Greeking Out from National Geographic Kids

S7E3 - Akhenaten The Heretic King

Oct 14, 2022
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INSIGHT

Stable Polytheistic System

  • Ancient Egyptians believed in hundreds of gods each serving different purposes and called on them for specific needs.
  • The pharaoh served as a high priest maintaining order and unity between gods and people, a system stable for over 3,000 years.
INSIGHT

Shift To Aten Monotheism

  • Pharaoh Akhenaten declared the old gods ineffective and introduced Aten as the sole god.
  • This was a major shift from traditional polytheism to monotheism centered on the sun disk.
INSIGHT

Sunlight Replaces Statues

  • Akhenaten's new temples had no roofs or statues; the god Aten was represented by sunlight itself.
  • This distinguished his religion from old practices relying on statues and dark temple rooms.
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