The Great Hymn To The Aten

The Great Hymn to the Aten is an epic poem written during the reign of King Amenhotep IV in the 1300’s BC. The center of this was Aten, the sun god, and was is referred to as Atenism. This hymn was the description of Aten and praise of his power. “You made the earth as you wished, you alone, All peoples, herds and flocks;...” (Puchner 31). There are several references to creation in various forms, all attributed to Aten. Up until this point, Egypt, like many cultures were polytheistic (worshiping several gods). There is much debate as to whether this was a shift from the polytheistic beliefs into a monotheistic religious faith. Others say this was nothing more than a cult (Puchner 29). Amenhotep originated this monotheistic belief as part of his religious and political revolution after his ascension to the throne. It was emphasized that Aten was the sole creator and desired a closeness with the Pharoah as illustrated in the poem. “O Sole God beside whom there is none!” (Puchner 31) and “When you rise, you stir everyone for the King…” (Puchner 33) seem to make that clear. The These beliefs were very different from the previous religious faith practices. Amenhotep commanded the population of Thebes uproot everything and move to the new capital …show more content…
Aten was responsible for everything much as God is the creator in modern times. “O living Aten, creator of life!” (Puchner) states in a single sentence what the Bible says about God. These lines were written years before the time Jesus walked on earth. While Aten is not represented in a personified form, but a shining disk (Alchin). It would be hard for one to debate the fact this appears analogous to the Christian halo that appears in many photos of heavenly beings. In prior and future theologies, the Egyptian gods had a lineage. Aten, like God, has no lineage ultimately showing there is no other god