Akhenaten: The Pharaoh Of Egypt

Akhenaten Akhenaten was the Pharaoh of Egypt for 17 years during the Eighteenth Dynasty which took place from 1352 to 1336 B.C. He was born the son of Amenhotep III and Queen Tyie. His was originally named after his father, Amenhotep IV, but decided to change his name during the fifth year of his reign. During that year he changed his name to Akhenaten, which means “horizon of the sun,” or can also be translated to “He who is of service to Aten.” He had six daughters, Merytaten, Meketaten, Ankhesenpaaten, Neferneferuaten-tasharit, Neferneferure, and Sotepenpre. Akhenaten was also suspected of having two more sons, Smenkhkare who succeeded him on the thrown, and Tutankhamun whom reigned after his brother. Both sons were born from different mothers. His first wife Neferiti, who was renamed to Nefernefruaten by the Pharaoh Akhenaten, which translated, means “beautiful is the beauty of Aten,” was also known as the “great royal wife” during the early years of his reign. He also had 3 consorts during
his reign as well. First was Kiya, known as the “lesser royal wife.” Next was Meritaten, whom was also known as the “great royal wife” because she was the Queen during the later years of his reign. The last consort that Akhenaten was believed to have, was named Ankhesenpaaten. This consort was controversial because she was also believed to be one of his six daughters. Although Ankhesenpaaten may have been one of Akhenatan’s daughters, it was been said that she birthed a child to her own father. Akhenaten was a philosopher and also and intellectualist. He has been described as Egypt’s most profound ruler. He was most recognized for the introduction of his monotheistic views of the sun god known as “Aten.” He basically abandoned the traditional polytheistic views of the Egyptians and began to worship Aten. However, His views and ideals were not accepted by all of the Egyptian people. Some described his new religion as a “mono-theistic cult” and refused to accept it. He constructed massive temples celebrating their new god Aten. Akhenaten had declared that everyone abandon their faith in the previous gods and worship Aten because he was not only the supreme god to all the rest, but the one and only true god. Akhenaten also prophesized, that he was the only advocate between the god Aten and the Egyptian people. Through ancient Egyptian Royal art, it has been depicted that Akhenaten had an unusually shaped body.
It is possible that Akhenaten had the artist distort his body to make him appear disproportional, but some theories suggest that he may have been in fact, a woman, a hermaphrodite, or some other complicated intersexual condition. In many of the artistic pieces, he is depicted with very wide hips, an abnormally large belly, with skinny limbs, giving him a very awkward appearance. For whatever the reason may be for him he was depicted this way, has created many controversial theories that may never be determined. Although Akhenaten’s mummy has been examined by many investigators, we cannot assume these theories to be true because there is no clear evidence to prove it. However, it has been suggested that the physical forms of Akhenaten and his family may have been altered because he did have complete creative control of how he and his family were portrayed through the
art. Akhenaten was a great ruler of Egypt who loved his people. He revolutionized the way they thought about religion and the gods that they worshiped. Although not all of his teachings were accepted, he made a dramatic impact on Egypt and the way the Egyptian people lived. He made it possible for monotheistic views to be accepted to those who were open to it, and began to stray from the traditional polytheistic views of the Egyptians from the past. Although there is much controversy surrounding Akhenaten about his introduction of monotheism, and also who he might have been as a person, he was a strong Pharaoh who loved his people and only wanted the best for them. Akhenaten was a vital figure in Egyptian history. He was responsible for their religious revolution and his teachings will forever be intrinsic in Egyptian culture.