Religion in the Time of Akhenaten

Akhenaten was the Pharaoh of ancient Egypt for a total of 17 years, from 1350-1334 BCE. Before his reign the main religion and god of Egypt was Amun although each district within the country would also worship their own chosen lesser gods. The main temples of each city were the Temples of Amun and the priesthood worshipped the god Amun exclusively.

However this all changed early in the reign of Amenophis IV, later to be called Akhenaten because he chose to elevate the little known form of the sun-god Ra, the Aten, to the divine status of King of Gods. This was done by placing the name ‘Aten’ in a double cartouche which gave the identity ‘king’ and ‘god’ however Akhenaten also put his own name into a double cartouche which suggests he thought of himself as both a king and god.

Akhenaten believed that the Aten, which was a physical expression of the sun-god Ra and was symbolised by a sun disc, was the king of gods and that he was the divine son and living image of Ra and Aten. This made him a very unique person in his own eyes as he was the sole mediator between the gods and the mortals of ancient Egypt that he ruled over.

Akhenaten’s worship of the Aten was extreme. He not only built new temples in which to physically worship his god, he built a whole new city that he named Akhetaten – the horizon of the Aten. He also officially changed his name so that he was no longer known by his birth name of Amenophis IV but rather by the religious name of Akhenaten – son of the Aten.

The religion of Amun was forbidden and the magnificent temples in the cities of ancient Egypt were torn down. The building materials that were salvaged from the old temples were then used to construct the new city of Akhetaten. Although the people of ancient Egypt were not allowed to publicly worship any other god they continued to do so in the privacy of their own homes, however this was probably done under the threat of punishment if they were caught.

The priesthood of Amun was disbanded. This one act helped Akhenaten more than anything else he did during his reign because the priesthood of Amun had become a very powerful force during the reigns of Akhenaten’s ancestors and they were the only thing that really posed a threat to the Pharaohs reign. By forcing the priesthood to worship the new and only god, the Aten, or to leave the priesthood altogether Akhenaten was taking control back in a very subtle way.

The religion of the Aten flourished while Akhenaten was in power however the vizier and the commander of the army secretly apposed the change as they thought it weakened the country and left it open to attack. With this in mind it seems an obvious progression that the religion of ancient Egypt would quickly revert back to that of Amun with Akhenaten’s death, especially since the next Pharaoh, Tutankhamen was only a young boy when he took power and all major decisions were made by the vizier.

The reign of Akhenaten is the only time in the history of ancient Egypt when the religion and overall balance of the country changed. Amun and Ra were always the gods to whom the large temples were dedicated although there were many smaller temples dedicated to the lesser gods. It was quite normal for people of a particular district to worship a different lesser god to the people in the neighbouring district. Egypt is famous for its pantheon of gods that lasted throughout its history and so it is no wonder that any attempt to change things would not last long.