The Amarna Period and the Temples Akhenaton and the Amarna Period Akhenaton, colossal statue from the temple of Aton, Karnak, Egypt, 18th Dynasty, ca. 1353–1335 BCE. Sandstone, 13’ high. Abandoning traditional Egyptian religion and introduced a monotheistic one, where the Aten or Sun God alone was worshipped. Early inscriptions liken the Aten to the sun later official language avoids calling the Aten In the end it was not accepted. No questions about the afterlife were answered in this religion, something foreign and unacceptable to the Egyptians

2 Figure 3-31 THUTMOSE, bust of Nefertiti, from Amarna, Egypt, 18th Dynasty, ca. 1353–1335 BCE. Painted limestone, 1’ 8” high. Ägyptisches Museum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Berlin. Many theories abound about why Akhenaton is portrayed stylistically differently than any other pharaoh or queen. Marfan’s syndrome – a genetic disorder that affects the body's connective tissue. Connective tissue holds all the body's cells, organs and tissue together. It also plays an important role in helping the body grow and develop properly. Froelich’s disease - It is usually associated with tumors of the hypothalamus, causing increased appetite and depressed or delayed sexual organ development which seems to affect mostly males. An artistic choice – to show the otherworldly quality of the pharaoh. A mix of both male and female physical attributes.

3 Figure 3-33 Akhenaton, Nefertiti, and three daughters, from Amarna, Egypt, 18th Dynasty, ca. 1353–1335 BCE. Limestone, 1’ 1/4” high. Ägyptisches Museum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Berlin. 4 3-38 Portrait statue of Mentuemhet, from Karnak, Egypt, 26th Dynasty, ca. 660–650 BCE. Granite, 4’ 5” high. Egyptian Museum, Cairo. Post Amarna period Notice the older facial features The body still follows the artistic canons about perfection

5 Post Amarna – New Kingdom

Tutankhamun as a harpooner. This was intended to depict the King in the midst of a hippopotamus hunt. Such dangerous creatures were prime representatives of the deeply undesirable aspects of the daily life and the afterlife

Innermost coffin of Tutankhamen, Egypt, 18th Dynasty, ca. 1323 BCE. Gold with inlay of enamel and semiprecious stones, 6’ 1” long.

6 Figure 3-35 Death mask of Tutankhamen, from the innermost coffin in his tomb at Thebes, Egypt, 18th Dynasty, ca. 1323 BCE. Gold with inlay of semiprecious stones, 1’ 9 1/4” high. Egyptian Museum, Cairo.

7 Sandals from the Tomb of Tutankhamen, Thebes, Egypt 18th Dynasty, ca. 1333–1323 BCE. The nine bows of Egypt’s traditional enemies are a common image in art. They represent not only nine “theoretical” enemies, but the Pharoah’s military might but, most importantly, his ability and continued promise to bring order to chaos and maintain that order.

8 The Temples

Mortuary temple of Hatshepsut (looking southwest), Deir el- Bahri, Egypt, 18th Dynasty, ca. 1473–1458 BCE. Figure 3-23 Façade of the temple of Ramses II, Abu Simbel, Egypt, 19th Dynasty, ca. 1290–1224 BCE. Sandstone, colossi 65’ high. This is the pharaoh ruling over Egypt during the life of Moses. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6PMg1Ovrnjg&list=PLoSpbc1BFsyXJ6Arwz23 dSaPWuf1mGrYb

10 Interior of the temple of Ramses II, Abu Simbel, Egypt, 19th Dynasty, ca. 1290–1224 BCE. Sandstone, pillar statues 32’ high.

11 The Karnak Temple Complex, commonly known as Karnak , comprises a vast mix of decayed temples, chapels, pylons, and other buildings. Building at the complex began during the the Middle Kingdom to the New Kingdom. It is part of the monumental city of Thebes. Karnak is dedicated mainly to Amun-Re. Amun (sometimes called Amen) The Egyptian meaning of Amun is, "hidden" or, the "hidden god". Almost every pharaoh of that dynasty (30) added something to the temple site.

In 323 AD, Constantine the Great recognized the Christian religion, and in 356 Constantius II ordered the closing of pagan temples throughout the empire. Karnak was by this time mostly abandoned, and Christian churches were founded among the ruins, the most famous example of this is the reuse of the Festival Hall of Thutmose III's central hall, where painted decorations of saints and Coptic inscriptions can still be seen. Only one of the parts, The Precinct of Amun-Ra is open to the public. The Hypostyle Hall there has 134 massive columns. The architraves alone weight 70 tons. Naturally the Temple of Amenhotep IV (Akhenaten) was destroyed. Aerial view of the temple of Amen-Re, Mut, and Khonsu (looking east), Luxor, Egypt, 18th and 19th Dynasties, begun early 14th century BCE. Karnak https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOC2FcqUO_A Start at 145 13 Temple of Amun-Ra Karnak

Model of the hypostyle hall, temple of Amen-Re, Karnak, Egypt, 19th Dynasty, ca. 1290 – 1224 BCE. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. HYPOSTYLE means the columns support the roof 16 The Karnak Temple Complex The Great Hypostle Hall https://www.youtube.com/watch ?v=BnlDfm7eebg

Figure 3-25 Columns and clerestory of the hypostyle hall of the temple of Amen-Re, Karnak, Egypt, 19th Dynasty, ca. 1290–1224 BCE.

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