Atenism

Atenism (or the Amarna heresy) is the monotheistic religion associated above all with the eighteenth dynasty Pharaoh Amenhotep IV, better known under the name he later adopted, Akhenaten. In the 14th century BC it was Egypt's state religion for around 20 years, before a return to the traditional gods so comprehensive that the heretic Pharaohs associated with Atenism were erased from Egyptian records.

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The Aten, the god of Atenism, first appears in texts dating to the 12th dynasty, in The Story of Sinuhe. However, he was considered a relatively obscure sun god and without the Atenist period would barely figure in Egyptian history. Although there are indications that the Aten was becoming more important in the eighteenth dynasty period - notably Amenhotep III's naming of his royal barge as Spirit of the Aten - it was Amenhotep IV who introduced the Atenist revolution, in a series of steps culminating in the official instalment of the Aten as the sole god.

Monotheistic: REDIRECT Monotheism...

Eighteenth dynasty: REDIRECTEighteenth dynasty of Egypt...

Pharaoh: : This article refers to the historical pharaoh. For pharaoh in the Book of Abraham, see Pharaoh (Book of Abraham); for the book by Boleslaw Prus, see Faraon; for the computer game see Pharaoh (computer game)...