Aten
The God Aten & the
Period of Monotheism in Ancient Egypt
The religion of the Ancient Egyptians was extremely important to them
and touched every aspect of their life. The religion of Ancient
Egypt was a polytheistic religion (with many gods). There was just one
short period of monotheism (the worship of one god),
during the reign of Akhenaten - who became
known as the Heretic Pharaoh. The God he worshipped was called Aten.
Akhenaten - the
Heretic Pharaoh
The reign
of the Pharaoh Amenophis IV ( Akhenaten ) saw massive religious and
spiritual changes in Ancient Egypt. His ideas were not well received. The Religious beliefs of the Ancient
Egyptians had evolved over thousands of years. They had many different
gods and goddesses, each of whom represented various aspects of their
lives. They knew the stories of each of the gods and their relationships
to each other. Their ancestors had revered these gods, their whole lives
revolved around these gods. They worshipped at huge temples built in honor of the gods and goddesses and shrines to various gods and
goddesses were in every Egyptian home. Pharaoh Amenophis IV (Akhenaten)
began his rules in 1349BC. He belonged to the Eighteenth Dynasty of the
New Kingdom. The capital was located at Thebes near the great temple of
Amun ( aka the Sun God Ra) at Karnak, which
Pharaoh Amenophis IV attended at the beginning of his reign.
Akhenaten, the God
Aten and the
Religious Revolution
Pharaoh Amenophis IV was about
25years old when he became Pharaoh and was married to the beautiful
Nefertiti. At the beginning of the reign they follow tradition and
worship the Gods and Goddesses of Egypt especially Amun-Ra. This was a very
prosperous time and Egypt and the Pharaoh possessed great wealth. But so
did the Priests. The priests had been made wealthy through the offerings
given to them but they also possessed great power - perhaps even
rivalling that of the Pharaoh. The God Aten was an ancient sun disk deity
dating back 1000 years. The worship of the sun God Amun-Ra and reference to
the ancient god Aten led to the belief that Aten was visible everywhere and
the fundamental life-giving force in the universe not just a main god
but the only god. Within just four years of his reign the
god of the solar disk, Aten, was now worshipped by the Pharaoh and
Nefertiti as the only deity, starting a religious revolution. The
priests and many of the people were totally against giving up their old
gods in favor of Aten. It was inevitable that the Pharaoh, his wife and
the new religion would need a new base from which to flourish, away from
Thebes and the great temple of Amun.
Akhenaten and the
move to Akhetaten
The Pharaoh and Nefertiti chose the
location of the new capital at el Amarna (aka Akehetaten) which was 250 miles down the Nile
and located mid-way between
Thebes and Memphis. The worship of Amun-Ra at Thebes was totally abandoned
and replaced with the cult of a single deity, the God of the solar disk, Aten.
A completely new city was built together with temples to the God Aten
which were the focal points. The Pharaoh changed his name to Akhenaten
meaning 'pleasing to Aten'. The Pharaoh Akhenaten closely aligned his
position with the God Aten and the representations and depictions of the
Pharaoh became asexual portraying him as both the father and the mother
of Egypt. The concept of Divine Kingship was further emphasised and
Arkhenaten was the sole representative of Aten on earth. The priests
were given less power but Queen Nefertiti was given more power, almost
as a joint ruler. The country was in uproar. The familiar Gods had been
replaced by the strange single deity, the God Aten. The priests lost
most of their power to the autocratic kingship of the Pharaoh Akhenaten
and the wealth of Egypt was directed towards creating and building the
cult of the single deity, the God Aten. All the time of the Pharaoh
Akhenaten was focussed on the new religion of the God Aten leaving Egypt
open to attack from the Babylonians, Mitanni and the Hittites and the
empire of Egypt began to disintegrate and some of the lands were taken
over by the Hittites.
The God Aten & the
Pharaoh Akhenaten
With the move to Amarna the god of the solar disk, Aten, was established
and
worshipped as the single deity. The Pharaoh Akhenaten assumed an earthly
god-like persona with all his words and actions being viewed as sacred.
Several temples were built to the God Aten. The Aten temples differed
from the current style of temples found in Thebes and Memphis as they
were open roofed to allow the temples to be flooded with the rays of the
sun. The priests of Aten had a far lesser role and were expected to
revere the Pharaoh and Nefertiti as gods on earth. There were limited
offerings, no processions specifically for Aten and no oracles. But one
of the major changes was that there were no statues to the God Aten -
these were viewed as idolatry. There was even the deliberate destruction
of temples and statues to gods other than Aten.
The Symbol and
Depiction of the God Aten
The symbol of the Ancient Egyptian God Aten appeared simple. A sun disk,
the ankh (a handled cross the symbol of life and vital strength and the
rays of the sun. However, the additional of open hands at the end of
every ray of the sun conveyed and extremely strong message.
The Demise of the God Aten
After a reign lasting 16 years from 1349BC - 1333BC the Pharaoh
Akhenaten died. And the God Aten died with him. The new city was
destroyed and the old Gods and Goddesses of Egypt were restored.
Akhenaten was seen as the 'Heretic Pharaoh'. And his name, and that of
his successors, Tutankhamun and Ay, was omitted from the official lists
of Egypt's Pharaohs. Any reference to his name was avoided - he was
referred to as the 'Heretic'or the 'Rebel'. Any Cartouche that was found
containing his name was gouged out. The Ancient Egyptians wanted to
completely eradicate his name, and the worship of the God Aten, from
history.
The Egyptian God
Aten
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