Akhenaten

... was known as Amenhotep IV until the fifth year of his reign, when he adopted the name that means 'Effective for the Aten'. He replaced the traditional ancient Egyptian religion with the worship of Aten – an aspect of Ra, the sun god – depicted as a golden disc emitting rays terminating in human hands. The traditional religious practices were gradually restored after his death, notably under his close successor (and probably his son) Tutankhamun – who changed his name from Tutankhaten early in his reign.

A new dynasty (the 19th) was established some twelve years after Akhenaten's death. Its rulers denounced him and his immediate successors, and their records refer to him as "the enemy" or "that criminal".

According to Wikipedia, "Akhenaten's rediscovery [in 1907] and [the early excavations of the British Egyptologist Flinders Petrie (1853–1942)] sparked great public interest in the pharaoh and his queen Nefertiti. He has been described as "enigmatic", "mysterious", "revolutionary", "the greatest idealist of the world", and "the first individual in history", but also as a "heretic", "fanatic", "possibly insane", and "mad". Public and scholarly fascination with Akhenaten comes from his connection with Tutankhamun, the unique style and high quality of the pictorial arts he patronized, and the religion he attempted to establish, foreshadowing monotheism.

© Haydn Thompson 2024