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Akhenaten and Nefertiti

Ancient Egyptian culture continued for three thousand years in generally the same pattern. Dynasties rose and fell, Pharaohs made their mark as builders or generals, invaders came and were expelled. The art and religion of Egypt, whiledynamic and ever growing, stayed within recognisable bounds.There is one exception, a leader who abandoned the established patterns, forging abold and radical vision all his own, striking in its' prescience. Pharaoh Akhenatenand his Queen, Nefertiti are diamonds amid emeralds and rubies, unique spiritsamong the multitude of artistic geniuses of Ancient Egypt.

Nefertiti and Akhenatenby Prisse d'Avennes, 1878.

from:

Egyptian Myth and Legend

by Donald MackenziePublished in 1907

Scanned at sacred-texts.com, April 2002, J. B. Hare, Redactor. This text is in the publicdomain. These files may be used for any non-commercial purpose provided this notice of attribution is left intact.Extensively edited for AscendingPassage.com, 2007.

The Religious Revolt of the Poet King

Akhenaten

(Akhenaton) (ruled circa 1352-1336 BCE) appears to have resolved,while yet a boy, to fight against "the selfish and the strong", whom he identified particularly with the priests of Amon, for these were prone to tyrany. The Egyptian prince began to embrace and develop the theological beliefs of the obscure Atensolar cult, and set forth to convince an unheeding world.As it happened, Akhenaten ascended the throne with the noble desire to make allmen "wise, and just, and free, and mild", just when the Empire was in need of strenuous military campaigns against hordes of invaders and rebellious Syrian princes.Before Akhenaten's father died Thebes received ominous intelligence of thesouthward pressure of the Hittites and also of the advance on Palestine of theKhabri.

The unique artistic style of the rule of Akhenaten featured hands coming from the Sun's raysand realistic human features.by Ernst Weidenbach, 1845.

Akhenaten began his reign as Amenhotep IV. He immediately began to erect atemple to Aten (or Aton) in close proximity to the great temple of Amon at Karnac.Before long there was an open rupture between the entrenched priesthood of Amonand the Pharaoh. Amon's high priests had been accustomed to occupying high andinfluential positions at Court; under Amenhotep III one priest had been chief treasurer and another grand vizier. Akhenaten was threatening the cult with political extinction.