Who is Akhenaten and why is he important?
Akhenaten came to power as the pharaoh of Egypt in either the year 1353 or 1351 BCE and reigned for roughly 17 years during the 18th dynasty of Egypt’s New Kingdom. Akhenaten became best known to modern scholars for the new religion he created that centered on the Aten.
What was Akhenaten 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.
What does Akhenaten mean in history?
Akhenaten (r. 1353-1336 BCE) was a pharaoh of 18th Dynasty of the New Kingdom of Egypt. He is also known as ‘Akhenaton’ or ‘Ikhnaton’ and also ‘Khuenaten’, all of which are translated to mean ‘successful for’ or ‘of great use to’ the god Aten.
Who was the worst pharaoh?
Akhenaten
| Akhenaten Amenhotep IV | |
|---|---|
| Statue of Akhenaten at the Egyptian Museum | |
| Pharaoh | |
| Reign | 1353–1336 BC 1351–1334 BC (18th Dynasty of Egypt) |
| Predecessor | Amenhotep III |
How was Akhenaten portrayed?
The human body is portrayed differently; figures, always shown in profile on reliefs, are slender, swaying, with exaggerated extremities. In particular, depictions of Akhenaten give him distinctly feminine qualities such as large hips, prominent breasts, and a larger stomach and thighs.
What was unusual about the pharaoh Akhenaten?
Akhenaten was a unique pharaoh in more ways than one. He initiated a major socio-religious revolution that had vast consequences for his country, and possessed a strikingly abnormal physiognomy that was of note in his time and has interested historians up to the present era.
What is significant about the Amarna period of ancient Egyptian art?
Amarna art is the most distinctive in all of Egypt’s history and its difference in style is often interpreted as realism. Unlike the images from other dynasties of Egyptian history, works from the Amarna Period depict the royal family with elongated necks and arms and spindly legs.
How did Akhenaten change architecture?
Because the walls no longer had to support heavy, ten-to-twenty ton roof slabs, a new architectural standard was established: the huge blocks of stone previously used to erect temples and royal edifices were replaced by standard-sized stone bricks—Talatats—which had the advantage of being quicker to build with.