The Origins of Akhenaten Essays -- essays research papers

The Origins of Akhenaten There is much that is known about Akhenaten the heretic pharaoh. More lies in speculation. Since his time, the Amarna period is one the ancient Egyptians themselves wished to forget much about Akhenaten remains unknown. What we do know is often confusing, different hypothesis piled upon each other make it difficult to distinguish what is fact and what speculation. We do know that Akhenaten, or Amenhotep IV, was the second son of Amenhotep III, an 18th Dynasty pharaoh and his Queen Tiye. Although we know he had an older brother Thutmose and several sisters, he was never shown in family portraits or records, the only documented proof we have linking him to Amenhotep III is a wine seal with his name and the inscription â€Å"estate of the true king’s son Amenhotep† . One of the theories why Akhenaten was never shown with his family is that he suffered from some sort of disease such as Froehlich syndrome (tumor of the pituitary gland) or Marfan syndrome. His elder brother the original heir to the throne died early and this could support the theory that there was a genetic defect running in the family. If this was the case however, why would the royal family hide Akhenaten from public view, if both sons suffered from the same disease? Both Froehlich syndrome and Marfan’s syndrome correspond with some of the physical characteristics Akhenaten is portrayed as having , the full lips, elongated ear lobes, long arms and fingers, misshapen head, high cheekbones, slanted eyes, paunch belly, breasts and full hips and thighs. The first to offer the hypothesis that Akhenaten suffered from Froehlich syndrome was Dr. G. E. Smith, however, some facts do not fit this hypothesis. Victims of Froehlich syndrome are usually attributed with endocrinal mutation resulting in impotency. This seems unlikely, even though Akhenaten is in some images portrayed without his sexual organs, we know he fathered six daughters and possibly a son Tutankhamen. It can be argued both that Akhenaten really looked like this or that his portrayal is simply a result of the changing art forms during the Amarna period. The evidence on hand could point either way, for example Egyptologists have argued that the fact that Akhenaten is sometimes portrayed as more or less normal looking points to his other portraits as being the result of the changing art form. The counter argument is o... ... The old gods were reinstated and Akhenaten’s son and daughter changed their names to Tutankhamen and Ankhesenamen. Under their reign, and the reign of the pharaohs Aye and Horumheb who followed them, all memories of the Amarna period were eradicated. Akhenaten, Tutankhamen and Aye were purged from the list of kings and Akhetaten was razed to the ground. It is believe that the mummy of Akhenaten was destroyed; it is certainly true that there is great difficulty concerning the burial places of Akhenaten, Tiye, Nefertiti and many other people of the Amarna period. The one thing that is clear is that the reign of Akhenaten was highly unpopular with someone in power, all though it was almost a tradition for pharaohs to cut each others names from their statues and claim them for there own, there was a deliberate attempt to pretend that the Amarna period never happened. Akhenaten The Heretic King, Donald B Redford, Princeton University Press, 1984 Moses and Monotheism, Sigmund Freud, New York, Alfred A Knopf, 1947 The Life and Times of Akhenaton, Arthur Weigall, New York G P Putnam’s Sons, 1923 Akhenaten Egypt’s false Prophet, Nicholas Reeves, Thames and Hudson, 2001 The Origins of Akhenaten Essays -- essays research papers The Origins of Akhenaten There is much that is known about Akhenaten the heretic pharaoh. More lies in speculation. Since his time, the Amarna period is one the ancient Egyptians themselves wished to forget much about Akhenaten remains unknown. What we do know is often confusing, different hypothesis piled upon each other make it difficult to distinguish what is fact and what speculation. We do know that Akhenaten, or Amenhotep IV, was the second son of Amenhotep III, an 18th Dynasty pharaoh and his Queen Tiye. Although we know he had an older brother Thutmose and several sisters, he was never shown in family portraits or records, the only documented proof we have linking him to Amenhotep III is a wine seal with his name and the inscription â€Å"estate of the true king’s son Amenhotep† . One of the theories why Akhenaten was never shown with his family is that he suffered from some sort of disease such as Froehlich syndrome (tumor of the pituitary gland) or Marfan syndrome. His elder brother the original heir to the throne died early and this could support the theory that there was a genetic defect running in the family. If this was the case however, why would the royal family hide Akhenaten from public view, if both sons suffered from the same disease? Both Froehlich syndrome and Marfan’s syndrome correspond with some of the physical characteristics Akhenaten is portrayed as having , the full lips, elongated ear lobes, long arms and fingers, misshapen head, high cheekbones, slanted eyes, paunch belly, breasts and full hips and thighs. The first to offer the hypothesis that Akhenaten suffered from Froehlich syndrome was Dr. G. E. Smith, however, some facts do not fit this hypothesis. Victims of Froehlich syndrome are usually attributed with endocrinal mutation resulting in impotency. This seems unlikely, even though Akhenaten is in some images portrayed without his sexual organs, we know he fathered six daughters and possibly a son Tutankhamen. It can be argued both that Akhenaten really looked like this or that his portrayal is simply a result of the changing art forms during the Amarna period. The evidence on hand could point either way, for example Egyptologists have argued that the fact that Akhenaten is sometimes portrayed as more or less normal looking points to his other portraits as being the result of the changing art form. The counter argument is o... ... The old gods were reinstated and Akhenaten’s son and daughter changed their names to Tutankhamen and Ankhesenamen. Under their reign, and the reign of the pharaohs Aye and Horumheb who followed them, all memories of the Amarna period were eradicated. Akhenaten, Tutankhamen and Aye were purged from the list of kings and Akhetaten was razed to the ground. It is believe that the mummy of Akhenaten was destroyed; it is certainly true that there is great difficulty concerning the burial places of Akhenaten, Tiye, Nefertiti and many other people of the Amarna period. The one thing that is clear is that the reign of Akhenaten was highly unpopular with someone in power, all though it was almost a tradition for pharaohs to cut each others names from their statues and claim them for there own, there was a deliberate attempt to pretend that the Amarna period never happened. Akhenaten The Heretic King, Donald B Redford, Princeton University Press, 1984 Moses and Monotheism, Sigmund Freud, New York, Alfred A Knopf, 1947 The Life and Times of Akhenaton, Arthur Weigall, New York G P Putnam’s Sons, 1923 Akhenaten Egypt’s false Prophet, Nicholas Reeves, Thames and Hudson, 2001