Akhenaten is one of the most intriguing rulers of ancient Egypt, and one of the most fascinating individuals from the ancient world. His odd appearance in representations that he commissioned and his preoccupation with worshiping the sun-disc, or Aten, have stimulated a vast amount of academic discussion and controversy for more than a century. The focus of this book is on Akhenaten’s religion and how it developed. Here, too, opinions vary. Was he a crazy fundamentalist, a zealous ideologue, a true believer, or did politics and power motivate his actions? The main questions addressed here incl ... More

Akhenaten is one of the most intriguing rulers of ancient Egypt, and one of the most fascinating individuals from the ancient world. His odd appearance in representations that he commissioned and his preoccupation with worshiping the sun-disc, or Aten, have stimulated a vast amount of academic discussion and controversy for more than a century. The focus of this book is on Akhenaten’s religion and how it developed. Here, too, opinions vary. Was he a crazy fundamentalist, a zealous ideologue, a true believer, or did politics and power motivate his actions? The main questions addressed here include: How did Akhenaten’s religion develop? What prompted his program of persecution against Amun who had been the imperial god of Egypt in the centuries prior to Akhenaten’s? What was the significance of the temples built at Karnak Temple (the domain of Amun), and what role did they play? Why did the king abandon the imperial city of Thebes and build a new capital at Amarna? Was he a monotheist? If so, what if any influence did his religion have on the origin of Israel’s religion? These probing questions will be addressed by a careful reading of texts of Akhenaten and by examining his artistic representations.