Download Early Egyptian Religious Beliefs and Akhenaten`s

Early Egyptian Religious Beliefs and Akhenaten's Reforms During the New Kingdom of
Egypt (from 1552 through 1069 B.C.), there came a sweeping change in the religious
structure of the ancient Egyptian civilization. The Hymn to the Aten was created by
Amenhotep IV, who ruled from 1369 to 1353 B.C., and began a move toward a
monotheist culture instead of the polytheist religion which Egypt had experienced for the
many hundreds of years prior to the introduction of this new idea. There was much that
was different from the old views in The Hymn to the Aten, and it offered a new outlook
on the Egyptian ways of life by providing a complete break with the traditions which
Egypt held to with great respect. Yet at the same time, there were many commonalties
between these new ideas and the old views of the Egyptian world. Although through the
duration of his reign, Amenhotep IV introduced a great many changes to the Egyptian
religion along with The Hymn, none of these reforms outlived their creator, mostly due to
the massive forces placed on his successor, Tutankhamen, to renounce these new
reforms. However, the significance of Amenhotep IV, or Akhenaten as he later changed
his name to, is found in The Hymn. The Hymn itself can be looked at as a contradiction
of ideas; it must be looked at in relation to both the Old Kingdom's belief of steadfast and
static values, as well as in regards to the changes of the Middle Kingdom, which saw
unprecedented expansionistic and individualistic oriented reforms. In this paper I plan to
discuss the evolvement of Egyptian Religious Beliefs throughout the Old, Middle, and
New Kingdoms and analyze why Amenhotep IV may have brought about such religious
reforms. The Old Kingdom of Egypt (from 2700 to 2200 B.C.), saw the commencement
of many of the rigid, formal beliefs of the Egyptian civilization, both in regards to their
religious and political beliefs, as they were very closely intertwined. ... There was a
determined attempt to impose order on the multitude of gods and religious beliefs that
had existed since predynastic times... and the sun-god Re became the supreme royal god,
with the king taking the title of Son of Re (David 155). The Egyptians overall believed
that nature was an incorruptible entity and that to reach a state of human perfection in the
afterlife, they too would have to change from their corruptible human shells to mimic the
incorruptibility of nature. Upper and Lower Egypt were united for the first time under
one ruler, however, this would come to an end around 2200 B.C.. In much of the
Egyptian hieroglyphs, the Pharaoh was often depicted as almost larger than life, with
great power and much of Egyptian art is a celebration of his accomplishments. The
formation of a royal absolutism occurred during this period, with the Pharaoh and a
small-centralized administration, composed mainly of royal kin and relatives, overseeing
all aspects of Egyptian life. The Pharaoh was looked at as a living god among the
Egyptian people, who assured the success of Egypt as well as its peace. The Pharaoh
belonged both to the world of the gods and the world of men, and he was seen as a bridge
between them. Some of the local deities represented various aspects of nature, such as the
earth and the sky, or the Nile and it's gifts of fertility. So the king, living in their midst,
could bring the Egyptians into a harmonious relationship with their divinities and with
the forces of nature upon which their whole existence depended (Hawkes 43). In regard
to the religious structure of the Old Kingdom, there was a polytheistic view of the world,
as in Mesopotamia. However, unlike the Mesopotamian religion, the Egyptians worked
for their kings as opposed to working for their gods. The complex concept of the afterlife
was also developed during this period. The Great Pharaohs of the Old Kingdom built
great pyramids to forever protect their remains after death. It was believed that the king
(solely) could spend eternity traveling with the gods... However, in order to obtain eternal
sustenance, it was also essential that the king could return to earth at will; here, through
his preserved body, his spirit imbibes the essence of food and drink offerings, which were
continually brought to his burial complex (David 126). These political and religious
views were believed to be sacred and intended to be adhered to without change,
following the Egyptian's view of nature as an unchanging constant, and a static
phenomenon. After the collapse of the Old Kingdom, there came the First Intermediate
Period during which the United Egypt separated. It became a time of turmoil and disaster.
The Pharoah was over thrown and society simply collapsed resulting in anarchy
throughout Egypt. Famine and disease were widespread and the rich were equal to the
poor. "Since the Kingship was discredited, individuals now demanded their own eternity.
Tombs were equipped in provincial districts for the local rulers, but gradually,
democratization of beliefs came to affect all levels of society, and even the poorest
classes hoped to achieve individual immortality" (David 132). Order was eventually
restored and Egypt entered into a great period of prosperity. This was the Middle
Kingdom. Though Egypt was separated, both Upper and Lower Egypt still had a shared
religion, just different views as to whom the heroes and villains were in their mythology.
The Middle Kingdom, which occurred between 2040 and 1674 B.C., saw the reemergence of a united Egypt. The Pharaohs of this period were once again the center of
the kingdom, and the military might of Egypt was far greater than it been in previous
centuries. However, the Pharaoh was not as great a political power as he had been in the
Old Kingdom, as the nobles had begun to gain a sense of greater independence from the
Pharaoh, in respect to the idea that they needed him to assure themselves a place in the
afterlife. They believed that they could obtain eternity themselves by using symbols of
the monarchy from the Old Kingdom as well as magical spells, which they collected from
the Pyramid Texts. The nobles had their own large tombs, but they were no longer
constructed near the King's pyramid but were scattered more independently across the
necropolis, and the high quality of the wall-decoration in these tombs indicated their
owner's importance (David 129). The political structure of the Middle Kingdom was also
changing from that of the Old Kingdom. In the past, the government was run by only the
immediate family of the Pharaoh, in the Middle Kingdom however, he began to marry
into the wealthy but non-royal nobility, destroying the fictional divinity of the royal line
(David 131). Around 1674 B.C., the two kingdoms of Upper and Lower Egypt separated
once again. This Second Intermediate Period saw the Hyksos, Semitic invaders from
Palestine, come and overtake the Egyptian ruling class. These peoples were expelled
from Egypt around 1553 B.C., which gave rise to the New Kingdom of Egypt. The
capital was moved to Thebes and these rulers attributed their ascendancy over the Hyksos
to the powerful support of their local god; Amun. ...The kings eventually associated him
with the old northern sun-god Re, creating the all new powerful deity Amen-Re (David
147). Also at this time, there began a new imperialistic movement within the Egyptian
culture, and we see several crusades into Asia and the Mid-East during this time frame.
Egypt ruled in Asia for about a century or so, but lost it due to the lack of interest on the
part of the royal court in the contents of its Asian subjects. Though for the most part, the
Egyptian religion remained as it had in the previous kingdoms during the first part of the
New Kingdom. Amenhotep IV, or Akhenaten as he later changed his name to, brought
about many religious reforms. Amenhotep IV began a series of reforms to ensure the
Pharaoh's status as a living god among the people, as opposed to a simple agent of the
sun-god Amen-Re, as the priests of the royal court were beginning to assert a more
powerful and independent role. Assisted by the royal family, Amenhotep IV commenced
on a series of religious reforms, which would help him regain the power lost to the
priests. He worshiped Aten, the radiant god of the sun disk. Why this particular god Aten
was chosen may never be known, But Amenhotep IV apparently so inspired by his faith
that he wrote "The Hymn to the Aten" in his praise. At first he tolerated worship of other
gods along with Aten, but eventually he chiseled out the name of Amen-Re from
anything which beared the name, and closed the temples of the other gods. The Pharaoh
and his family were to worship Aten, while the remainder of the populace was to worship
the Pharaoh. Amenhotep then moved the capital of Egypt from Thebes, which was
primarily centered on Amen-Re, to a new location called Akhenaten, now modern day
Armana, to further separate from previous beliefs. Amenhotep IV also changed his name
to Akhenaten, which translates to It pleases Aten. Akhenaten also replaced his advisors
with new men, instead of the Amen serving priests. These changes showed a move
toward a more monotheist view of the Egyptian world, a view that had never been
observed before. Although each period and line of kings favored a supreme state-god,
there had always been toleration of the multitude of deities in Egypt's pantheon (David
155). This new religion saw the worship of Aten as the principal hero in Egyptian
religion, with gods like Amon as enemies. These reforms however, would be short-lived,
and the only enduring sign of this Pharaoh's significance is in the Hymns, which were
written to the new god Aten. In "The Hymn", Aten is proclaimed to be the sole god, and
responsible for all of creation. "O unique god, who has no second to him! You have
created the earth according to your desire, while you were alone, With men, cattle, and
wild beasts, all that is upon earth and goes upon feet, and all that soars above and flies
with its wings" (Akhenaten lines 60-65). "The Hymn" also proclaims the pharaoh as the
god's sole representative on earth, and virtually interchangeable with one another. "When
you rise you make all to flourish for the King, you who made up the foundations of the
earth. You who rise them up for your son, he who came forth from your body, ..."
(Akhenaten lines 122-125). The writing is very beautiful and was inscribed on walls in
various tombs. Though much of what Akhenaten was proposing was a drastic change
from the traditional beliefs of Egyptian religion, there were some aspects of these reforms
shown in The Hymn to the Aten that were not that far a cry from much of what was
taught and believed in the past. As with the gods of the past, Aten was visible, as in that
he could be presented in a painting to the people who worshipped him. This new god,
Aten, was allowed to be pictured in the elaborate murals on tomb walls and so on, much
the same as the old gods of the prior religion were. Aten was also the embodiment of the
sun, as Amon-Re was in the old religion, and was worshipped much the same as AmonRe was prior to Akhenaten's condemnation of him. Aten was also seen as "The Creator of
all that was Existing", which also held to the traditional belief that the sun god was the
chief creator of the universe. It was also believed in this new religion as in the old one,
that the Pharaoh was the next of kin to the sun god, even though the sun god had changed
from Re to Aten. It was also believed that the sun god was raised above the other gods,
while being able to have his presence encompass everything. None of these ideas were
new to the Egyptian people, as they were exhibited in the old religion; however there was
much in this new theology that was extremely different from the traditions of the old. The
Hymn to the Aten introduced a great many new concepts to the religion of the Egyptian
people. The nature of Aten as the creator is different from previous religious beliefs. Aten
was said to have created the world out of his own will to do so, not out of necessity. Also,
we see Aten being distinguished from nature, as well as seeing that nature is not a
separate being in the theological order of things. Nature is now believed to be ordered
under Aten, with no separate, sovereign being of its own. The Nile is no longer believed
to be the embodiment of a god, but a creation of the god, Aten. These two views are the
result of the shift toward the monotheist belief that Aten is the sole god in the cosmos,
worshipped by the Pharaoh and his family, who are in turn worshipped by the Egyptian
people. Aten is now seen as a universal god, who is worshipped by everyone on earth,
just in forms and fashions differing from those of the Egyptians; not as a god who was
specific to the Egyptian people. Though this hymn offers much that is vastly different
from the old beliefs in Egyptian culture, it is also an effort to revitalize the old beliefs.
The Hymn is intending to bring the Pharaoh back into the center of Egyptian religion,
politics and culture. It is an attempt to revive and reestablish the unquestionable divinity
of the Pharaoh. However, it is going about it by completely severing ties with the old
traditions of Egyptian religion. The Aten had no moral philosophy or attractive
mythology which could inspire the general worshipper (David 157). The Hymn also
creates a paradoxical relationship between the two theological views as expressed in
Egyptian culture. On one hand, there is the new tendency toward a monotheistic religion,
with Aten as the sole god, and no other gods governing nature, etc. On the other hand,
there are the old views on religion being expressed; the Pharaoh was worshipped by the
people of Egypt as a god, and he in turn is worshipping the god Aten; thus, there is more
than one god. These new religious views also appeared to help influence a major break in
the traditional art of the time. Rather than producing idealized portraits as had been done
for hundreds of years prior, Akhenaten encouraged artists to represent him in informal
situations - basking in Aten's benevolent rays. With his blessing, the artists portrayed
Akhenaten not as a conqueror, riding in a war chariot and trampling his enemies, but as a
family man, relaxing with Nefertiti, his queen, and his daughters. The Hymn to the Aten,
though it offered new ideas on Egyptian religion, was an attempt by a ruler who enjoyed
the idea of a divine title to regain what his predecessors had. The religious reforms
brought about by Akhenaten were intended to restore the position of the Pharaoh to the
level of absolute rule which had once been held due to belief that the Pharaoh was the
personification of the gods. This however was not to be, as the priests which Akhenaten
had fought against in his attempt to redefine the Pharaoh's divinity would take advantage
of the weakness of Akhenaten's successor, Tutankhamen. Tutankhamen's immaturity
enabled the courtiers and officials to direct political and religious events... The court
moved back to Thebes, and the royal couple changed their names to Tutankhamen,
demonstrating their renewed allegiance to Amen-Re. The king restored the old temples of
the many gods, and reinstated the priesthoods (David 158). The reforms, which
Akhenaten brought to return the power once held by the Pharaoh in the Old Kingdom,
were unable to be understood. The people who Akhenaten had to ensure comprehension
of his reasoning did not, for they no longer were connected to the old order which he was
trying to reestablish.