Akhenaten

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Akhenaton and Nefertiti under the sun god Aton

Akhenaton, detail of the sandstone pillar statue from the Aton temple at Karnak, c. 1370 bc; in the Egyptian Museum, Cairo.

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Al-Jizah. Giza Necropolis, Giza Plateau, Cairo, Egypt. Side view of Sphinx with the Great Pyramid of Khufu (Cheops) rising in the background. The sides of all three of the Giza pyramids are astronomically oriented to be north-south, east-west (see notes)

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Akhenaton summary

Akhenaten

Q: What was Akhenaten’s family like?

Akhenaten married the noblewoman Nefertiti about the time he became pharaoh, in 1353 BCE. Nefertiti was a powerful queen who helped Akhenaten transform the Egyptian religious landscape. Together they had at least six daughters. Although it is unclear whether Akhenaten’s son, Tutankhaten, was also Nefertiti’s, the young prince became the famous pharaoh Tutankhamun .

Q: What religious reforms did Akhenaten make?

Early in his reign, Akhenaten identified himself with the sun god Aton and elevated the cult of Aton above the worship of most other gods, including Amon , the king of the gods. Akhenaten saw himself as Aton’s earthly manifestation. The pharaoh later erased the names of other gods from temples; the reason is unclear.

Q: Was Akhenaten a monotheist?

Akhenaten’s exclusive worship of the sun god Aton led early Egyptologists to claim that he created the world’s first monotheistic religion. However, modern scholarship notes that Akhenaten’s cult drew from aspects of other gods—particularly re-Harakhte, Shu, and Maat—in its imagining and worship of Aton.

Q: How did Egyptian art change under Akhenaten?

Akhenaten changed both religion and art in ancient Egypt. Elongated, spindly limbs and narrow eyes figure prominently in depictions of the royal family during this period, causing some scholars to wonder whether Akhenaten had a medical condition such as Marfan syndrome . It is more plausible that these formal exaggerations represent the metamorphic nature of the god Aton ’s light.

Q: What is Akhenaten’s legacy?

Although Akhenaten’s reign saw sweeping religious reforms and particular artistic developments, his legacy crumbled under later pharaohs. Akhenaten’s son, Tutankhaten, restored the disgraced Amun as king of the gods, and he renamed himself Tutankhamun to honor Amun. The cult of Aton vanished. Akhenaten’s artistic legacy, however, survived to influence the work of future craftsmen.

king of Egypt

Also known as: Akhenaton, Akhnaton, Amenhotep IV, Amenophis IV, Ikhnaton

Written by Peter F. Dorman

Fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last Updated: Dec 7, 2024 • Article History

Quick Facts

Also spelled:: Akhenaton, Akhnaton, or Ikhnaton

Also called:: Amenhotep IV

Greek:: Amenophis

Flourished:: c.1400 BCE - c.1301 BCE

Title / Office:: king (1353BC-1336BC), Egypt

What was Akhenaten’s family like?

What religious reforms did Akhenaten make?

Was Akhenaten a monotheist?

How did Egyptian art change under Akhenaten?

What is Akhenaten’s legacy?

Akhenaten, was a king (c. 1353–36 bce) of ancient Egypt of the 18th dynasty, who established a new cult dedicated to the Aton, the sun’s disk (hence his assumed name, Akhenaten, meaning “beneficial to Aton”). Few scholars now agree with the contention that Amenhotep III associated his son Amenhotep IV on the throne for several years of coregency; it is assumed here, in accordance with general scholarly consensus, that the older king died before his son gained power. At or shortly after the time of his accession, Amenhotep IV seems to have married the chief queen of his reign, Nefertiti. ...(100 of 2392 words)

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