Religion at Amarna

Hello, I’m Teresa Davison, a retired teacher and volunteer at the Egypt Centre. This is my second course run by Dr Ken Griffin. This week’s topic was on religion in the Amarna Period.

Was Akhenaten the world’s first monotheist? Was he a visionary or a heretic? An understanding of Akhenaten’s view of the Aten is fundamental in trying to comprehend the Amarna Period. Atenism originates out of the solar tradition, especially that of the sun-god Re. The Great Hymn to the Aten from the tomb of Ay shows that the King “teaches” it to his followers. Who was the Aten? The didactic name was the “Living-one, Re-Horakhty, who rejoices in the horizon in his name of Shu (“light”), who is the Aten”. The later dogmatic name became “Living-one, Re, ruler of the two horizons, who rejoices in the horizon in his name a Re, the father who returns as Aten” (fig. 1).

Fig. 1: Early depiction of the Aten

The nature of the Aten was that there was universal rule, including over foreign lands. All things are accessible, as indicated by the hands at the ends of the rays of the Aten (fig. 2). The Aten was a genderless creator god, who was silent and passive. As the sun appeared each day and its presence was certain and secure, did it need to communicate with the people? This was dramatic and life-changing in the way in which people worshipped as previously Amun had been accessible through cult processions and spoke through oracles and texts.

Fig. 2: Akhenaten and Nefertiti under the rays of the Aten

Was Atenism the first world example of monotheism? There are a number of definitions. Henotheism can be classed as the devotion to a single deity whilst accepting the existence and worship of others. Monolatrism recognises other deities but only one is worthy of worship. Monotheism is the absolute belief that there is only one deity, all others are excluded. It would appear that all three of these held sway at different times during the Amarna Period. So what role did the king play? Akhenaten was the sole mediator between the people and the Aten. Personal piety had to be expressed through loyalty shown to the king, not via worship of the gods. As a result of his role as an intermediary, Akhenaten essentially becomes a deity. Tomb inscriptions are virtual hymns to the king. A hierarchy of worship develops as Akhenaten gives offerings and libations to the Aten, people give offerings to Akhenaten, so private individuals in effect worship the King (fig. 3). Private individuals are rarely seen worshipping the Aten, if ever. Triads are common throughout Egyptian religion. Nefertiti, Akhenaten, and the Aten form a triad that can be compared to Amun, Mut, and Khonsu. Nefertiti is equal in divinity and rank as Akhenaten. She represents the female principle and is seen as a goddess.

Fig. 3: Lintel of Hatiay (after Kemp 2013, pl. XXX)

The new religion must have been deeply and profoundly shocking to a populace that was embedded in a polytheistic culture. This was a culture that evolved over thousands of years and it was now being forcibly cast aside. It was such an intrinsic part of everyday life and daily ritual. The change was radical and aggressive. Images of all other gods were hacked off monuments and stelae, even those that were over twenty metres in height (fig. 4). “Tradition was not questioned, it was persecuted and forbidden”, according to Jan Assmann (2001, 199).

Fig. 4: Erased and restored figure and name of Amun-Re

So what was the role of private religion? Was personal piety expressed through Akhenaten actually the case? Personal names show devotion to the Aten. E.g., Nakhtpaaten, “The Aten is strong”. However, there is evidence that devotion to other deities can still be seen in names, such as Thutmose, “born of Thoth”. Houses had lintels that depicted adoring royal cartouches. Interestingly, cartouches were used and not images of the royal family (Spieser 2010). Many of the elite houses had private chapels in their gardens, whilst some had chapels inside their houses. It is uncertain as to whether these were for ancestor or royal family worship. In the workmen’s village there is a stela depicting Shed, who was a protector god against scorpions and other dangerous animals, and Isis (fig. 5). Was this “banned” worship tolerated or was it unknown to the authorities as it was in private households?

Fig. 5: Stela of Ptahmay depicting Shed and Isis

One very distinct form was the intimate and family-friendly images of the royal family; they almost look like modern day family photos. The level of affection shown by Akhenaten and Nefertiti towards their children is heart-warming and truly radical compared to the very static images shown in all other periods of ancient Egypt (Riefling 2013). Faces are expressive and dynamic. In one image, Akhenaten is seen kissing his daughter and in another a child has her hand under Nefertiti’s chin (fig. 6). But was the Aten Amenhotep III? A rare stela in the British Museum (BM EA 57399), which was excavated in the house of Panehsy, depicts him and Queen Tiye under the rays of the Aten above. His Nebmaatre name was used as Amun was abolished by then. Was Amenhotep III still alive when the stela was commission or is it an example of ancestor worship?

Fig. 6: Household stela depicting the royal family

Other stelae show the worship of other gods, such as Tawaret, which shows clear evidence of personal piety at Amarna. Other evidence of devotion away from the “state-endorsed” religion include covered chapels, which appears diametrically opposed to the open nature of the official temples, which unlike those of the “old religion” were open to the sun. There is a good deal of evidence for the worship of Bes and Tawaret, but also to other gods like Wepwawet and Hathor. This week we had the opportunity to take a closer look at W9 (fig. 7), a broad collar with a central amulet of the goddess Beset, the female form of Bes (Bosse-Griffiths 1977).

Fig. 7: Broad collar with Beset amulet (W9)

In conclusion, this must have been a turbulent and confusing time to live. If a person wanted to stay in the good graces of the Royal Family, then they will have needed to show devotion to Akhenaten and Nefertiti. As the old religion was so culturally embedded, private individuals and families continued to worship the old gods, albeit in the privacy of their homes or under the pretext of chapels for ancestor worship? An interesting aspect of this time is the “cult of the family” that seems to have developed with the adoration of the royal family in a new intimate and affectionate way. Perhaps this was a compensation for not being able to worship the usual pantheon of gods. Some have suggested that Akhenaten was the first monotheist and this may well have been true (Hoffmeier, 2015). However, it seems that this radical change was too dramatic for most ancient Egyptians and this religious experiment failed.

Bibliography:

Assmann, J. (2001) The search for God in ancient Egypt. Translated by D. Lorton. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.

Bosse-Griffiths, K. (1977) ‘A Beset amulet from the Amarna Period’. Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 63: 98–106.

Freed, R. E., Y. Markowitz, and S. H. D’Auria eds. (1999) Pharaohs of the sun: Akhenaten, Nefertiti, Tutankhamen. Boston: Museum of Fine Arts.

Hoffmeier, J. K. (2015) Akhenaten and the origins of monotheism. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press.

Kemp, B. J. (2013) The City of Akhenaten and Nefertiti: Amarna and Its People. London: Thames & Hudson.

Riefling, B. (2013) ‘Rekonstruktionsversuche von Amarna-Flachbildern: I. Die Familienstele Louvre E.11624; II. Die Halskragenstele Berlin ÄM 14511’. Göttinger Miszellen 239: 81–90.

Spieser, C. (2010) ‘Cartouche’. UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology, Version 1, January 2010. 1–10. Available from https://escholarship.org/uc/item/3g726122.

Stevens, A. (2006) Private religion at Amarna. BAR International Series 1587. Oxford: Archaeopress.