BIBLE HISTORY DAILY

The Amarna Revolution

How Akhenaten changed ancient Egypt and its art

The pharaoh Akhenaten was a shrewd political operator who consolidated his power over ancient Egypt through strategic, administrative, and symbolic changes, beginning with the movement of the Egyptian capital from Thebes to Akhetaten (Tell el-Amarna) in the mid-14th century BCE. These changes ushered in a wholesale overhaul of Egyptian society, which is most visible in state religious institutions and royal artistic conventions. This was also a period of extensive trade and communication between Egypt and the various kingdoms and empires of the ancient Near East, as evidenced especially by the famous Amarna Letters.

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A New Day in Egypt

Akhenaten (known as Amenhotep IV for the first part of his kingship) reigned from 1353/1–1336/4 BCE. His religious changes were bold and unpopular but effectively eliminated other sources of power. The former capital of Thebes had been dedicated to Amun-Ra, the sun god and head of the Egyptian pantheon. Amun-Ra, however, was not the patron god of the new capital of Amarna. Instead, the king chose the solar deity Aten—typically represented as a sun disk—to be the god of not just the city, but of all Egypt. In adopting “Atenism,” the pharaoh ordered the closing of temples dedicated to other deities and confiscated their treasures.

But the new order came with a hitch. According to Eric Cline, a professor of Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies and Archaeology at George Washington University, Egyptians could “only worship the Aten from [then] on…[but could not] worship the Aten directly.” By positioning his patron as the sole deity, and himself as an earthly representation of the sun disk, Akhenaten eliminated the power of Egypt’s priests altogether and became the supreme ruler. Cline added, “He’s already the supreme commander administratively, now he’s the main guy religiously as well. He’s in control of everything.”

But how did this new control display itself in Egyptian art? The stela pictured above shows the royal family in a personal setting. The Aten disk sends its rays down to them, blessing them with ankh (“life”) symbols. Akhenaten and Nefertiti both slouch, and have stomach paunches, elongated heads and features, and thin limbs. This piece—and many others like it—served to convey that the royal family had direct access to and blessings from the deity, thus identifying them with godliness itself.

Egyptian statues typically depicted the pharaoh dressed in a nemis, or striped head cloth, with a uraeus (stylized cobra) on the forehead. Pharaohs, who are shown bare chested either seated, standing, or striding, typically wear a false beard and a pleated kilt. The seated pharaoh Khafre (left), along with many others, shares these common details with sculptures of Akhenaten.

Though his dress may be similar, Akhenaten’s body, however, is dramatically different from his predecessors: He has wide hips, thin limbs, and a belly pooch, a far cry from the refined musculature that characterizes most Egyptian art. Another noticeable difference is the face. The facial features of standard Egyptian sculptures are highly idealized: they have almond eyes, plastic eyebrows (applied to the statue rather than carved or molded), and a small mouth. The face of a statue was not meant to convey what a person looked like; rather, it communicated the idea of the subject. The stoic expression communicates the serenity, godliness, rigidity, and strength of the ruler, all qualities important to ancient Egyptian leadership.

Art historians have a number of theories on why Akhenaten’s body looks so different. It is possible he had a genetic condition, such as Froelich or Marfan syndrome, both of which manifest with features like the ones we associate with Akhenaten. His appearance could also have just been vanity: He liked how he looked and wanted to be remembered that way. Yet another theory holds that there was a fluid androgyny in Amarna art, perhaps symbolizing the non-gendered, life-giving character of the Aten sun disk.

Ultimately, however, all these theories are without definitive evidence and, as such, the real motivations behind the revolutionary aspects of Amarna art remain shrouded in mystery. “There are no answers,” Cline said, “and that is part of the fascination.”

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Lila Wolk, a student in classics and ancient Near Eastern studies at George Washington University, is an editorial intern with the Biblical Archaeology Society.

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Related reading in Bible History Daily:

Missives to the Egyptian Court

Akhenaten and Moses

All-Access members, read more in the BAS Library:

Did Akhenaten’s Monotheism Influence Moses?

Pharaoh’s Man, ‘Abdiel: The Vizier with a Semitic Name

Ancient Royal Library Found