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The influence of Egypt on religion
Religious life in Egypt
The influence of Egypt on religion
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The pharaoh Amenhotep IV did not just change his name to Akhenaten and the religion of ancient Egypt from polytheistic to monotheistic, but the artistic style made immediate conversion from traditional Egyptian style of depicting people with ideal physiques, to a unique and rather unsettling form. It would suggest that the artists were seeking to depict Akhenaten with brutal veracity, to the extent that the figures became caricatures. Since such portrayal of Akhenaten could only have been forged with his sanction, it might be that his somatic image figured prominently into his religion. He placed a great deal of significance on the exclusive essence of
Aside from being a priest, the importance of Paankhenamun’s position was due to his association with the Amun, who was a significant god of Egyptian Thebes. Viewed as chief divinity, Amun was often equated with the famous god Zeus and he even had his own worshiping cult (Freedman, 322). Moreover, Amun was originally one of the eight gods of Hermopolis, known as the god of air. However, at the time of the New Kingdom, this ch...
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,
The success of the king’s rule became based on the approval or rejection of the god Amun-Re. Thus, Amun was used as a platform for political propaganda, with pharaohs such as Hatshepsut and Thutmose III using the God to legitimise their claims to the throne, as evidenced for Thutmose III on the Temple of Tiraqa: ‘I have achieved this according to that which was ordained for me by my father, Amun-Re’. Concepts of the divine oracles and the divine birth of the king became a theme for pharaohs of the 19th dynasty, and afforded them heightened legitimacy. Hatshepsut’s divine birth scenes on her mortuary temple in Deir el Bahri depicts her claim to be the daughter of Amun, manipulating the public to believe in her divine birth. Additionally, Thutmose IV’s ‘dream stela” erected between the paws of the sphinx, which claimed that he had been granted the kingship because he had freed the monument according to instruction from gods. Some historians have dismissed these building projects, which consolidated the importance and authority of the state cult of Amun-Re as mere political propaganda. However, it is more the point that they reflect a significant change in the Egyptian political landscape, as it became dependent on and connected to the sustained pre-eminence of the cult of Amun-Re and the religious unity that eventuated. Therefore, the amun
Ramses had a harsh and profound life, yet he was able to accomplish, build, and expand so many ideas across Egypt and even into today. Ramses II made most decisions based on his involvement whether that was war, politics, or ruling. Egypt had to rely on Ramses II to be Pharaoh when his father died. This step in which Ramses had to take at the age of 19 was hard to fulfill with only some training by his father. Ramses was able to accomplish many innovations that have survived to be around today. As ruler Ramses was also the leader of his army and led many battles including the famous war between the Egyptians and Hittites. Ramses created the first treaty to be written down after a war. Ramses has been known to be one of the most profound Pharaoh in history. Even though Egypt relied on Ramses II to be Pharaoh at such a young age, Egypt did not rely just on his judgment, but rather his personal involvement. He expanded Egypt to its’ greatest and highest with a thriving economy and enriched structural growth. Ramses II led for 66 years bringing Egypt to its’ highest power, territorial gain, and economical wealth.
Amenhotep IV was born in c. 1365 BCE during the 18th dynasty in Egypt to Pharaoh Amenhotep III and Queen Tiye (Aldred 11). He was given his name in honor of the Gods Amun and Re whom Amenhotep III sought to be the earthly representative of (Bratton 17). Amun-Re was the creator God, and Re was the God of the sun (Assmann 485-6). Combined, these two deities were the most powerful God and are therefore normally referred to by their conjoined name of Amun-Re (Redford 97). Although Re was the sole Sun God, there were others under him who were individually responsible for a specific detail of the sun-God. Aten was an aspect of R...
What was life like prior to civilization? Why did nomadic people not need laws but Mesopotamians did? Was the first code of laws and leaderships the most justifiable way to move a civilization towards a permeant settlement? Before erecting and forever placing society into what it is today, there was no known leaders or true since of morality. Why was the “creation” of a leader needed for a society? Hammurabi, The Pharaohs, and God were the essential leaders that were needed to create, maintain, and enforce their beliefs on their civilizations. By implementing their beliefs society was livable, but was there unprecedented repercussions with their ideology of leadership and civilization? Or was there reward in terms of advancement for a civilizations’ cultural enhancements?
Akhenaten went completely against the former views of New Kingdom Egypt – that Amun-Re is the god of gods. Instead he put in place the Aten which is the ‘sun disc’ above Ra’s head and forced this religion upon his people. A fact which is acknowledged by an American university professor of history, Damen (2013) who states that by the third year of Akhenaten’s reign a major shift in Egyptian religion began. Firstly, Akhenaten changed his name from Amunhotep IV to honour his own god Aten by ridding his name of the god Amun-Re. Akhenaten also removed the word ‘gods’ from inscriptions replacing it with ‘god’ and destroyed some of Amun’s temples and monuments, thus declaring war against the dominant religious authority of his day {Damen (2013)}). An educated opinion by oft-cited English historian and Egyptologist, Weigall (1910) insinuates that Akhenaten ‘objected heroics and loved naturalness’ tel...
Egyptian religion is polytheistic. The gods are present in the form of elements of life – natural forces and human condition. Greek religion is also polytheistic. Like Egypt, the Greek gods exist to represent different aspects of life, but they also play an active social role in the people’s lives. In Greek mythology, the gods have feelings and flaws as the normal people do. Greek Gods have even had children and committed adultery with people. The Egyptian gods interact more with each other than with the people. They interact with the people more on a supernatural level. Osiris, the Egyptian god of agriculture and afterlife, judges people when they die. Amon, the king of gods, is hidden inside the ruler (This “king of gods” title was not always so as the popularity of Aton, the sun-disk rose through the reformation of Pharaoh Akhenaton in 1369-1353 BC). Hebrew religion, being monotheistic, had only one all-powerful god. Instead of being believed by the people to be somewhere in the world, the Hebrew god was completely separated from the physical universe. Abraham in Canaan (about 1800 BC) is the first known practicer of monotheism. As for monotheistic resemblance in other cultures, the Greek god Zeus is seen as a leader of the other gods, but not independent of them. Akhenaton’s short-lived reform of Egyptian religion reveres Aton as the source of all life. This is the earliest religious expression of a belief in a sole god of the universe. Akhenaton’s challenge to the power of the priests did not last beyond his own lifetime.
Although there are a few major inaccuracies in the movie ‘The Prince of Egypt’ it still does a good, relatively accurate job of showing the story of Moses and the Israelites for kids and people who don’t know the story. ‘The Prince of Egypt’ is a movie released in 1998 by Dreamworks animation and shows the story of Moses as he tries to get pharaoh to let God’s people go. The first paragraph will talk about the plot which is pretty evenly balanced between the similarities and differences from the Bible. The second paragraph is about the setting which is mostly accurate. The final paragraph about the characters which is the most accurate part of the movie.
In the glorious Eighteenth Dynasty, when Egypt became for the first time a world power, a young Pharaoh ascended the throne about 1375 B.C., who first called himself Amenhotep (IV) like his father, but later on changed his name to Akhenaten (1370-1358 B.C.). This king undertook to force upon his subjects a new religion, one contrary to their ancient traditions and to all their familiar habits. It was a strict monotheism, the first attempt of its kind in the history of the world, as far as we know; and religious intolerance, which was foreign to antiquity before this and for long after, was inevitably born with the belief in one god. But Amenhotep’s reign lasted only for seventeen years; very soon after his death in 1358 B.C. the new religion was swept away and the memory of the heretic king proscribed. From the ruins of his new capital, which he had built and dedicated to his god, and from the inscription in the rock tombs belonging to it, we derive the little knowledge we possess of him.1
Akhenaten, or Amenhotep IV as he was first known, reigned during the prosperous golden age of Egypt’s 18th dynasty. He is generally associated with the neglecting the empire in order to pursue his dreams as a religious philosopher; letting the Egyptian border crumble, and ignoring their foreign colonies and provinces. Akhenaten was married to the most beautiful woman of ancient Egypt, who also happened to be his sister, Nefertiti. Delving into the reasons behind Akhenaten’s brief reform of Egyptian religion and art and the impact this had on Egypt’s golden age.
Something I noticed after viewing several pieces of ancient Egyptian art is that a great deal of it is religious. It only takes a basic knowledge and understanding of the ancient Egyptians’ religion to know that they have numerous gods and goddesses. They are not exclusive in this way, as there are many other cultures and faiths which have multiple deities. However, the manner in which they portray their many gods through their art is very distinguishable and well-known. This could also be because of the style they use. The use of animals is one of the features that make a...
to 2650 B.C., changed his name to the more commonly known Zoser. It was Zoser
First of all, Akhenaten is known to be the first homosexual man that has ever been recorded in the history. It is also believed that he had a disorder called the Froehlich’s syndrome which caused him to have female body characteristics such as wide hips, round thighs etc. In a great deal of the artwork from ancient Egypt; Akhenaten is identified with wide hips, a round buttocks and even large breasts. This shows how his figure was something the citizens actually admired about him because all the artwork that is made of him possesses a high amount of details and it has been worked very hard upon. Another thing that really stands out about Akhenaten is the fact that he is known to be the first homosexual man in the history. In the time of akhenaten’s
Seemingly static in appearance, to the untrained eye, Egyptian Art is somewhat formal and blocky, with very little to no naturalism; in opposition to ancient western art such as Greek and Roman artistic traditions. (Neer, 2012) However, Egyptian Art serves a purpose that celebrates the afterlife as well as appreciating life. Egyptian visual imagery expressed animals not in the typically assumed static and rigid form, but in naturalistic dynamism that is largely ignored in general Egyptian Art scholarship. Ancient Egyptian art endures a steady artistic tradition and despite various changes and modification in style occurred during the 3,000 years pharaohs ruled; they are recognizably Egyptian in origin. What was wholly unique was the artistic