Let's know #AssassinsCreed Origins' Egyptian Afterlife Pharaoh: AKHENATEN

& his God: ATEN

I'll cover his turn to Pharaoh (2), his obsession over ATEN (3-4), & how that made him Selfish (5-7), & led him to break Egyptian Art & Tradition (8-10).

#ACFacts: (11-13/14)

1/14

Akhenaten,born Amenhotep IV (4) to his Dad, Amenhotep III, 18th Dynasty ruler.

2nd son, he wasn't expected to rule, his bro died, so he did after his Dad. (YouTube)

When he took control, Egypt's main God (among many) was Amun. Akhenaten changed this was hated..

2/14

The main God of Egypt was AMUN. Everybody & to Amun.

Suddenly, Amenhotep IV believed in ATEN, this Ra diety shaped as a Sun Disk, among many Gods that represented Harmony & Balance.

5th Year of , Amenhotep started to Erase Amun & only worship Aten..

3/14

Amenhotep went ALLL IN on ATEN, changed name to AkhenATEN, called himself a Deity (1st Pharaoh to do so)

Temples belonging to Amun? He closed them or made its priests worship Aten.

He even made Aten the ONLY God, introducing Monotheism & made his own city...

4/14

The Problem w/ Akhenaten was that he was EXTREMELY SELFISH.

He spent his glorifying Aten, built him a City named Akhetaten (Or Amarna) in mid. of Thebes & Memphis.

Thebes= Religious Center, Memphis= Cultural Center.

He combined those 2 & made Amarna be Both.

5/14

Akhenaten even ignored his Political duties, Domestic & Foreign,he only tended to Personal Interests, no State interests.

Byblos,1 of his allies, sent 50 letters seeking help,he never replied.

For him, ONLY thing that mattered was his God, Aten & wife, Nefertiti..

6/14

Akhenaten & wife, Nefertiti=ONLY ones Deified & able to reach Aten, They were the Middle b/w ppl & God.

Thought that since deified,State affairs in 6/14 were beneath him.

Instead, he tried to make people Aten by making a New Egyptian Art Style,always showing Aten

7/14

Egypt's art, b4 Akhenaten changed it, used to be static,frozen in time.

As Amenhotep IV, he had militaristic looks in his art forms.

Akhenaten's Amarna Art changed Egyptian Art, showed motion,filled w/ activity.

BEST ex. of this is his stelae w/ Nefertiti..

8/14

In this Stelae, Akhenaten & Nefertiti are large in size, not w/ muscle, but looking natural while embracing their children.

Aten SHINESabove them

Aten "was envisioned as a sun disk whose rays ended in hands touching & caressing those on earth."(Ancient)

Cont.

9/14

What Akhenaten showed to ppl was that like them,they were living life.

Their large size seems to emphasize their "transformation when touched by the power of the Aten."(Ancient)

But, people didn't buy into it. When Akhenaten died, Aten died w/ him & Amun Resumed.

10/14

#1 #AssassinsCreed #ACOrigins #ACFacts:

Aten's Accuracy

In Akhenaten's Afterlife, ATEN, u can see the Light Source coming from ATEN, A LITERAL SUN DISK!

In his wife Nefertiti's Afterlife,the Sun Disk ALSO Shows THERE for a bit! Possible connection to Hubby!

11/14

#2 #AssassinsCreed #ACOrigins #ACFacts

Historical Accuracy:As I told you in 9/14, Aten's RAYS are its hands caressing the . AC took this & put it in-game, beautifying Aten & paying Honor to it in its detail

Next time you're in Aten, Think that you are touched by God!

12/14

#3 #AssassinsCreed #ACOrigins #ACFacts:

In Aten or Aaru, you are surrounded by either Akhenaten's Statues or Nefertiti's. This is bc these 2 were inseparable.

They thought they were Gods who worshipped a God.

Reliefs in the Afterlife are inspired by Real-life.

13/14

Sources:
https://www.ancient.eu/Akhenaten/ 


In the end, Egypt thought of Akhenaten as a Heretic King, erased his memory till 19th century.

Really though, he was the 1st Human in History to begin a Monotheistic religion.

Thanks for Reading Assassins!

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