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The Great Hymn to Aten

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I need help in understanding this excerpt. It was written by Amenhotp IV (Akhenaton) " The Great Hymn to Aten." If someone can help explain what this excerpt is all about I can better understand how to answer these questions :

1.What indications are there in the poem that Akhenaton believed in 1 universal god?
2. What are the attributes of this god?
3. What is the tone of this poem?
4. This poem has been compared with the biblical Pslma. So you see any similarities?
5. What indications do you see of the cosmoplitanism or multicultural and multiracial society, that characterized Akhenaton's reign?

If anything I really need a better understand on questions 4 and 5. Question 1- 3 I have come to some conculsion of an answer.

Thank you.

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The Great Hymn to Aten is explicated.

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Dear Student,
Hello and thank you for using Brainmass. The solution below is concise and is constructed to provide you with insight on the questions you posed. The references listed should provide you with avenues for expansion. It's good that you have your own conclusions on the matter for usually, in subjects like this it is always important to speak from a particular position. Good luck!

The Great Hymn to Aten

Aton/Aten is one of the primary gods of the Egyptian Pantheon. The worship of Aten originated from Akhenaton or Tell el-Amarna. Aten is the Egyptian Sun God and his worship was promoted by the Pharaoh Amenhotep IV from 1352-1336 BC (Lewis, 2006). The pharaoh is of great significance in terms of religious studies because it is from the cult of Aten which he led and forwarded that monotheism was promoted in the Nile influencing the rest of the Fertile Crescent. Thus he renamed himself Akhenaton being the 'effective spirit of Aten' on earth. Together with his queen, Nefertiti, he sought to eradicate polytheism in Egypt to the disappointment of priests and the traditional elite who relied on the polytheistic system to control and cement their 'godly appointment' on earth. The 'Great Hymn of Aten' was found in the tomb of the Ay, the last pharaoh of the 18th Dynasty. It is interesting to note that Ay took the throne after Tutankhamen and after Ay, the next dynasty sought to eradicate all of the results of Akhenaton's monotheistic experiment, restoring the old pantheon. The Hymn itself is attributed to Pharaoh Akhenaton, the central theme of which is the praise and grateful acknowledgement of the graces and power of the one Sun god, Aten being the source and all knowing deity of all life, provider, giver, and creator. In essence, the hymn declares that all things are connected to the sun, the originator and creator of all life.

Akhenaton displays his monotheistic beliefs in the lines and passages in the hymn referring to Aten's role in all life and the life of man. His belief in the sole god Aten however is most displayed in this verse:

How ...

Solution provided by:
Xenia Rochelle Jones, MA, PhD (IP)
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  • MPhil/PhD (IP), Open University, Milton Keynes, UK
  • MA, Open University, Milton Keynes, UK
  • Certificate, Geva Ulpan (via Universita Tel Aviv)
  • BA, University of the Philippines
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