenaten and MonotheismAkhenaten

Akhenaten was bornAmunhotep (IV)

ruled Egypt: ca. 1352-1338 BCE died in middle age, of unknown causes

theAmarna Period

at El-Amarna

in Akhenatens

day this city-sitewas calledAkhetaten


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Overview of Pharaohs (Amarna Period)

Akhenaten (1352-1338 BCE) Smenkhare (1338-1336

BCE): virtually unknown

Tutankhuaten, laterTutankhamun (1336-1327

BCE): famous tomb Ay (1327-1323 BCE): ageduncle put on the throne in

the absence of otherlegitimate adult male heirs


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after Ay, the next pharaoh

was Horemheb (1323-1295BCE)

a general not related by

blood to the royal line ofAhmose

the end of the 18th Dynasty

thus, Ay was a transitionalfigure leading the way for

the next dynasty, theRamessids (19th Dynasty)


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the most important ruler

of the 19th

Dynasty wasRamses II

during this period, El-Amarna was abandonedand later destroyed

official purge of thememory of Akhenaten

its hard even to find hintsof Akhenatens religion inlater Egyptian culture


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yet we do know about Akhenaten!

in fact, we know more about himand his reign than most Egyptiansdid fifty years after his life

indeed theres more survivingevidence from Akhenatens regimethan the later part of Ramses IIs reign

because of the Ramessidsdestruction ofAmarna culture

ironically, the destruction of Amarna

culture preserved it, cf. Pompeii


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Akhenaten and MonotheismAkhetaten

Akhetaten: Akhenatens new capital

a large city builtvery quickly

out oftalatat

over 45,000 found


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but while buildings with small blocks go

up fast, they also come down fast many found inRamses IIs 9th

Pylon (Thebes)

led to excellent

preservation oftalatat, including

remnants of theoriginal paint


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Akhetaten is located in a remote part of

Egypt, in a place where there was noprevious settlement

thus, it was religiously pristine

on the eastern side of the Nile (=sunrise/life) cf. pyramids on the western side (= sunset/death)

Akhetaten: Horizon of the Sun-disk (aten)cf. Akhet-Khufu (Great Pyramid)

a deliberate reinterpretation/recollectionof Old Kingdom solar religion?


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Akhenaten and MonotheismThe Early Part of Akhenatens Reign (1352-1348 BCE)

early in Akhenatens life, there are a few

indications of the revolution to come his fatherAmunhotep III died in 1352

Akh. was still calledAmunhotep (IV)

not the eldest son of

Amunhotep III thus, not groomed

for the throne

did he feel rejectedand second-rate?


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artwork is our primary

evidence for theAmarna period

very few written

records

recovered history

based on theinterpretation ofchanges in the art

which is preserved


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central to that is the

evolution of royalportraiture

cf. propaganda in

modern China

a nice side benefit of

Amarna culture is thatthis history has notbeen tampered with

and its beautiful too!


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first sign of things to come: as a new king,

Akhenaten assumed the title Prophet ofRa-Horakhte (Ra of the Horizon) n.b. noAmun, the

principal god of Egypt inthe day

worshipped at Thebes

is this the beginning of arift between Akhenaten

and theAmunPriesthood?

Thebes


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Akhenaten and MonotheismThe Later Part of Akhenatens Reign (1348-1338 BCE)

by 1348 BCE, the revolution had begun

sometime between 1352 and 1348, hechanged his name from Amunhotep toAkhenaten

Akhenaten: Agreeable to the Sun-Disk(aten)

is this a declaration of open warfare withthe Amun Priesthood in Thebes?


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by now the city of Akhetaten was being

built also around this time, Akhenaten startedshutting down Amun temples across

Egypt and scratching out Amuns name on

inscriptions! and changing the word gods to god!!


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why this attack on Amun?

what doesnt Akhenaten like about Amun? Amun is the god of

secrets

his temples areroofed and closed

inaccessible toanyone but thegods priests


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did Akhenaten want to open up theprincipal religion of Egypt to a widercommunity of worshipers? n.b. aten temples have no

roofs, are open to the sun cf. a letter to Akhenaten

from the Assyrian King:

Why are my messengers kept in theopen sun? They will die in the opensun. If it does the king good to stand in

the open sun, then let the king standthere and die in the open sun.


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Akhenaten and MonotheismThe Art and Iconography of the Amarna Period

the art of Amarna culture is centered onthe aten as a divine presence

n.b. ankh: the symbol of life force

while the aten looks back tothe Ra cult of the OldKingdom, it also looks forward

most often shown as a circle not as a human or animal

cf. Isis with cow horns or Osiriswith a green face (fertility)


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this abstract imagery suggests that theaten is the source of all being and thuscannot be restricted to one animal form

thus, it is presented as a universal circle:

mysterious, without limit or division but are the little hands on the

end of the atens beams aconcession to popular taste?


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both abstract and nameless, the atencannot then be restricted to one gender

nor can Akhenaten himself!

depicted sometimes without

male genitalia and odd in other ways, too

pot-bellied and slouching with thick lips and a big chin

and a pointed head


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did Akhenaten have a birth defect?

eunuchoidism? but he has six daughters byhis principal wife Nefertiti

others by secondary wives?

Akhenatens familyfigures large in

Amarna artwork

we can date thedaughters births

and in some cases,their deaths also


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scenes of family affection like the onesbelow are highly unusual in Egyptian art

and there are other unconventional images ofNefertiti and her daughters by Akhenaten

e.g. Nefertiti wearing the blue crown of war(!) or the double crown

usually reserved for

pharaohs and kings


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Nefertiti and the daughters are alsoshown with pointed heads and potbellies

which is why Nefertiti iswearing the high hat in her

famous bust so, were Nefertiti and the

daughters also deformed?

probably not!

thus, this must not be

naturalistic imagery, but aform of stylized presentation


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what does this highly stylized presentationof the royal family(and only them) mean?

are we supposed to see themas not-completely-human,

super-special, solar aliens? are they our conduit to the

favors of the sun?

cf. Akhenatens hymn to the aten:

do we need these ultra-tanETs to make the sun shine?

There is no other who knows you

except your son, Akhenaten


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Egyptians were used to seeing royals asdivine, but the only divinities?

its hard to put all the pieces of theAmarna puzzle together and make

historical sense attracts outlandish theories and weirdoes

and as with the Zapruder film of Kennedysassassination, a formal statement by

Akhenaten of what he was trying to do would

probably only complicate matters further


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another question: how did Akhenatenmanage to take on the Amun priesthood?

with the support of the army?

but theres no record of

Akhenaten leading militarycampaigns during his reign

and are we to suppose that the

army worked with an effeminate-looking, secluded, family-oriented,pointy-headed sun freak?

only if they had a common foe!


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Akhenaten and MonotheismThe Aftermath of Akhenatens Reign

no tomb or funerary relics belonging toAkhenaten have ever been found

especially in theValley of the Kings

we have located

the tombs of mostNK pharaohs there

was Akhenatenstomb hiddenespecially well and

so has never beenfound? Not likely!


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is it possible Akhenaten was not buried?

not likely! his successors were close to him

and non-burial is the most horrific punishmentimaginable to the Egyptians

no hint of assassination either? so what killed Akhenaten?

sunstroke?

mono-theistic-nucleosis?

aten-tion deficit disorder?

and what was the reaction inAkhetaten when the sun still rose?


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Akhetaten was not abandonedimmediately upon Akhenatens death

both city and throne were occupied bySmenkhare, his direct heir and successor

Smenkhare is all but a total mystery he only appears in the Amarna records about twoyears before Akhenatens death

marries one of Akhenatens daughters was he a secondary son? (cf. Tuthmosis II)

dies after ruling for two years (1338-1336 BCE)

no known burial or funerary relics


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an interesting coincidence: Smenkhareappears at about the very time Nefertitidisappears from the Amarna record

traditional theory: Akhenaten

exiled her from Akhetatenwhen she produced no sons

new theory: Smenkhare wasNefertiti!

if Akhenaten knew he was dying

and he had no sons, she wouldbe the most logical successor


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Hatshepsuts regime would have justifiedendowing Nefertiti with male attributes

then she married herown daughter

cf. typical royal marriagebetween half-siblings

cf. Hatshepsut again

but no chance here ofproducing a Tuthmosis III


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or is this just another crackpot theory likeso many that accrue around Akhenaten?

why didnt Smenkhare farewell as pharaoh?

because as a general rulesupermodels dont makegood kings?


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and how did Smenkhare die? was s/heassassinated?

hard not to believe sinces/he had so many natural

enemies: the Amun priesthood?

the army who didnt want a

woman in charge? her own daughter whowanted a real husband?

sounds like an episode ofThe Guiding Aten


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Smenkhares successor: the boy-king Tut

probably the most famousEgyptian pharaoh today

born Tutankhuaten

but later changed his nameto Tutankhamun

n.b. addition of Amun moved the capital from

Akhetaten back to Thebes

probably explains theopulence of his burial



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The Aftermath of Akhenatens Reign

also explains the protection afforded histomb in the first century after his death

but later preservation was pure luck

he died of complications following

a broken femur

and left behind no male heir

two fetuses mummified in his tomb

with Tut, the Amarna period ends

as does the 18th Dynasty which hadbegun with Ahmose



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The Aftermath of Akhenatens Reign

but the discovery of Tuts tomb in 1922 byHoward Carterrecovered Amarnaculture, at least for the modern world

but for the ancient world, the sun of

Akhenatens monotheism set with Tutand the Ramessids systematic

deconstruction of Akhetaten and thedamnatio memoriae of its pharaohs

or did it?



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Conclusion: Akhenaten and Hebrew Monotheism

did Egyptian aten-worship influence thedevelopment ofHebrew monotheism?

this depends on the answers to twocrucial questions

How alike are Hebrew and Egyptianmonotheism?

Can the Hebrews have had contact withAkhenatens religion?



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How alike are Hebrew and Egyptianmonotheism?

not very much!

the aten is abstract but limited to the sun-disk

conversely, the Hebrew God is seen to be manifesteverywhere and in all sorts of different ways

e.g. angels, rainbows, floods, frogs, etc.

conversely, the aten acts like a pharaohsurrounded by a court, motivating all thingsand working through chosen favorites

cf. Akhenaten and his family



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Can the Hebrews have had contact withAkhenatens religion?

according to the Bible, they actually were inEgypt during this time: the Egyptian Captivity

long before Israel was an organized state, but theidea could have influenced wandering patriarchs

still, there is little evidence that Akhenatens

religion spread much beyond Akhetaten, noteven very far within Egypt

certainly not to Goshen (Pi-Ramesse) controlled

by the Ramessids so opposed to Amarna culture



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on the surface, then, it looks highlyunlikely that atenism could have had anyimpact on Hebrew religion

and after all, how hard is it to suppose that

there is only one god? it may be a revolutionary concept but its not

a very complicated idea at heart

but then compare Akhenatens Hymn tothe Aten and Psalm 104

Psalm 104 Hymn to the Aten


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Bless the Lord . . . you who coverest

thyself with light as with agarment . . .

Who layeth the beams of hischambers in the waters; . . .

He causeth the grass to grow for thecattle, and . . . the trees

Where the birds make their nests; asfor the stork, the fir trees are her

house.The high hills are a refuge for the

wild goats; . . .(As) the sunariseth, (the beasts) gather

themselves together . . .There go the ships: there is thatleviathan (whale), whom thouhast made to play therein.

When the land grows bright and you

are risen from the Akhet(horizon) and shining in the sun-disk by day, . . .

All flocks (are) at rest on theirgrasses, trees and grassesflourishing;

Birds flown from their nest, theirwings in adoration of your life-force;

All flocks prancing on foot, all thatfly and alight living as you rise forthem;

Ships going downstream andupstream too, every road open at

your appearance;Fish on the river leaping to your

face, your rays even inside thesea.



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the likeness is not exact but theresemblance is astounding!

how did this happen? what channel ofcultural exchange enabled this?

Does this give us license to reconstruct aroad between Akhetaten and Jerusalem?

and if we do, what are we writing: history ora historical novel?

thats the danger of studying Akhenaten:

going too far, like he did!

akhenaten and monotheism

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