Akhenaton, the Savior of Karnak: The Controversy between the Sun God and the Hidden Sun God - Part One
The fifth year of the reign of Pharaoh Akhenaten was a watershed in the history of ancient Egypt.
In order to break free from the yoke of the influential priests of Amun-Ra, the rulers would The administrative seat was transferred to the new capital Akhetaton, which he built in honor of the sun god Aten.
Although from there his agents dispersed across the country, wiping out Amon's Remains of every name and image.
But they did not destroy the most important sanctuary of the state gods of Karnak.
Why did Akhenaten not order the demolition of this place? Building, as he did with the Temple of Aten in the years after his death? A satisfying answer that has evaded the question for more than a century is this tablet from the tomb of El Amarna showing Akhenaten, Queen Nefertiti and their daughters Meritaten and Mei. The Cult of Aten in Ktaten.
Egyptian Museum, Cairo.
Contrary to popular belief, during the first years of his reign, Ne Fokhperua Nre Amenhotep (Four) - Nijh Khavasset (later Akhenaten) didn't always have a bone to pick with the Amun clergy, and because of this , the god himself had bones.
Egyptologists cite evidence that the temple continued to function even after the young king ascended the throne after the death of his famous father, Amenhotep III.
Surviving inscriptions show that in the fourth year of his reign, Amenhotep IV approved a quarrying expedition under the leadership of the high priest Amun, as mentioned in the Ipet Book of Amun - Stones used for construction were collected in the Temple of Ra ("the most chosen/holy place"), and the 134 huge columns in the large hypostyle hall of the Karnak temple complex bear witness to a glorious bygone era. A place of pilgrimage for over two thousand years.
There are 12 open papyrus stigmas here, possibly to symbolize the original "Hill of Creation."
This is the state god Residence of Amun-Ra.
Modern Luxor.
A graffiti found in Wadi Hammamet reads: “… in Amun-Ra, king of Upper and Lower Egypt. Amenhotep [IV], led by his son Neferkheperure Waenre, proposed to May, Amen's first prophet, to Charges of bekhen stone [used] in statues of Yahweh.
"Charlotte Booth explains that Ptah, the high priest of Memphis, also reported to Akhenaten that his Everything was fine in the temple, which shows that in the early days, the worship of Ptah and Amun was still tolerated.
Akhenaten did not stop until after the fifth year (1345 BC) Worship of other gods.
“At this time, the Pharaoh decorated the southern entrance to the temple of Amun-Ra with scenes of his worship of the gods.
He also personally depicted the worship of the sun Ra Horakhty in the form of a hawk.
In 1845, the Prussian Egyptian archaeologist Carl Richard Lepsius visited the famous Gebel el Sicily Sketch of a stele made at the quarry shows that Amenhotep IV worshiped Amun Ra.
Therefore, the king, while trying to introduce Atai religion, explicitly made every effort to acknowledge the worship of Amun and The old polytheistic religious system.
However, it is clear that nothing went according to plan.
Whatever Amenhotep IV said in terms of religious ideology , are likely to be met with great uneasiness and complete distrust, if not outright opposition.
But in the darkened halls of Karnak, murmurs of discontent reigned. A hypothesis that is by no means implausible.
(Left) A sandstone Karnak temple relief from early in Akhenaten's reign shows him traditionally depicted with an eagle's head as Ra
Horakhty).
Neues Museum, Berlin.
(right) An inscribed Amarna limestone fragment depicting an early cartoon of "The Living Lahra"
Petry Museum, London.
(Photo: Osama Shukir *** Amin Frick (Glasg), A Representation of the Hebside festival of Monhotep IV, probably from the fourth year of his reign, his family - Nefertiti and their daughter - are conspicuous.
In an unprecedented depiction, Ateng also participated in the celebration.
Another noteworthy temple, Hwt Bnbn (The Mansion of Benbenshi), depicts Nefertiti Sans Akenna Tni–mnw The –n–itn–r–n? (Teni–menu/“The Eternal Monument of the Sun Disk”) forms part of other monuments commemorating the Karnak Sun Cult. This object was made in the Temple of the Great Aten Assembled from fragments found in the temple.
A double cartoon of Aten's early name is represented by the hands of a now missing figure.
These hands and cartoons Painted in a very fine hardened limestone it seems to belong to a very special statue at Amarna.
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
But there is no doubt that Gem Patton is listed One of the most ambitious plans of Amenhotep IV.
He built a huge temple dedicated to the sun disk Aten and determined that it was located to the east of the temple of Amun , so as to be blessed by the first rays of light at dawn.
The front of this magnificent monument is an open courtyard with a colonnade consisting of square sandstone pillars approximately 23 feet high, surmounted by There is a huge statue of King and Queen Nefertiti.
These innovations and the message they wanted to convey were clearly not lost on the priests of Amun.
"Akhenaton The succinct creed of the religion seemed to be the so-called didactic name of his only god, Aton, who, like the name of the king, was sealed in two cartoons," say John Darnell and Colleen Manassa , was intended to be the launching pad for Akhenaten and Aten - "theocracy" as Dr. James Allen calls it.
"Why Aten's long explanatory Name was now written to symbolize kingship? He was obviously a king, the supreme ruler of the world.
Like the Pharaoh, there was only one! The development of orthography for writing didactic names in cartoons not only marked the The rise of Aten also marked the diminution of Amun, known as the "King of the Gods."
Now Aten is king and his son Akhenaten rules the earth," James Hough Meier hypothesizes that a limestone tarat block from the Karnak temple depicts Akhenaten celebrating the Hebseid festival wearing a celebratory outfit in the light of the Aten.
Gale · Anderson Quarter.
Fitzwilliam Museum. Cambridge., The worship of the sun god in the new religion was very different from everything that had come before, especially the temple of Amun at Carnac.
The Temple of Aten was a roofless building because Akhenaten wanted to bask in the majesty of his god as he shed the light of life on all people.
Egyptian Archaeologists It is believed that the so-called Great Sun Palace of Amenhotep III was the predecessor of the Temple of Aten.
There are no specific sacred texts or books related to sun worship.
Except that it is said A stirring "Hymn to the Great Aton" composed by the monarch himself, these inscriptions from the tomb of Ayer (TA25) represent the most complete version of the "Hymn to the Great Aton" that can be found throughout Amarna.
This poem is believed to have been written by Akhenaten himself.
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Dr. Nicholas Reeves commented: "There is no doubt that Akhenaten was a ruler of rare intelligence who created an intimate artistic style that has become a hallmark of both ruling and The inspiration for Psalm 104 of "The Great Hymn of Akhenaten", one of the most sensitive works of literature of antiquity." So when the prophet Pharaoh and his queen Nefertiti worshiped Aton, they 's subjects worshiped Aden.
This abstract god must have been deeply disturbing to the average Egyptian, for it signified those who played a role in ensuring their happiness on earth and ensuring their safety into the afterlife. The role of familiar gods has been erased, especially Osiris, and there will be no festivals in their honor, more of which will be revealed in part two, The Sands of Amarna: The End of Akhenaten ( Read Part Two), author of An Ancient Origins Advanced Series by independent researcher and playwright Anand Balaji, [The author thanks Heidi Kant-Kahn, Hossam Abbas, and Leslie D. Blake gave permission for their photographs to be used.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art's public archives can be viewed here, Above: In the large, multi-column hall of the modern Karnak temple complex in Luxor of huge columns.
Designed by Anand Balaji (Leslie D. Black).
Delhi, designed by Anand Balaji, Anand ·N. Balaji is an independent researcher who has studied all aspects of ancient Egypt, with a particular interest in the Amarna era.