gmrqorsprite 8D
New Member
Hahaha, I had a speech to do on Akhenaten and his changes to afterlife beliefs and funerary customs, and how all that promoted his image as Pharaoh . D: Plus, I'm supposed to 'pitch' it to {{ for? I have no idea how that word is supposed to be used . -_-a }} the History Channel, so they'll put my documentary on their show. Gahh bahh humbug D:<
I killed my speech . T~T; I lost half my palm cards {{ OMFG *facepalms* }} and had to end it with a dodgy, 'What do you think of it so far?', and THAT only went for .. 5 minutes ? D:< Gahh, Genie sucks . D:<
Anyway~
My teacher said she'd mark my entire speech instead of the crappy, half done rubbish, but i'd still get a shxt mark for my actual presentation. Whee, I love my A.H teacher =3
Anyway, I was wondering if anyone could just .. errm .. mark [??] it ? @_@; Haha, I just want to know what my potential mark would be .. xP xP It's marked out of 15, so yeah . @_@;
OH, by the way, if this thing is taking up too much CPU {{ >_< }}, I'm really sorry . T~T; Just .. I don't know, PM me that I did a crappy job or something, and delete this post . ^^;
:rofl: << OMG THAT'S SO CUTE 8D;;
Ahaha, yes, fear Genie's short attention span 8D;;
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Akhenaten. Quite and interesting figure in history, no? Interesting enough to make it onto the History Channel I hope.
As you of A&E Television are all undoubtedly aware, Akhenaten is the heretic pharaoh of Egypt, infamous for bringing about radical religious and artistic reforms. However, I believe a documentary on Akhenaten in general would be, frankly, quite boring, so my documentary will focus on the changes to afterlife beliefs and funerary customs.
Before Akhenaten introduced Atenism, the traditional afterlife beliefs revolved around Osiris, Lord of the Dead. Because the afterlife was a primary concern in Egyptian religion, Osiris was even considered the nocturnal manifestation of Amun-Ra (the sun-disc). However, he seems to have been omitted from the very beginning of Akhenaten’s heresy. Of course, Atenism needed a replacement for Osiris, so who better than the two centres of the religion, Aten & Akhenaten?
According to the Atenist religion, Aten was the source of life-giving light, & when dark fell, he was merely absent, as opposed to the ‘death’ of Amun-Ra, the Aten of the old religion. Unlike the traditional religion, death was not considered a necessary part of regeneration, governed by Osiris. Instead, one’s entrance to the after-life was entirely dependant on Akhenaten. According to Cyril Aldred, the dead, in the Aten religion, do not go to the ‘Beautiful West’ (the Underworld), but would remain on Earth with us, but in an invisible, twin universe from the time of the sunrise, sometimes in the form of a twittering bird. Aten expresses himself as the ‘the time in which one lives’, thus saying all life (and death) exists while he is in the sky. This is also shown in the Hymn to Aten, under The Aten Rises: When you have risen they live, When you set they die!
Because the dead now had an earthly existence, they therefore existed in a continual presence with the Aten & the pharaoh in the numerous temples and palaces of el-Amarna, where they (or the ba souls) fed on daily offerings. For this reason, all Amarna tombs were plastered with representations of the Pharaoh (and most often accompanied by his wife, Nefertiti) traveling along the Royal Road to a temple or Akhenaten & his family offering to the Aten, ensuring that they receive this earthly existence in Akhenaten’s presence.
Despite this radical change from a religion of a transcendant dimension to an immanent dimension, mummification persisted; ‘They sleep in a room, with heads wrapped up’ – Hymn to the Aten. As the Aten was ‘the time in which one lives’, the spirits of the dead were only active during the time Aten shone down on the earth. Therefore, these spirits needed a somewhere to return to, hence the reason for mummification. The method of mummification also persisted, along with traditional funerary rites (offerings) and tomb equipment.
Apparently Atenism also required protective figures upon their sarcophagi; according to Ian Shaw’s Oxford History of Ancient Egypt, Akhenaten’s sarcophagus had four figures of Nefertiti at the corners, obviously replacing the four protective, winged goddesses that featured in the traditional religion. Other finds also suggest that Nefertiti took the place of the guardian goddesses on private sarcophagi as well.
Since mummies were still in fashion, tombs were too; otherwise the mummies would have to rot in the officials’ houses. Now, both Theban and Amarna tombs had the same features; burial chambers, wall reliefs, shrines, etc. but this is where the similarities end.
Theban tombs would always depict the tomb’s inhabitant with his family, his amusements and his daily life. Amarna tombs on the other hand, were filled with the Pharaoh’s amusements & family & daily life. Going a step above this, Amarna tombs also had statues of the Pharaoh being blessed by the Aten.
The Royal Tomb was different again in that its structure was almost the opposite of any other Royal Tomb of Akhenaten’s predecessors. Theban Royal Tombs were usually full of twists and turns and dead ends to confuse tomb robbers, yet Akhenaten seems not to have taken this into account; his Royal Tomb had one straight corridor, with everything else branching off from it. Egyptologists Geoffrey T. Martin & Mark Lehner suggested that the straight corridor floor plan was to ensure that Aten’s rays had an uninterrupted passage through the tomb to his own sarcophagus, hence the reason for the burial chamber being in plain view from the entrance. Another Egyptologist, Mallinson states that the Royal Tomb served as a focus for the architecture at Amarna. He also says that this indicated that the flows of divinity didn’t flow into the tomb, but flowed out of the tomb, onto the city. Now, what would this suggest to you about Akhenaten?
What do you think of it so far ?
There are many conspiracy theories concerning Akhenaten and his revolution; a despotic fanatic, pushing for a totalitarian government, or simply an impractical (but caring) dreamer, wanting nothing more than to connect with his people? Personally, based on this evidence, I think he was in fact, a despot, what with all the plastering of himself over every surface big enough for his face. However, if approached from a different angle and looking at what has NOT been said, Akhenaten may have been trying to appear as if he cared for all his subjects as if they were his children, putting the responsibility of taking someone to the afterlife upon himself, as well as living together with the spirits of the dead.
Which was he, I wonder?
Let me tell you ladies & gentlemen, this will leave the audience absolutely thirsting for more.
The best way into someone’s mind is via what they leave behind in my opinion. In the case of Akhenaten, what is better than his Hymn to Aten?
This Hymn was featured in many of Akhenaten’s officials’ tombs, such as Panhesy & Ay. It revolves around Aten and his greatness, and how Akhenaten is his ‘beloved son’. ‘You subdue them for your beloved son’, Akhenaten wrote under The Aten Rises. This line suggests that Akhenaten and Akhenaten alone held the power to subdue his enemies, with the Aten behind him. An ‘oppose me and die’ attitude, wouldn’t you say? Yet, this may also mean that Akhenaten was promoting himself as a protector, and a kindly protector at that.
Another line from the Hymn, under the subheading Aten and his Relationship to Akhenaten, says: ‘For you have made him (Akhenaten) well-versed in you plans and in you strength...’
Yet another attempt at propaganda, with a message of ‘I know what Aten plans for you all, therefore I am all-knowing’ on his part? Or is it merely a gesture of welcome to all people, with a message of ‘I know what he plans and they will be beneficial for you. Come join’?
I have plenty more where that came from, but since this is to be a 6-8 minute presentation, I’ll leave it here and leave you to mull it over in your heads. If you want to know more, then put my documentary on your channel!
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I killed my speech . T~T; I lost half my palm cards {{ OMFG *facepalms* }} and had to end it with a dodgy, 'What do you think of it so far?', and THAT only went for .. 5 minutes ? D:< Gahh, Genie sucks . D:<
Anyway~
My teacher said she'd mark my entire speech instead of the crappy, half done rubbish, but i'd still get a shxt mark for my actual presentation. Whee, I love my A.H teacher =3
Anyway, I was wondering if anyone could just .. errm .. mark [??] it ? @_@; Haha, I just want to know what my potential mark would be .. xP xP It's marked out of 15, so yeah . @_@;
OH, by the way, if this thing is taking up too much CPU {{ >_< }}, I'm really sorry . T~T; Just .. I don't know, PM me that I did a crappy job or something, and delete this post . ^^;
:rofl: << OMG THAT'S SO CUTE 8D;;
Ahaha, yes, fear Genie's short attention span 8D;;
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
Akhenaten. Quite and interesting figure in history, no? Interesting enough to make it onto the History Channel I hope.
As you of A&E Television are all undoubtedly aware, Akhenaten is the heretic pharaoh of Egypt, infamous for bringing about radical religious and artistic reforms. However, I believe a documentary on Akhenaten in general would be, frankly, quite boring, so my documentary will focus on the changes to afterlife beliefs and funerary customs.
Before Akhenaten introduced Atenism, the traditional afterlife beliefs revolved around Osiris, Lord of the Dead. Because the afterlife was a primary concern in Egyptian religion, Osiris was even considered the nocturnal manifestation of Amun-Ra (the sun-disc). However, he seems to have been omitted from the very beginning of Akhenaten’s heresy. Of course, Atenism needed a replacement for Osiris, so who better than the two centres of the religion, Aten & Akhenaten?
According to the Atenist religion, Aten was the source of life-giving light, & when dark fell, he was merely absent, as opposed to the ‘death’ of Amun-Ra, the Aten of the old religion. Unlike the traditional religion, death was not considered a necessary part of regeneration, governed by Osiris. Instead, one’s entrance to the after-life was entirely dependant on Akhenaten. According to Cyril Aldred, the dead, in the Aten religion, do not go to the ‘Beautiful West’ (the Underworld), but would remain on Earth with us, but in an invisible, twin universe from the time of the sunrise, sometimes in the form of a twittering bird. Aten expresses himself as the ‘the time in which one lives’, thus saying all life (and death) exists while he is in the sky. This is also shown in the Hymn to Aten, under The Aten Rises: When you have risen they live, When you set they die!
Because the dead now had an earthly existence, they therefore existed in a continual presence with the Aten & the pharaoh in the numerous temples and palaces of el-Amarna, where they (or the ba souls) fed on daily offerings. For this reason, all Amarna tombs were plastered with representations of the Pharaoh (and most often accompanied by his wife, Nefertiti) traveling along the Royal Road to a temple or Akhenaten & his family offering to the Aten, ensuring that they receive this earthly existence in Akhenaten’s presence.
Despite this radical change from a religion of a transcendant dimension to an immanent dimension, mummification persisted; ‘They sleep in a room, with heads wrapped up’ – Hymn to the Aten. As the Aten was ‘the time in which one lives’, the spirits of the dead were only active during the time Aten shone down on the earth. Therefore, these spirits needed a somewhere to return to, hence the reason for mummification. The method of mummification also persisted, along with traditional funerary rites (offerings) and tomb equipment.
Apparently Atenism also required protective figures upon their sarcophagi; according to Ian Shaw’s Oxford History of Ancient Egypt, Akhenaten’s sarcophagus had four figures of Nefertiti at the corners, obviously replacing the four protective, winged goddesses that featured in the traditional religion. Other finds also suggest that Nefertiti took the place of the guardian goddesses on private sarcophagi as well.
Here, we will move into the actual tombs themselves.
Since mummies were still in fashion, tombs were too; otherwise the mummies would have to rot in the officials’ houses. Now, both Theban and Amarna tombs had the same features; burial chambers, wall reliefs, shrines, etc. but this is where the similarities end.
Theban tombs would always depict the tomb’s inhabitant with his family, his amusements and his daily life. Amarna tombs on the other hand, were filled with the Pharaoh’s amusements & family & daily life. Going a step above this, Amarna tombs also had statues of the Pharaoh being blessed by the Aten.
The Royal Tomb was different again in that its structure was almost the opposite of any other Royal Tomb of Akhenaten’s predecessors. Theban Royal Tombs were usually full of twists and turns and dead ends to confuse tomb robbers, yet Akhenaten seems not to have taken this into account; his Royal Tomb had one straight corridor, with everything else branching off from it. Egyptologists Geoffrey T. Martin & Mark Lehner suggested that the straight corridor floor plan was to ensure that Aten’s rays had an uninterrupted passage through the tomb to his own sarcophagus, hence the reason for the burial chamber being in plain view from the entrance. Another Egyptologist, Mallinson states that the Royal Tomb served as a focus for the architecture at Amarna. He also says that this indicated that the flows of divinity didn’t flow into the tomb, but flowed out of the tomb, onto the city. Now, what would this suggest to you about Akhenaten?
What do you think of it so far ?
There are many conspiracy theories concerning Akhenaten and his revolution; a despotic fanatic, pushing for a totalitarian government, or simply an impractical (but caring) dreamer, wanting nothing more than to connect with his people? Personally, based on this evidence, I think he was in fact, a despot, what with all the plastering of himself over every surface big enough for his face. However, if approached from a different angle and looking at what has NOT been said, Akhenaten may have been trying to appear as if he cared for all his subjects as if they were his children, putting the responsibility of taking someone to the afterlife upon himself, as well as living together with the spirits of the dead.
Which was he, I wonder?
Let me tell you ladies & gentlemen, this will leave the audience absolutely thirsting for more.
I plan to come to no specific conclusion about this, to let the audience mull it over in their heads afterwards.
The best way into someone’s mind is via what they leave behind in my opinion. In the case of Akhenaten, what is better than his Hymn to Aten?
This Hymn was featured in many of Akhenaten’s officials’ tombs, such as Panhesy & Ay. It revolves around Aten and his greatness, and how Akhenaten is his ‘beloved son’. ‘You subdue them for your beloved son’, Akhenaten wrote under The Aten Rises. This line suggests that Akhenaten and Akhenaten alone held the power to subdue his enemies, with the Aten behind him. An ‘oppose me and die’ attitude, wouldn’t you say? Yet, this may also mean that Akhenaten was promoting himself as a protector, and a kindly protector at that.
Another line from the Hymn, under the subheading Aten and his Relationship to Akhenaten, says: ‘For you have made him (Akhenaten) well-versed in you plans and in you strength...’
Yet another attempt at propaganda, with a message of ‘I know what Aten plans for you all, therefore I am all-knowing’ on his part? Or is it merely a gesture of welcome to all people, with a message of ‘I know what he plans and they will be beneficial for you. Come join’?
I have plenty more where that came from, but since this is to be a 6-8 minute presentation, I’ll leave it here and leave you to mull it over in your heads. If you want to know more, then put my documentary on your channel!
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