Akhenaton S Hymn To The Aton Term paper
While the free essays can give you inspiration for writing, they cannot be used 'as is' because they will not meet your assignment's requirements. If you are in a time crunch, then you need a custom written term paper on your subject (akhenaton s hymn to the aton)
Here you can hire an independent writer/researcher to custom write you an authentic essay to your specifications that will pass any plagiarism test (e.g. Turnitin). Waste no more time!
During the New Kingdom of Egypt, from 1552 through 1069 BC, there came a sweeping
change in the religious structure of the ancient Egyptian civilization. The Hymn to the Aton was
created by Amenhotep IV, who ruled from 1369 to 1353 BC, and began a move toward a
monotheist culture instead of the polytheist religion which Egypt had experienced for the many
hundreds of years prior to the introduction of this new idea. There was much that was different
from the old views in the Hymn to the Aton, and it offered a new outlook on the Egyptian way of
life by providing a complete break with the traditions which Egypt held to with great respect. Yet
at the same time, there were many commonalities between these new ideas and the old views of
the Egyptian world. Although through the duration of his reign, Amenhotep IV introduced a
great many changes to the Egyptian religion along with the Hymn, none of these reforms outlived
their creator, mostly due to the massive forces placed on his successor, Tutankhamen, to
renounce these new reforms. However, the significance of Amenhotep IV, or Akhenaton as he
later changed his name to, is found in the Hymn. The Hymn itself can be looked at as a
contradiction of ideas; it must be looked at in relation to both the Old Kingdom’s belief of
steadfast and static values, as well as in regards to the changes of the Middle Kingdom, which saw
unprecedented expansionistic and individualistic oriented reforms.
The Old Kingdom of Egypt, from 2700 to 2200 BC, saw the commencement of many of
the rigid, formal beliefs of the Egyptian civilization, both in regards to their religion and their
politics, as they were very closely intertwined. The Egyptian belief that nature was an
incorruptible entity was exhibited, and that to reach a state of human perfection in the afterlife,
they too would have to change from their corruptible human shells to mimic the incorruptibility of
nature. Upper and Lower Egypt were united for the first time less than one ruler, however, this
would come to an end around 2200 BC. In much of the Egyptian hieroglyphs, the pharaoh was
often depicted as almost larger than life, with great power. Much of the Egyptian art is a
celebration of the accomplishments of the pharaoh. The formation of a royal absolutism occurred
during this period, with the pharaoh and a small centralized administration, composed mainly of
royal kin and relatives, overseeing all aspects of Egyptian life. Any surplus of the peasants was
collected by the government in a wide variety of taxes and the like, amounting to approximately
one fifth of the total produce harvested, and reserved for the pharaoh: “ But when the crop comes
in, give a fifth of it to Pharaoh.” The pharaoh was looked at as a living god among the Egyptian
people, who assured the success of Egypt as well as its peace.
In regards to the religious structure of the Old Kingdom, there was a polytheistic view of
the world, as in Mesopotamia. However, unlike the Mesopotamian religion, the Egyptians worked
for their king as opposed to working for their gods. The Egyptian pharaoh was the chief operator
behind the religious system, and he was believed to be the actual son of Re, the sun god. The
complex concept of the afterlife was also developed during this period. The intricate process of
mummification and burial along the west bank of the Nile, in the “Land of the Dead,” began and
the firm belief in the afterlife began to form. These political and religious views were believed to
be sacred and intended to be adhered to without change, following the Egyptian’s view of nature
as an unchanging constant, and a static phenomenon.
After the collapse of the Old Kingdom, there came the First Intermediate Period during
which the United Egypt separated. Though Egypt was separated, both Upper and Lower Egypt
still had a shared religion, just differing views as to whom the heros and villains were in their
mythology. The Middle Kingdom, which occurred between 2040 and 1674 BC, saw the re-
emergence of a united Egypt. The pharaohs of this period were once again the centre of the
kingdom, and the military might of Egypt was far greater than it had been in previous centuries.
However, the pharaoh was not as great a political power as he had been in the Old Kingdom, as
the nobles had begun to gain a sense of greater independence from the pharaoh, in respects to the
idea that they needed him to assure themselves a place in the afterlife. They believed that they
could convince Osiris themselves by using symbols of the monarchy from the Old Kingdom as
well as magical spells which they collected from the Pyramid Texts. The political structure of the
Middle Kingdom was also changing from that of the Old Kingdom. In the past, the government
was run by only the immediate family of the pharaoh. In the Middle Kingdom however, if one was
able to learn to write, then they had the option of becoming a member of the bureaucracy.
Around 1674 BC, the two kingdoms of Upper and Lower Egypt separated once again.
This Second Intermediate Period saw the Hyksos, who Semitic invaders from Palestine, come and
overtake the Egyptian ruling class. These peoples were expelled from Egypt around 1553 BC,
which gave rise to the New Kingdom of Egypt. After the expulsion of the Hyksos from Egypt,
there began a new imperialistic movement within the Egyptian culture, and we see several
crusades into Asia and the Mid-East during this time frame. Egypt ruled in Asia for about a
century or so, but lost it due to the lack of interest on the part of the royal court in the contents of
its Asian subjects. Though for the most part, the Egyptian religion remained as it had in the
previous kingdoms during the first part of the New Kingdom, Amenhotep IV, or Akhenaton as he
later changed his name to, brought about many religious reforms.
Amenhotep IV began a series of reforms to ensure the pharaoh’s status as a living god
among the people, as opposed to a simple agent of the sun god Amon, as the priests of the royal
court were beginning to assert a more powerful and independent role. Assisted by the royal
family, Amenhotep IV commenced on a series of religious reforms which would help him to
regain the power lost to the priests. He instigated a break from the god Amen toward the sundisc
Aton....
MLA Style
. EssayMania.com. Retrieved on 26 May, 2012 from
<http://essaymania.com/157095/akhenaton-s-hymn-to-the-aton>
More College Papers
Chemical Engineering essay
Chemical Engineering
Scope
Chemical engineering is broader in scope than electrical, civil, or mechanical engineering, because it more or less consists of the equal use of the three main engineering cornerstones (mathematics, physics, and chemistry), while other professions are based on primari
Reinventing Government essay
This is done in APA format. No title page is included.It is approx.10 pages, double spaced.
SUMMARY
In their book Reinventing Government, Osborne and Gaebler (1992) suggest that there has been a transformation in the confidence in the government and an overall decline in efficacy of governme
RAP CENSORSHIP essay
RAP SHOULD NOT BE CENSORED!
BY: FARHAN YUSUF
Rap should not be censored because everybody has the right
to their freedom of speech, as it is in Section 2 of Charter of Rights
and Freedoms. “Us as rappers express our thoughts and the whole
world is after us.” (pg. 171, Sexton) Rap has done