EGYPT UNDER THE PHAROAHSAPAH – GARDINER CHAPTER 3-4

PP. 73-78

AKHENATON AND THE AMARNA PERIOD

Akhenaton (r. 1353-1335) abandons the traditional Egyptian religion in favor of Aton, the sun disk -> declared him to be the universal and only god

Empties the great temples, outrages the priests, moves the capital from Thebes to Amarna

Akhenaton’s god was not depicted as an animal or human -> instead, as a sun disk emitting life giving rays

After his reign the new religious revolution was undone and Amarna was abandoned

Amarna Period Akhenaton from the temple Aton,

Karnak, 1353-1335 BCE, sandstone, 13’ high

Androgynous image -> effeminate body, long face, full lips, heavy lidded eyes

Weak arms, narrow waist, protruding belly, wide hips, fatty thighs

Deliberate reaction against the established style?

Portrayal of pharaoh as Aton, the sexless sun disk?

NEFERTITI

Painted limestone bust

Thutmose, Nefertiti from Amarna, 1353-1335 BCE

Nefertiti is Akhenaton’s wife -> long, elegant neck, soft delicate New Kingdom features

Amarna style

TIYE

Miniature head of Queen Tiye, mother of Akhenaton

Carved of dark yew wood

Amarna period

Older woman with lines and furrows

New relaxation of the artistic rules in the Amarna period

FAMILY PORTRAITURE

Sunken relief stele of the royal family

Undulating curves replace rgid lines

Bellies

Royal family basks in the rays of Aton

Intimate and informal portrait of the royal family -> radicalism of Amarna art

THE TOMB OF TUTANKHAMEN AND THE POST-AMARNA PERIOD

Famous tomb discovered by Howard Carter in 1922

Mummified body of King Tutankhamen buried with 143 objects

Gold coffin, 6’7” long contained the body of the boy king

SCROLL OF HU-NEFER

Illustrated papyrus scrolls were vital equipment for the tomb of elites and officials

Hu-Nefer -> royal scribe/official

Scroll found in his tomb in the Theban necropolis

Represents the final judgment of the deceased

Hu-Nefer/Anubis/scales/Ammit monster/Thoth/Horus/Osiris

FIRST MILLENIUM BCE

During the first millennium Egypt’s power and empire dwindled away

Conquered by Alexander the Great

Ptolemy, one of the six somatophylakes (bodyguards) who served as Alexander the Great's generals and deputies, was appointed satrap of Egypt after Alexander's death in 323 BC. In 305 BC, he declared himself King Ptolemy I, later known as "Soter" (saviour). The Egyptians soon accepted the Ptolemies as the successors to the pharaohs of independent Egypt. Ptolemy's family ruled Egypt until the Roman conquest of 30 BC