|
|
|
|
 |
|
Akhenaton and the One God
|
When Amenhotep IV took over the throne, he
began a period of religious and cultural revolution in Egypt. He shunned the
old god Amon and his priests, and began the cult of the sun disk, the Aton. He
declared that Aton was the one god except for Re, the sun god. He also said
that he was the only one who could speak with Aton, so there was no need for
priests. He even changed his name to Akhenaton, which means “servant of the
Aton.” He banned the worship of Amon and closed down that god’s sacred temples
In the sixth year of his rule Akhenaton, along
with his wife, the beautiful Nefertiti, moved out of the capital city of Thebes
to a new capital in Middle Egypt named Akhetaton - “The Horizon of Aton” which
is modern Amarna. Akhenaton tended to leave the governing of the country to
others as he pursued his religious interests. When he died, his religious
amendments died with him, and Egypt returned to its traditional gods and
priests
|
|
|
|
|