Masterpieces of Tutankhamun [antikvár]

INTRODUCTION W. HEN TUTANKHAMUN CAME TO THE THRONE, around 1334 B.C., he was barely nine years old, and Egypt was still under the effects of the religious changes introduced by his predecessor, Akhenaton. It was the fate of the young king, who ruled only a few years, to be the central figure in restoring his homeland to order. Less than fifteen years prior to his coronation, Akhenaton, whose original name was Amen-hotep IV, had moved the capital of Egypt from Thebes to a virgin site about two hundred miles further north, which he called Akhetaton (modern Tell el Amama). In translation, Akhetaton means "the horizon of the Aton," a reference to the focus of the new religion, the disk of the sun, called the Aton. The religion that Akhenaton instituted suppressed most of the gods of the Egyptian pantheon, some of which had already been worshipped for thousands of years, and it brought new emphasis to the role of the king. In many ways there was almost an equality between Akhenaton and the Aton. Both had jubilees and cartouches (elliptically-shaped outlines encircling the written name of the king) which previously had been royal prerogatives. The king, like the former gods of Egypt, now had his own high priest; his subjects worshipped him, and he was their intermediary to the Aton. No longer were they to pray directly to the Aton. The people were to bow down to Akhenaton and his wife Nefertiti when the couple were presented on days of festival. Previously, the gods in their sacred barks would be brought to the people during such holidays. This iconoclastic trend entered other aspects of Egyptian culture as well. The classical language was altered to reflect more of the spoken language, and Egyptian art, which had maintained a consistent style and iconography for almost two thousand years, became more expressionistic and experimental. Many people have seen the origins of monotheism in Akhenaton's movement, since there was an emphasis upon one god. The king took pains to have the plural signs obliterated from the word 'gods' and to erase the names of other deities. However, he himself was treated as a god. Not all gods were abandoned, and the goddess Maat, who represented balance and harmony, often appears as a gift to the Aton from the king so as to illustrate the order brought about by his reign. There is evidence from Akhetaton that some people still retained images of their old gods, despite their acceptance of the new theology. Toward the end of Akhenaton's reign it appears that a return to Thebes and to the traditional beliefs was imminent. The death of Akhenaton, a visible inconsistency with his self-proclaimed divinity, must have contributed greatly to the people's inability to accept completely the new doctrines. His named successor, Smenkhkara, scarcely survived the death of Akhenaton. The throne then passed to a nine-year-old child, Tutankhaton, who was married to the royal princess Ankhe-senpaaton. While his parentage is still unclear, it seems certain that he was directly related to the king. His claim to the throne was secured through his marriage, since his wife was the daughter of Akhenaton and Nefertiti. Their original religious affiliation is clearly indicated by their Atonist names; these, however, were altered later, and there is reason to believe that even while the royal pair ruled at Akhetaton, a strong tendency toward the old religion was growing. This period of transition represented a coexistence of the two doctrines. Some of the objects in Tutankhamun's tomb reflect elements of both Aton and Amon beliefs. The king's new name, Tutankhamun, meaning "Living image of Amon" or "Perfect is the life of Amon," was adopted in the third year of his reign. At that time he chose the traditional sites of Memphis in