Moses and Akhenaten is a 'must read' book for all readers who are interested in the historical background of the Bible. Osman writes with authority and sensitivity on the enigmatic characters of Moses and Akhenaten and this formative epoch of monotheism. As usual, he cuts through the thick veil of religious myths and takes us out of the confusion by fitting Moses/Akhenaten into the correct historical context. And when he does this, Lo and Behold, a whole new picture begins to emerge, clear, lucid and which has that distinct ring of truth. This is a book that will thrill the seasoned amateur of historical whodunnits as well as all newcomers into this exciting field of study.
Many scholars from Sigmund Freud to Joseph Campbell suggest that Moses may have fled Egypt after Akhenaten's death (ca. 1358 BC) when much of the pharaoh's monotheistic reforms were being violently reversed. The principal ideas behind this theory are: the monotheistic religion of Akhenaten being a possible predecessor to Moses' monotheism, and a contemporaneous collection of "Amarna Letters" written by nobles to Akhenaten (Amarna was Akhenaten's capital city) which describe raiding bands of "Habiru" attacking the Egyptian territories in Mesopotamia. (Transformations of Myth Through Time, Joseph Campbell, p. 87-90, Harper & Row)
ALTAR
Painted limestone; height 98 cm, width 118, cm Tell Al-Amarna, House of Panehsy; Excavation by the Egyptian Exploration Society (1926-1927);
Eighteenth Dynasty, Reign of Akhenaten (1350-1334 BC).
This example is a household altar in the form of a shrine; the brick structure in front of it has both decorative and devotional function and resembles the pylons of temples built around a cella. The walls of the wings of the pylon are symmetrically decorated with scenes of Akhenaten, Nefertiti, and their daughter, Meritaten, adoring and making offerings to the god Aten. The king, with his swollen belly, wears the blue crown (khepresh) on his head and the queen a tall blue tiara crown and a long transparent tunic. Aten radiates his benefits of life and energy to the royal couple which were indispenable to ensure the continued existence of all that had been created.
Traces of brightly colored paint can still be made out on the recently restored monument. The cartouches bearing the "didactic name of the Aten" (i.e., the name given by Akhenaten to his god) are applied below the molding of the pylons and on the sides of the entrance portal whereby the pharaoh is permitting the god the royal prerogative of seeing his own name in the royal cartouche. Two versions of the "name of Aten" are known; this one is the more recent" "May Ra live who appears in the Horizon of the Aten as a visible manifestation (shadow) that reaches like Aten."
Reference:
The Treasures of Ancient Egypt, The Rizzoli Art Guide, From the Egyptian Museum in Cairo (2003)
Fragmentary Stela with Akhenaten
From Amarna
New Kingdom, Eighteenth Dynasty, reign of Akhenaten
Limestone, traces of paint
EA 24431, acquired in 1891, purchased via the Reverend C. Murch
The identity of Akhenaten's figure is not in doubt: his names are written in the cartouches before his face. The delicacy of the features and the round breast, which prompted some early observers to suggest that it represents Nefertiti2 (whose name appears with Akhenaten's in the framing inscriptions), are simply a softened version of his scrawny and strangely androgynous physique. Such details as the large, heavy-lidded eye suggest that the stela was made late in his reign." A date late in Akhenaten's life may have also influenced his being represented with a short, round, curled wig, unusual for this ruler.
The same headdress appears on several late representations of his father, Amenhotep III, where the intent was clearly to identify the old king with the child god, Neferhotep, as part of his self-deification program. Neferhotep, part of the pantheon that Akhenaten had repudiated, would not have been acceptable. But the iconography of the juvenile god may well have appealed to this aging son of the Aten.
Photo & text from the book Eternal Egypt, Masterworks of Ancient Art from the British Museum (2001)
Description: Paying respect to Akhenaten. Painted sandstone, from Karnak. Cairo Museum, Egypt.
From the tomb of Meryra High Priest of Aten. Each royal chariot is escorted by three more chariots each containing two female attendants, holding plume-shaped fans (omnipresent in Amarnian Art). The princesses and the ladies-in-waiting are dressed alike, in a long mantle and a colourful shawl on the sholders.
