Akhenaten

[The Wicked Priest]

Who was this pharaoh, really?
http://www.stargods.org/AkhenatenBust.jpg
What everyone can agree on, is that he was different from all of the other pharaohs in Egypt. He was the "Father of Monotheism"... the first person in history to openly worship just one God, forsaking all others.
He was the father of King Tutankhamen or "King Tut" http://tlc.ousd.k12.ca.us/~gsonobe/images/king_tut1.gif
He was married to one of the most beautiful women in history, Queen Nefertiti.
http://www.artsales.com/images/nefertiti%20restored%20(2).jpg

After this, scholars don't agree on much. So I put together a bunch of links on the various theories that surround this mysterious historical figure.

Akhenaten's monotheism: http://www.osirisnet.net/docu/akhenat/e_akhen3.htm

Akhenaten's strange appearance... inbreeding, disease, or aliens? http://www.heptune.com/Marfans.html

Alien theories:http://www.geocities.com/slivergirl_99/akhenaten.html

Akhenaten, the Reptilian http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.stargods.org/AkhenatenSkull.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.stargods.org/ReptilianKings.htm&h=518&w=529&sz=105&hl=en&start=1&um=1&tbnid=5J5DoUJxUdS1mM:&tbnh=129&tbnw=132&prev=/images%3Fq%3DAkhenaten%2Bskull%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den% 26client%3Dfirefox-a%26channel%3Ds%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26sa%3DN

Akhenaten's exodus http://www.drfalesbaa.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=24&Itemid=31

Akhenaten is Oedipus http://home.att.net/~a.a.major/oedakhoutline.html

Akhenaten is the biblical Moses http://www.greatdreams.com/moses.htm

During his reign, the Pharaoh Akhenaten was able to abolish the complex pantheon of the ancient Egyptian religion and replace it with a single god, the Aten, who had no image or form. Seizing on the striking similarities between the religious vision of this "heretic" pharaoh and the teachings of Moses, Sigmund Freud was the first to argue that Moses was in fact an Egyptian. Now Ahmed Osman, using recent archaeological discoveries and historical documents, contends that Akhenaten and Moses were one and the same man. Osman reveals the Egyptian components in the monotheism preached by Moses as well as his use of Egyptian royal ritual and Egyptian religious expression. He shows that even the Ten Commandments betray the direct influence of Spell 125 in the Egyptian Book of the Dead.http://ahmedosman.com/home.html

Akhenaten is in fact the biblical Aaron: http://books.google.com/books?id=SmusEB_O-7MC&pg=PA124&lpg=PA124&dq=akhenaten+is+aaron+ellis&source=web&ots=dqaDiwXyyg&sig=5d12Pa3IZhQbUVwAZ0Gvyxo73ek&hl=en

[The Wicked Priest]

Here is another very good link, comparing the religion of Akhenaton and Mohammad.
What Muhammad and Akhenaten had in common:

1. Both were born into families who worshipped hundreds of pagan gods.
2. Both actively worshipped as pagan polytheists until their conversions to monotheism as adults.
3. Both were strongly influenced by the monotheism of other religions. Jews and Christians.
4. Both converted to a form of monotheism, where they continued to worship one pagan god. We call this repackaged polytheism.
5. Both elevated obscure, lessor known deities to the top position. Aten and Allah
6. Both chose the gods of celestial objects: sun and moon.
7. Both banned the worship of all other pagan gods but the one pagan god they had selected.
8. Both retained the name of the old polytheistic gods which the general population were familiar with: Aten and Allah.
9. Both retained pagan practices and concepts in their new found monotheism.
10. Both employed symbolic logos to represent their gods: solar disk with sun rays. Although Muhammad my not have directly adopted the crescent moon symbol, it was adopted shortly after his death.
11. Both made themselves the highest human representative on earth for their gods. High priest and Muhammad the last and greatest prophet.
12. Neither men performed any miracles or displayed any divine powers as both Moses and Christ and the apostles did when Judaism and Christianity were begun. Muhammad was a prophet without supernatural power.

How Muhammad and Akhenaten differed:

1. Akhenaten's chose a lower ranking god "Aten" to be his highest god, whereas Muhammad chose "Allah" who, although not the most popular god, was considered to be a top ranking god.
2. While both were former polytheists converted to monotheism, Akhenaten continued to worship the sun itself, whereas, Muhammad's merely retained the disk of the crescent moon as a symbol for the one true god "Allah" who created the sun and moon. In this regard Muhammad's monotheism was superior to Akhenaten's. But then again, Muhammad had a 2600 year advantage of history over Akhenaten!
3. Akhenaten's religion was one that did not require faith as it worshipped the visible sun as god. Muhammad's religion does require faith as it worships an invisible god.
4. While Muhammad continued to worship the same pagan moon god in the same pagan temple (Kaba) before and after his conversion to monotheism, Akhenaten created a new temple in a new city for the old pagan god. The symbols and rituals of Islam are re-enactment rituals borrowed from the Bible with a grotesquely distorted mythical twist. We suggest Muhammad would have done much better had he hired a more imaginative "new religion writer". Akhenaten is clearly superior, for like Judaism and Christianity, Akhenaten realized that a new religion needed unique symbols and meanings. Muhammad failed to come up with anything new, but heavily plagiarized other religions and local myths. Akhenaten gets points for originality. While Christ introduced unique and new spiritualized meanings to physical Judaism, Islam merely creates physical re-enactment's of historical events as seen in the "stand", "walk" and "throw" rituals of Islam. These ritual re-enactment's evoke emotion, in the same way a remembrance day service does, but nothing new is happening.
5. Akhenaten tolerated some other religions to be practiced under his domain. Muhammad murdered those who attempted to openly practice Christianity under his domain.
6. Akhenaten was a pacifist who deplored "murdering his opposition for conquest" as most other Pharaohs practiced. Muhammad, on the other hand, "evangelized with the sword". In the absence of miraculous signs and powers, Muhammad chose the necessary path to ensure his newly invented religion would endure. Akhenaten's religion of monotheism collapsed shortly after his death, while Muhammad's has endured the centuries.http://www.bible.ca/islam/islam-polytheism-pharaoh-akhenaton.htm

[Dilki]

What a beautiful photoes.It's sooooo sweet.

.....................
GAYATHRI


http://fasttrackitc.com/sp/

[I Believe]

Ah my favorite subject Ancient Egypt.......

[The Wicked Priest]

Ah my favorite subject Ancient Egypt.......

It's one of my favorite subjects too. So what do you think... is there more to Akhenaten than egyptologists want us to believe?

[I Believe]

Oh most definitely...he gets a bad rap some times but thats only because he and Nefertiti almost singled handed destroyed Egypt while they were in power. Will have to admit that mummies are my interest....have always been fascinated by the way the Ancient Egyptians respected and treated the dead.........

[The Wicked Priest]

Oh most definitely...he gets a bad rap some times but thats only because he and Nefertiti almost singled handed destroyed Egypt while they were in power.

That's what happens when you try to start a religious revolution... the sheep get nervous.

[I Believe]

Yeah, and it don't always mean theres a wolf around either hehehehe..........

[Harry61]

I have always loved the Egyption theorys. Studied a bit in school, but alas, wasn't very good at naming everyone one.

One thing I would love to do before I die is to see that part of the world. Probably never will get there, so I must live it through others eyes.

Thank you for sharing.

[The Wicked Priest]

One thing I would love to do before I die is to see that part of the world. Probably never will get there, so I must live it through others eyes.

I want to go on one of these kind of tours someday...
http://www.jawest.net/tours2.htm
The real mystical, magical, controversial Egypt with an awesome tour guide.

[I Believe]

They had the King Tut exhibit at our state museum so years back it was great. Only problem was most of the artifacts were mock ups made by the Unversity of Texas. Some of the jewelry that came out of the original tomb was there that but that was about it.

[jeffweeder]

Was Moses Akenhaten?

Dont think so, but he was heavily influenced by him it seems.

Which one of the thutmoses pharoahs, had a daughter, but no son.?


Who was senmut?

Im pretty vague on this

[I Believe]

Was Moses Akenhaten?

Dont think so, but he was heavily influenced by him it seems.

Which one of the thutmoses pharoahs, had a daughter, but no son.?


Who was senmut?

Im pretty vague on this

Ramesses II was identified with the pharaoh of whom the Biblical figure Moses demanded his people be released from slavery. He was the third King of the 19th Dynasty. His rule lasted some 66 years. Its believed he died somewhere around the age of 90.

Smenkhkare may have been the sucessor to Akhenaten. But his reign only lasted one year. Some believe only a few months others has much as 11 years. He was suceeded by King Tut. Smenkhkare is one of the most mysterious figures of Egyptian history.

Thutmose III ruled Egypt for almost fifty-four years. He was co-regent with his stepmother, Hatshepsut. The last two years of his reign he became a coregent again, with his son, Amenhotep II.
He may have married a daughter of Thutmose II and Hatshepsut. It has been suggested that the daughter in question may have been Neferure or Merytre-Hatshepsut II

[Ruthless1]

The patriarchs of the bible were Egyptians. This is a undeniable fact that is overlooked and ignored. Joseph was the pharaohs right hand man, and married into his family. That makes him, for all intents and purposes an Egyptian of the royal family. Which makes his family Egyptian, which makes the Jewish people Egyptian. It's interesting that the religions of the world spawn from this man and he gets no credit.

[I Believe]

which makes the Jewish people Egyptian

Jews were never Egyptian they were enslaved in Egypt.Joseph was the son of Jacob,and is one of the best-known figures in the Torah and his God-given ability to interpret dreams. Due to jealousy, his brothers sold him into slavery. Eventually he worked under the Egyptian official Potiphar.

He worked under the Pharoah he was not Egyptian and was sold to the Egyptians as a slave.

[The Wicked Priest]

Jews were never Egyptian they were enslaved in Egypt.Joseph was the son of Jacob,and is one of the best-known figures in the Torah and his God-given ability to interpret dreams. Due to jealousy, his brothers sold him into slavery. Eventually he worked under the Egyptian official Potiphar.

He worked under the Pharoah he was not Egyptian and was sold to the Egyptians as a slave.

They weren't Egyptian, but Freud seems to think so. The Jews, IMO, were actually Hyksos, a semitic conquering nation

The Hyksos were basically a Semitic people who were able to wrestle control of Egypt from the early Second Intermediate rulers of the 13th Dynasty, inaugurating the 15th Dynasty. Their names mostly come from the West Semitic languages, and earlier suggestions that some of these people were Hurrian or even Hittite have not been confirmed. However, it is not easy to determine their origins within that Asiatic region, and at Tell el-Dab'a, the culture of the people was not static, but rapidly developed new traits and discarded old ones.

Josephus claims to quote directly from Manetho, who's original history is lost to us, when he describes the conquest and occupation of Egypt by the Hyksos:

"By main force they easily seized it without striking a blow; and having overpowered the rulers of the land, they hen burned our cities ruthlessly, razed to the ground the temples of gods...Finally, they appointed as king one of their number whose name was Salitis."

Some of this rings true, while other parts seem not to be. It appears that the Hyksos left much of Egypt alone. It is clear that Avaris (Tell el-Dab'a) was occupied by a people who exhibited specifically non-Egyptian cultural traits. We find this in the layout of the town itself, the houses, and particularly the burials, which were intermixed with the living community, unlike those of the Egyptians. While we know that the Hyksos established centers, as their influenced gradually moved towards Memphis along the eastern edge of the Delta, at Farasha, Tell el-Sahaba, Bubastis, Inshas and Tell el-Yahudiyas, very little of this particular culture has been found at other Egyptian sites. At the same time, the Hyksos living in Egypt have been described as A rare wooden Hyksos statue of a woman carrying a child"Peculiarly Egyptian". They were great builders and artisans. And little seems to have changed between the Egyptian style of governing, and that of the Hyksos. While the Hyksos imported some of their own gods, they also appear to have honored the Egyptian deities as well, such as Seth, who became assimilated with some Hyksos deities. Of course, we must also recall that Egypt already had somewhat of a history with the "Asiatics", including wars and considerable trade, so it would not be surprising to find some mix of cultures even among the Egyptians of the Delta. http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/hyksos.htm

The story of the Jews in the bible and the Hyksos history parallel in many ways.

The name Hyksos was used by the Egyptian historian Manetho (fl. 300 BC), who, according to the Jewish historian Josephus (fl. 1st century AD), translated the word as "king-shepherds" or "captive shepherds." Josephus wished to demonstrate the great antiquity of the Jews and thus identified the Hyksos with the Hebrews of the Old Testament.

This link knocks it out of the park, IMO.

Josephus quotes Manetho who wrote a history of Egypt. Josephus says, "Manetho has granted us one fact. He has admitted that our race (the Jews) was not of Egyptian origin, but came into Egypt from elsewhere, conquered it, and afterwards left it" (1926, 267; Book 1.252). Manetho identifies Israel with the Hyksos which where expelled by Ahmose from Egypt. Josephus quotes Manetho describing this expulsion by saying:

Then the kings of the Thebaid and of the rest of Egypt rose in revolt against the shepherds (Hyksos), and a great war broke out, which was of long duration. Under a king named Misphragmouthosis, the shepherds, he says, were defeated, driven out of all the rest of Egypt, and confined in a place called Auaris, containing ten thousand arourae. The shepherds, according to Manetho, enclosed the whole area with a great strong wall, in order to secure all their possessions and spoils. Thoummosis, the son of Misphragmouthosis (he continues), invested the walls with an army of 480,000 men, and endeavored to reduce them to submission by siege. Despairing of achieving his object, he concluded a treaty, under which they were all to evacuate Egypt and go whither they would unmolested. Upon these terms no fewer than two hundred and forty thousand, entire households with their possessions, left Egypt, and traversed the desert to Syria. Then, terrified by the might of the Assyrians, who at that time were the masters of Asia, they built a city in the country now called Judaea, capable of accommodating their vast company, and gave it the name of Jerusalem (1926,197-99; Against Apion, Book 1.85-90; Manetho 1940, 86, n.2). http://www.bibleandscience.com/archaeology/exodusdate.htm

So if Ruthless meant that the Jews were hyksos, I owe him some rep.

[Ruthless1]

They weren't Egyptian, but Freud seems to think so. The Jews, IMO, were actually Hyksos, a semitic conquering nation
http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/hyksos.htm

The story of the Jews in the bible and the Hyksos history parallel in many ways.


This link knocks it out of the park, IMO.
http://www.bibleandscience.com/archaeology/exodusdate.htm

So if Ruthless meant that the Jews were hyksos, I owe him some rep.

Well said and great post. I forgot that the Hyskos were an invading people. Thank you for clarifying that.

[cmar1965]

Hmm... so perhaps the Shepardic Jews are the "parallel" to the Hyksos and the Ashkenazic Jews "followed" Akhenaten/Moses?

I will read all the links you provided later on today WP and tah for posting it!

[The Wicked Priest]

Hmm... so perhaps the Shepardic Jews are the "parallel" to the Hyksos and the Ashkenazic Jews "followed" Akhenaten/Moses?

I will read all the links you provided later on today WP and tah for posting it!

Yep, that's what they say... and thank you for bumping this!

BTW, Hyksos is translated "Shepard Kings".... interesting, huh?

[I Believe]

If you guys do not quit posting all this stuff about Ancient Egypt and Israel I will never get through reading......thanks though I am enjoying it.

[phedrereine]

Thanks for starting this thread! The Amarna Period is fascinating.

Akhenaten's strange appearance is a mystery, and it does not seem as though there are very good arguments to support either Froehlich's Syndrome or Marfan's Syndrome as the cause. As the site admitted, Froehlich's is highly unlikely as Akhenaten was very intelligent and fertile. But Marfan's doesn't fit either. It explains the elongated face and strange skeletal structure, but not in any way his androgynous qualities and his feminine figure, including full lips, hips, breasts, and a protruding stomach, or how he was portrayed like a eunuch when we know that he most assuredly was not. So we know that the artists purposely excluded the genitalia in what must be the name of a style, and he did innovate a new art form, and it makes sense that his own depictions were meant to be apart of it: different and unique, and not necessarily literal representations (although King Tut's mummy does show that he had a notably elongated skull, so that could have been a family trait... but not necessarily derived from Marfan's, because strange characteristics often result from intensive inbreeding, which this family did in abundance).

They say that he lived the lifespan someone with Marfan's would expect to live without treatment, around 30 years old. Today that would be a strange age to die, and we would read heavily into it. But in that time to reach that age was quite a milestone. He could have died from any number of illnesses or accidents at that time. Is there any evidence that any other member of his bloodline died at around 30? It could easily just be a coincidence with Akhenaten. We have so little to work with to determine that, though.

But in any case, I think the idea of religious symbolism is the most convincing. Akhenaten had complete control over how he, his family or the government were portrayed in art, and this proves he purposely wanted to give himself a specific image to represent to the people. He changed his name to Akhenaten. Why not his physical image? A protruding stomach and feminine features lended him the look of a birthgiver, mother and father at the same time, the human form of Aten. In all of the reliefs of the royal family, the rays of the sun disk, Aten, shine down onto the hands of those holding the ankh, which is the symbol of life.

Additionally, Smenkhkare (if he wasn't in actuality Nefertiti's pseudonym), who followed Akhenaten's tradition for a year after his death, was represented as very feminine as well. His regnal name, Nefernefruaten, was in keeping with the worship of Aten. Tutankhaten was the one who broke with the religion and changed his name in favor of Amun. And after that, the art and tradition were reformed and pharaohs were not represented as Akhenaten and Smenkhkare were.

But has anyone found any other convincing sources that suggest he might have had some other disorder other than Froehlich's or Marfan's? I would be curious.

[The Wicked Priest]

Thanks for starting this thread! The Amarna Period is fascinating.

Akhenaten's strange appearance is a mystery, and it does not seem as though there are very good arguments to support either Froehlich's Syndrome or Marfan's Syndrome as the cause. As the site admitted, Froehlich's is highly unlikely as Akhenaten was very intelligent and fertile. But Marfan's doesn't fit either. It explains the elongated face and strange skeletal structure, but not in any way his androgynous qualities and his feminine figure, including full lips, hips, breasts, and a protruding stomach, or how he was portrayed like a eunuch when we know that he most assuredly was not. So we know that the artists purposely excluded the genitalia in what must be the name of a style, and he did innovate a new art form, and it makes sense that his own depictions were meant to be apart of it: different and unique, and not necessarily literal representations (although King Tut's mummy does show that he had a notably elongated skull, so that could have been a family trait... but not necessarily derived from Marfan's, because strange characteristics often result from intensive inbreeding, which this family did in abundance).

They say that he lived the lifespan someone with Marfan's would expect to live without treatment, around 30 years old. Today that would be a strange age to die, and we would read heavily into it. But in that time to reach that age was quite a milestone. He could have died from any number of illnesses or accidents at that time. Is there any evidence that any other member of his bloodline died at around 30? It could easily just be a coincidence with Akhenaten. We have so little to work with to determine that, though.

But in any case, I think the idea of religious symbolism is the most convincing. Akhenaten had complete control over how he, his family or the government were portrayed in art, and this proves he purposely wanted to give himself a specific image to represent to the people. He changed his name to Akhenaten. Why not his physical image? A protruding stomach and feminine features lended him the look of a birthgiver, mother and father at the same time, the human form of Aten. In all of the reliefs of the royal family, the rays of the sun disk, Aten, shine down onto the hands of those holding the ankh, which is the symbol of life.

Additionally, Smenkhkare (if he wasn't in actuality Nefertiti's pseudonym), who followed Akhenaten's tradition for a year after his death, was represented as very feminine as well. His regnal name, Nefernefruaten, was in keeping with the worship of Aten. Tutankhaten was the one who broke with the religion and changed his name in favor of Amun. And after that, the art and tradition were reformed and pharaohs were not represented as Akhenaten and Smenkhkare were.

But has anyone found any other convincing sources that suggest he might have had some other disorder other than Froehlich's or Marfan's? I would be curious.

Great post! And I have to agree with you that his appearance has something to do with the new religion. The significance of the symbolisms is the question. He doesn't look like a birth giver to me... he looks like the opposite of the warrior-like depictions of other pharaohs. He never had a war campaign either.

What does all of that mean? I don't know....

Besides inbreeding, Froehlich's, and Marfans, I haven't heard any other medical theory's. There is the "grey" theory, if your into that kind of thing...