Akhenaten, from the temple of Aton in Karnak, Egypt. 1353 - 1335 BCE. New Kingdom. 13’ hig
Akhenaten, from the temple of Aton in Karnak, Egypt. 1353 - 1335 BCE. New Kingdom. 13’ high. made of sandstone. originally named Amenhotep IV; name change represents a significant change, especially religious. he is changing his family name, distancing himself. abandoned polytheism in favor of Aton from Amen-Re. henotheism - belief that one god is superior to other gods moves capital from Thebes down the river to Amarna declared himself son of the sun and sole prophet of Aton. develops an entire cult. Aton represented by the sun disc, unusual because most gods in egypt were represented anthropomorphically. after akhenaten died, the egyptians returned to old tradition effeminate features; very curvy, almost hourglass figure. doesn’t have a perfect stomach and the costume promotes it. arms aren’t muscular; very thin. exaggerated and stylized: lips are larger, nose longer, eyes take up a large portion of the head. elongated figure, looks weak. truly revolutionary. he decided to move away from canon with the change of religion. no gender was assigned to a sun disc/Aton; the androgyny of the sculpture reflects Aton’s sexlessness. the premise of Aton’s cult was truth; theory that Akhenaten portrayed himself this way because of this. by the time we get to Akhenaten, there’s been a lot of genetic inbreeding. results in illness and deformity. lends to why he looks so different, asymmetry of the features, elongated, larger head. -- source link
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