Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Atenism, also known as the Aten religion, [1] the Amarna religion, [2] the Amarna revolution, and the Amarna heresy, was a religion in ancient Egypt. It was founded by Akhenaten , a pharaoh who ruled the New Kingdom under the Eighteenth Dynasty . [ 3 ]
As a pharaoh, Akhenaten is noted for abandoning traditional ancient Egyptian religion of polytheism and introducing Atenism, or worship centered around Aten. The views of Egyptologists differ as to whether the religious policy was absolutely monotheistic , or whether it was monolatristic , syncretistic , or henotheistic .
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.
Tutankhamun and his queen, Ankhesenamun Tutankhamun was born in the reign of Akhenaten, during the Amarna Period of the late Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt.His original name was Tutankhaten or Tutankhuaten, meaning "living image of Aten", [c] reflecting the shift in ancient Egyptian religion known as Atenism which characterized Akhenaten's reign.
Montserrat argues that all the versions of the hymns focus on the king and suggests that the specific innovation is to redefine the relationship of god and king in a way that benefited Akhenaten, quoting the statement of Egyptologist John Baines that "Amarna religion was a religion of god and king, or even of king first and then god." [21] [22]
Akhenaten, initially Amenhotep IV, began a religious revolution in which he declared Aten was a supreme god and turned his back on the old traditions. He moved the capital to Akhetaten . Queen Nefertiti , possibly the daughter of Ay , married Akhenaten.
The people were to worship Akhenaten; only Akhenaten and the pharaoh's wife Nefertiti could worship Aten directly. [6] Under Akhenaten's successors, Egypt reverted to its traditional religion, and Akhenaten himself came to be reviled as a heretic.