Akhenaton - biography
There are many types of revolutions, ranging from a revolution
in fashions to a revolution in politics.Some involve a change
in habits, attitudes or beliefs, others involve change in the
way people make a living or a change in the circumstance of life
as a whole.Most
people today when they hear the word revolution think of political
revolution and conjure up visions of terror, bloodshed and change
brought about by a few with the use of force.The Egyptian monarch or pharaoh, however, was not simply a priest
mediating between god and man; the monarch was himself a god.Early in the fourth millennium there are already indications that
the Egyptians apparently tried to preserve and protect the physical
remains of the dead and to provide them for use after death with
the food and furnishings that had been valuable during life.Not only were as many objects of dress, equipment and furnishings
as the individual could afford, put into his tomb, but the walls
of the tomb were decorated with reliefs of paintings depicting
the individual.More closely involved in the daily life of man were
Osiris, Isis and Horus.This Trinity had to do originally with
the vital forces of generation in the Nile and the earth.Though the king died, a living king survived
in the person .But since the king was Osiris,
Horus had become Osiris.Thus the king was both, Osiris and Horus.Horus as the pharaoh
was truly so, but every man lived and died by virtue of the same
divine vital forces and experienced the same renewal of life after
seeming death.All
other religions which originated in the Middle East were eventually
affected and influenced by these beliefs.Egyptians had developed a large
empire and their religions beliefs were spread to other peoples.However, it was back in Egypt itself were a dramatic revolution
took place with the accession of Amenhotep IV in the year 1379.This pharaoh was the son of Amenhotep III, who was a kind of Louis
XIV of his world, and his queen Tiy was apparently not sf royal
blood and may even have been a foreigner, possibly Negroid.Amenhotep
IV was of peculiar physique, and thus set a kind of common fashion
which influenced the portraits sf other members of the court.It is striking and possibly significant, that he and other members
of his family and court are often depicted with bulging cranium,
thin neck, sloping shoulders and paunchy stomachs.Although still embodied in the sun, this concept, called Aton,
was understood more abstractly and monotheistically.He had to attack and destroy
the traditional patterns of religion, which were thoroughly woven
into every aspect of Egyptian life.He had to change the theology,
ritual and ecclesiastical structure.He reversed the entire foreign policy of Egypt
by abandoning efforts to extend or even maintain Egyptian power
outside the Nile valley.Every revolutionary has his opponents.Chaos followed in
Syria and Palestine, where the principalities tried to take advantage
of the situation to reestablish their independence.Akhenaton died after only fifteen years of rule.His successors
were young and ineffectual and hence victimized by the leaders
of the party of the old regime.Now lets look at this
first revolution in history more closely to see what we can learn
from it.The First Revolutionary in History When Amenhotep became
pharaoh a sharp struggle began between the royal house and the
organized priests of Amon.Imperialistic
war is frequently used as a way to prevent revolution or reform
at home.But Amenhotep like most revolutionaries did the exact
opposite.The new symbol depicted the sin as
a disk from which diverging beams radiated downward, each ray
terminating in a human hand.Such a symbol was suited
to be understood throughout the world which the Pharaoh controlled.It is evident that what the king was deifying was the force by
which the Sun made himself felt on earth.Religion was made more
universal, more spiritual and abstract.It was no longer limited to a few who had used it for their
own salvation after death and enrichment while still on earth.The bitterest enmities broke out, culminating finally in the determination
on the king's part to make Aton sole god of the Empire and to
annihilate Amon.Similar centers were also built in other
parts of the Empire, in Nubia (Sudan) and Syria.God no longer of the Nile
valley alone, but of all men and all the world.The obvious dependence of Egypt on the Nile made it impossible
to ignore this agency of life, and there is nothing which discloses
more clearly the surprising rationalism of Akhenaton than the
fact that he stripped off without hesitation the venerable body
of myth and tradition which deified the Nile as Osiris, and attributed
the flooding to natural forces controlled by his god, who in like
solicitude for other lands made a Nile for them in the sky.In this respect Akhenaton's revolution consists of the gospel
of beauty and beneficence of the natural order, a recognition
of the message of nature to the soul of man.Until Akhenaton the history of the world had been but
the irresistible drift of tradition.All men had been but drops
of water in the great current.Akhenaton was the first individual
in history.The whole environment of existence
had been changed suddenly.Their holy places had been desecrated,
the shrines sacred with the memories of thousands of years had
been closed up, the priests driven away, the offerings and temple
incomes confiscated, and the old order blotted out.Bakers no longer made a living from the sale of
ceremonial cakes at the temple feasts.Craftsmen no longer sold
holy trinkets of the old gods at the temple gateway.Peasants no longer erected crude images of the gods in the field
to drive away terrible demons sf drought and famine.Mothers no
longer dared to pray with their little ones at bedtime to shield
them from the demons of darkness.His reign was the
earliest age of the rule sf ideas.Akhenaton was the world's first
revolutionary, and he was fully convinced that he might entirely
recast the world of religion, thought, and life by the invincible
purpose he held.Like all true revolutionaries at all times Akhenaton
was fully persuaded that his ideas were right and that all men
would eventually benefit by them.Akhenaton (Akhenaten) ruled Egypt from about
1350 to 1334 B.Akhenaton) is on the right.His
father was Amenhotep III; his mother was Tiy.Akhenaton was originally known as
Amenhotep IV.Nowadays, Akhenaton is famous for introducing monotheism (one god) to
Egypt.He built a new capital
city, Akhetaten (Amarna), outlawed all other gods, and changed his name to
Akhenaton.He essentially ignored politics.During his reign, Egyptian art became
more realistic.The king was portrayed as somewhat disfigured, with a long
face, fat thighs, and breasts.Eventually other members of his family were portrayed in a similar way.Recently, it has been suggested that Akhenaton had Marfan Syndrome, which often
distorts a person's features as seen in pictures of Akhenaton.It is not known how Akhenaton died.Akhenaton's name
was chiseled from his monuments.His city of Akhetaten was abandoned, and used
as a rock quarry.Egypt eventually forgot him completely.Labour not after riches first, and think thou afterwards wilt enjoy them.On much speaking cometh repentance, but in silence is safety.Chelsea, London, England and was named the Glaciarium.Akhenaton Also Known as A...This Article'sTable of ContentsIntroductionEgyptian religion and culture before Akhenaton's reign.Life and rule at AkhetatonThe new religion.The Ultimate Review of 2007.Akhenaton, detail of the sandstone pillar statue from the Aton temple at Karnak, c.In government, Akhenaton tried to recapture the old authority of the ruler, which had been largely diverted to bureaucrats and officials, but his focus on his new religion to the exclusion of affairs of state resulted in the disintegration of Egypt's Asian empire.Smenkhkare and Tutankhamen, but after Tutankhamen's early death the army took over the throne, and Akhenaton's new religion was abandoned.Akhenaton , or any Britannica premium article for free, even those readers without a premium membership.Just copy the HTML code fragment provided below to create the link and then paste it within your web content.For text ads, append each ad to the string.More from Britannica on "Akhenaton"...The king declared his religious ...Egyptian religion and culture before Akhenaton's reign.Akhenaton articleThe religion of ancient Egypt was static and traditional, urging that the gods had given a good order and that it was necessary for man to hold firmly to the order.By the time Akhenaton took the throne as the fourth pharaoh named Amenhotep, the 18th dynasty ...Akhenaton articleThe politics of the time must have been troubled.Although the ruling classes had been shorn of their powers, there was still an army.It may have been restless, because the documents show that Akhenaton paid little attention to it.Akhenaton articleScholars disagree whether Amenhotep III associated his son Amenhotep IV on the throne for several years of coregency or whether the younger king succeeded to rule after the death of his father.Ikhnaton (also Akhenaton) ruled from 1379 to 1362 BC.Ptah (also spelled Phtha), in ancient Egyptian religion and mythology, the cosmic architect, god of arts, crafts, and trades, and protector of artisans.SiteCatalyst code version: H.The video has been added to your playlist.Content of this nature is not necessarily prohibited on YouTube, however we will review this video and take action as appropriate.Thank you for sharing your concerns.Please refer to our Help Center for more information and the form to submit.
