2min chapter

Greeking Out from National Geographic Kids cover image

S7E3 - Akhenaten The Heretic King

Greeking Out from National Geographic Kids

CHAPTER

The Life and Times of Amunhotep IV

Amun priests were wealthy and powerful during the time of Amunhotep IV. He married a woman named Nefertiti, you might recognize her. One day he made an announcement that all gods had stopped appearing in Egypt. The only god remaining would be the only one he would worship going forward.

00:00
Speaker 2
Right, like
Speaker 1
I said earlier, Amun had been gaining popularity for centuries, and during the time of the Amenhotep's, the Amun priests were wealthy and powerful, heck, they even own more land than the Pharaoh. But hey, Amun's got an important job, right? Making the sun come up each day is probably not easy. The
Speaker 2
sun doesn't ever go down or come up. The turning of earth creates the illusion of the sun's movement. Yeah,
Speaker 1
we know, fair point. For the first few years, Amunhotep IV acted very much like your average Pharaoh. He appeared in art as a muscular king. Seems like a weird detail now, but more on that later. And he married a woman named Nefertiti,
Speaker 2
you might recognize her. The bust of Nefertiti was discovered in 1912 in Tel-El-Amarna and is very famous. It is currently in a museum in Berlin.
Speaker 1
He also added monuments at the local temple dedicated to Amun, and he participated in important ceremonies to ensure that the gods remained happy. You know, the usual Pharaoh stuff. But after a few years, our guy stopped being a normal Pharaoh. One day, Amunhotep IV made an announcement. He said that the temples were in ruins and that the gods of Egypt had stopped appearing. Well, all but one. The only god remaining would be the only one he would worship going forward. And who was this god? Well, not Amun, but a minor deity named Aten. This god had previously been considered just one form of the sun god Amun. The Egyptians believed the gods could take many forms. In this case, Aten was the sun in the sky. But for Amunhotep, Aten wasn't just part of Amun. Aten was his own thing. Here's how the Pharaoh described his god. Spunded
Speaker 3
you rise, O living Aten, eternal Lord.
Speaker 4
You are radiant, buteous, mighty. Your love is great, immense. Your rays light up all faces. Your light here gives life to hearts when you fill the two lands with your love.

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