Following the death of Amenhotep the III, Amenhotep the IV took the throne. This was the beginning of one of the strangest periods in the history of Ancient Egypt.
Amenhotep IV
Prince Amenhotep IV had been sickly from birth, with a disease that caused a bloated stomach, large hips and a rather feminine figure. Today’s historians think it could have been a disease called Marfan’s syndrome, though they cannot be sure as his body has never been verified. We know how he looked from the carvings and sculptures of him. But this in itself is rather strange- before the time of Amenhotep, Pharaohs were always drawn with a perfect body, no matter how fat or ugly they really were. But Amenhotep did something that no pharaoh had ever done before- he asked his artists to depict him as he was. And instead of having himself drawn as a god-like figure defeating enemies, he asked to be shown doing things he actually did, like cuddling his children or eating lunch. To do this, Amenhotep must have had a very original and artistic mind, and just perhaps he knew that he wasn’t a god, and therefore should not be drawn as one.
This was not all that was strange about Amenhotep. He was also monotheistic, which is extraordinary indeed for someone who had been brought up his whole life believing in many gods. Egyptians in particular have a great deal of them, from great gods such as Ra to the minor gods such as Ament, Greeter of the Dead, and Mafdet, goddess of Scorpions and Snakes!
There are a few theories as to why Amenhotep neglected the beliefs of his forefathers. One is that when Amenhotep IV was young, there was conflict between his father, Pharaoh Amenhotep III, and some of his priests. It is thought that as a result, Pharaoh created a new god, Aton (which is the literal disk of the sun- the Egyptian’s main god, Ra, was thought to ride across the sky using the Aton as his chariot).
A carving of Akhenaten, showing his bloated hips and unusual figure.
Anyway, whether his father devised it or not, Amenhotep started to grow more and more devoted to Aton. He even changed his name to Akhenaten, which means, roughly, “devoted to Aton.” Akhenaten ordered all temples to other gods destroyed, and had temples to Aten put up in their stead. The people of Egypt, especially the priests, were utterly furious. How dare this pharaoh decide who they were allowed to worship? The people, most likely fearing the wrath of the gods, worshipped their old idols in secret. Also, because of Akhenaten's new style of art, people found it hard to take him seriously- pharaohs were supposed to be godlike beings who crushed enemies, not normal people like themselves. Then, to top it all off, Akhenaten decided to have a new city built for himself, away from his hometown, Thebes. He named it the “Horizon of Aten,” and he lived there for the rest of his life.
What could cause this sudden turning-upside down of everything egyptians had always believed? Akhenaten had been raised to believe in many gods. Surely he could not have just thrown them all away, with no inspiration whatsoever!
I think it is possible (and I’m not alone in this) that that Akhenaten was inspired by the One True God. The Jews often had dealings with egypt, and it is highly likely that Akhenaten met one. It is even thought by some that he could have been Joseph’s pharaoh! Of course, Akhenaten may not have been a true follower of God-- he may have been only inspired by the idea of one god.
Of course, historians don’t believe in the One True God- they say that Akhenaten was simply unique, and even suggest that it was he that inspired Moses. But, as I said in my last article, archaeology has its limits, and different people have different interpretation. In fact, during my research of Akhenaten, it was hard to know who to believe, as each person who wrote about Akhenaten had a slightly different story to tell.
Akhenaten with his wife, Nefertiti, and three of their children.
|| “Be thou incapable of change in that which is right, and men will rely upon thee. Establish unto thyself principles of action; and see that thou ever act according to them. First know that thy principles are just, and then be thou.” - Akhénaton* ||
_________________________
*"Thy Quotes-Brainy Quote"
No comments:
Post a Comment