Post by bob12 on Feb 14, 2010 0:28:09 GMT 10
www.historyofreligions.com/helio.htm
Akhenaton's worship of "Aton" featured "Ra" theology in a very restrictive mode. Cyril Aldred, finding fault with Petrie's interpretations of the typical Amarna depictions, has called our attention to the fact that the rays of the Aton "do not give life to each person, but bring its breath only to the nostrils of the king and queen."[33] Amarna hymnody make that same point. Anyone who carefully ponders the king's beautiful hymns, composed specifically for the royal worship of Aton, certainly will discover more than poetic beauty. Had these stanzas been written by someone of low status, their theological shallowness would have remained of little concern. But authored by, or at least ascribed to, an Egyptian king who claimed Son of God status for himself, the narrow scope and selfishness reflected in these psalms indeed does evoke suspicion. That narrowness surely must have raised concerns among all Amun theologians in Egypt at the time.
In none of Akhenaton's hymns is God ever approached as one who would stoop low enough to bless someone other than his chosen and beloved son, the pharaoh Akhenaton himself, together with Nefertete his beautiful spouse. In fact, the entire wonderful world of Aton's creatures is said to have been created for the express pleasure of this jaded king. No allowances were made in Aton liturgy for any problem in the land that the pharaoh himself might be unable to perceive. And there is also no evidence that, preoccupied with the religious legitimization of his royal-divine authority, the king still was capable of recognizing anyone else's needs. The closing stanza of his Great Hymn to Aton is sufficient to expose the narrow vision of this royal would-be reformer:
Akhenaton's "monotheism," if such selfish usurpation of God's created world by a single human ego deserves this appellation, reveals, if nothing else, the loneliness of a hereditary and beleaguered grand domesticator. It exposes the ruler's monotheistic solar theology as a feeble attempt at trying to become an absolute divine Sun-king again.
To accomplish his goal he had to rid himself of the religious "checks and balances" that, in the course of Egyptian history, had come to humanize government and safeguard at least some of the interests of common people. Akhenaton wanted to shake off the largest "check and balance" that weighed on him; namely, the Theban cult of Amun. That cult was represented by Amun temples throughout Egypt and beyond, and it had the support of many people.
No doubt, Akhenaton would rather have ruled Egypt under a God who created the entire world especially for him.
Akhenaton's worship of "Aton" featured "Ra" theology in a very restrictive mode. Cyril Aldred, finding fault with Petrie's interpretations of the typical Amarna depictions, has called our attention to the fact that the rays of the Aton "do not give life to each person, but bring its breath only to the nostrils of the king and queen."[33] Amarna hymnody make that same point. Anyone who carefully ponders the king's beautiful hymns, composed specifically for the royal worship of Aton, certainly will discover more than poetic beauty. Had these stanzas been written by someone of low status, their theological shallowness would have remained of little concern. But authored by, or at least ascribed to, an Egyptian king who claimed Son of God status for himself, the narrow scope and selfishness reflected in these psalms indeed does evoke suspicion. That narrowness surely must have raised concerns among all Amun theologians in Egypt at the time.
In none of Akhenaton's hymns is God ever approached as one who would stoop low enough to bless someone other than his chosen and beloved son, the pharaoh Akhenaton himself, together with Nefertete his beautiful spouse. In fact, the entire wonderful world of Aton's creatures is said to have been created for the express pleasure of this jaded king. No allowances were made in Aton liturgy for any problem in the land that the pharaoh himself might be unable to perceive. And there is also no evidence that, preoccupied with the religious legitimization of his royal-divine authority, the king still was capable of recognizing anyone else's needs. The closing stanza of his Great Hymn to Aton is sufficient to expose the narrow vision of this royal would-be reformer:
Your are in my heart,
There is no other who knows you,
Only your son, Neferkheprure, Sole-one-of-Ra,
Whom you have taught your ways and your might.
[Those on] earth come from your hand as you made them,
When you have dawned they live,
When you set they die;
You yourself are lifetime, one lives by you.
All eyes are on [your] beauty until you set,
All labor ceases when you rest in the west;
When you rise you stir [everyone] for the King,
Every leg is on the move since you founded the earth.
You rouse them for your son who came from your body,
The King who lives by Maat, the Lord of crowns,
Akhenaten, great in his lifetime;
(And) the great Queen whom he loves, the Lady of the Two Lands.
Nefer-nefru-Aten Nefertiti, living forever.
There is no other who knows you,
Only your son, Neferkheprure, Sole-one-of-Ra,
Whom you have taught your ways and your might.
[Those on] earth come from your hand as you made them,
When you have dawned they live,
When you set they die;
You yourself are lifetime, one lives by you.
All eyes are on [your] beauty until you set,
All labor ceases when you rest in the west;
When you rise you stir [everyone] for the King,
Every leg is on the move since you founded the earth.
You rouse them for your son who came from your body,
The King who lives by Maat, the Lord of crowns,
Akhenaten, great in his lifetime;
(And) the great Queen whom he loves, the Lady of the Two Lands.
Nefer-nefru-Aten Nefertiti, living forever.
Akhenaton's "monotheism," if such selfish usurpation of God's created world by a single human ego deserves this appellation, reveals, if nothing else, the loneliness of a hereditary and beleaguered grand domesticator. It exposes the ruler's monotheistic solar theology as a feeble attempt at trying to become an absolute divine Sun-king again.
To accomplish his goal he had to rid himself of the religious "checks and balances" that, in the course of Egyptian history, had come to humanize government and safeguard at least some of the interests of common people. Akhenaton wanted to shake off the largest "check and balance" that weighed on him; namely, the Theban cult of Amun. That cult was represented by Amun temples throughout Egypt and beyond, and it had the support of many people.
No doubt, Akhenaton would rather have ruled Egypt under a God who created the entire world especially for him.