Solar Cult Research Paper
Using sources 1.1, 1.2 and 1.3 and your own knowledge, explain the changes in the solar cult before the reign of Amenhotep IV/Akhenaten (10 marks – 800 words)
In a land like Egypt where the sun was one of the two dominating forces of nature (the other being the Nile), it was natural for the people to worship the sun as a god. Solar (sun) worship had been practiced throughout Egypt in one form or another since Predynastic times. Popular beliefs about the sun god varied from place to place as did the names by which the god was known and the way it was represented- Re, Atum, Kheper and Re- Horakhte.
During the eighteenth Dynasty there was a number of changes in the solar cult.
Re was seen as more than just a sun god. He was the universal god – the sole god who has made himself for eternity and as such embodied all the other gods in his being. He was described in the hymns carved into …show more content…
Scenes from nobles’ tombs at Amarna show these altars piled high with food and drinks offerings, a traditional method of worshipping the gods. Akhenaten seems to have used it to demonstrate an extreme devotion to his god. Because the temple was unroofed, the Aten was able to shine directly on the altars and therefore participate directly in the ritual.
Another feature of Atenist temples was the benbeni stone, a ritual object dating from the earliest sun worship in Old Kingdom times, with its cult centre at Heliopolis. It was depicted in different shapes- pyramidion, round-topped and obelisk forms. The Hewet-benben at East Karnak also contained benben stone. The talatat reveal that in this temple it took the form of a single obelisk.
In the Great Temple of the Aten at Akhetaten, a round-topped benben stone stood on a pedestal. This points to the dependence of Akhenaten’s cult on traditional architectural
In a land like Egypt where the sun was one of the two dominating forces of nature (the other being the Nile), it was natural for the people to worship the sun as a god. Solar (sun) worship had been practiced throughout Egypt in one form or another since Predynastic times. Popular beliefs about the sun god varied from place to place as did the names by which the god was known and the way it was represented- Re, Atum, Kheper and Re- Horakhte.
During the eighteenth Dynasty there was a number of changes in the solar cult.
Re was seen as more than just a sun god. He was the universal god – the sole god who has made himself for eternity and as such embodied all the other gods in his being. He was described in the hymns carved into …show more content…
Scenes from nobles’ tombs at Amarna show these altars piled high with food and drinks offerings, a traditional method of worshipping the gods. Akhenaten seems to have used it to demonstrate an extreme devotion to his god. Because the temple was unroofed, the Aten was able to shine directly on the altars and therefore participate directly in the ritual.
Another feature of Atenist temples was the benbeni stone, a ritual object dating from the earliest sun worship in Old Kingdom times, with its cult centre at Heliopolis. It was depicted in different shapes- pyramidion, round-topped and obelisk forms. The Hewet-benben at East Karnak also contained benben stone. The talatat reveal that in this temple it took the form of a single obelisk.
In the Great Temple of the Aten at Akhetaten, a round-topped benben stone stood on a pedestal. This points to the dependence of Akhenaten’s cult on traditional architectural