Pharaoh Akhenaten And The Role Of Divine Kingship In Ancient Egypt

Divine Kingship played a major role in ancient Egypt and formed the basis of the religious and political structure within the civilisation. Pharaoh Akhenaten (formerly Amenhotep IV) affected the religious system considerably, possibly being the first individual to bring in the belief of monotheism. Akhenaten’s monotheistic policies did not greatly change the values and beliefs of polytheistic ancient Egyptians. However, the legacy created had a significant impact on the religious beliefs of future generations.

Contrasting the beliefs of the society before and soon after Akhenaten’s rule, there was little difference. Before and after his ruling, the complex structure of divine kingship consisted of a polytheistic belief in the multiplicity

Akhenaten was the son of Pharaoh Amenhotep III and ascended to the throne in 1358 BCE, after his father’s death. He began ruling at a time of crisis in polytheism when Egyptians couldn’t manage the divine world. He married his sister, perhaps cousin, Nefertiti and had six daughters. Akhenaten believed he was the human embodiment of Aten. According to T Benderitter of Osiris.net (http://www.osirisnet.net/docu/akhenaton, accessed 30th May 2016), Aten, the common name used to describe ‘sun’, was derived from the verbal root meaning ‘to be distant’. The author also states that Aten represented a disc in motion, visible everywhere by everyone, ‘encompassing the whole universe with its power by fulfilling its celestial circumnavigation’.

Aten was not a god that was able to be prayed to by anyone in the community. Akhenaten was believed to have been the only human with the ability to communicate with Aten. The Amarna Project (http://amarnaproject.com/, accessed 14th May 2016) displays a photograph taken at the south tombs of Armana, showing The Great Hymn of the Aten (Appendix 1) carved into the walls:

“And there is no other that knows thee save thy son Nefer-kheperu-Re, Wa-en-Re, for thou hast made him well-versed in thy plans and in thy

J Hill, reliable author of Ancient Egypt Online (http://www.ancientegyptonline.co.uk/akhenaten.html, accessed 24th May 2016) states that in his first two years as pharaoh, nothing seemed to change. Akhenaten crowned himself the king of Thebes, city of Amon- who god was considered king of the gods and the supreme creator. The pharaoh began to subtly introduce a new solar divine entity, establishing his proximity to terrestrial royalty. After year 2, Akhenaten ordered the construction of several edifices in the domain of Amon at Karnak dedicated to Aten. Year 4 brought Akhenaten’s split from Thebes in order to erect the new capital called Amarna, in which he was supposedly guided by Aten in choosing the location that Amarna would be constructed. In the fifth or sixth year of his reign, his name was changed from Amenhotep IV to Akhenaten, taking the name of the god Aten. Then, in his ninth year of reigning, Akhenaten declared that Aten was the only god, and that he ‘was the only intermediary between Aten and the people.’ (J Hill, http://www.ancientegyptonline.co.uk/akhenaten.html, accessed 24th May 2016) Amun’s name was also ordered to be cut and chiselled from his temples throughout Egypt. As well as this, the plural of god (gods), was erased, exposing and projecting Akhenaten’s monotheistic beliefs. As pharaoh, Akhenaten also