Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Akhenaten's life, accomplishments, and legacy have been preserved and depicted in many ways, and he has figured in works of both high and popular culture since his rediscovery in the 19th century AD. Akhenaten—alongside Cleopatra and Alexander the Great—is among the most often popularized and fictionalized ancient historical figures. [258]
Akhenaten carried out a radical program of religious reform. For about twenty years, he largely supplanted the age-old beliefs and practices of the Egyptian state religion, and deposed its religious hierarchy, headed by the powerful priesthood of Amun at Thebes. For fifteen centuries, the Egyptians had worshiped an extended family of gods and ...
During the 18th dynasty reign of Akhenaten, the new city of Akhetaten was completely built up and the regular worship of the Aten was established. However, shortly after the pharaoh's death, all fell apart as successive kings destroyed the Temple and the city in an effort to return to the traditional religion of Egypt.
One of the biggest mysteries of the period is why Akhenaten and his queen, Nefertiti, abandoned their religion and kingdom in Thebes (modern-day Luxor) to build a new city, where they worshipped ...
Akhenaten positioned himself as the only intermediary who could speak to Aten, emphasizing the dominance of Aten as the preeminent deity. [17] This has led to discussion of whether Atenism should be considered a monotheistic religion, and thus making it one of the first examples of monotheism. [3]
Art before Akhenaten was characterized by its formality and restraint, and shifted toward becoming stylized. [3] While Akhenaten is famous for the changes he made in the religious practices and art, there were also changes in temple architecture, building methods, and public inscriptions.
Donald B. Redford argued that while Akhenaten called himself the son of the Sun-Disc and acted as the chief mediator between god and creation, kings for thousands of years before Akhenaten's time had claimed the same relationship and priestly role. However Akhenaten's case may be different through the emphasis placed on the heavenly father and ...
Nefertiti served as queen alongside her husband, King Akhenaten, during his seventeen-year tenure in the fourteenth century BCE; she was one of many wives, and the pair likely wed when they were ...