The Heretic Pharaoh Akhenaten and the Queen Nefertiti

In an era where a plethora of divine beings existed anddesigned on urban lines with beautiful gardens and
were worshipped, Pharaoh Akhenaten's name issplendid pieces of architecture. The grand royal
penned down in history for being the first to adoptavenue constructed parallel to the River Nile
monotheism. The Pharaoh was also known as theshowcased the superior architecture under him. The
Heretic King. However, under his father, Amenhotep III,avenue encompassed an open area referred to as
he abided by all the Egyptian culture norms and ritualsthe 'Window of Appearance' especially marked for
upholding the belief of polytheism. It was his marriageholding speeches and presenting honors by the ruler to
to the Neferititi of Akhmin, a political move that led tothe deserving servers of the dominion. In those days
him supporting monotheism.itself, the architecture had reached the level of
After entering into wedlock with the Nefertiti ofmodernity that led to the construction of a bridge
Akhmin, he commenced to worship one sole divinebetween two buildings within this avenue.
power in the guise of God Aten. Thereafter, heEgyptian art also flourished under the reign of Heretic
abandoned the facet of royalty attached to his namePharaoh Akhenaten. The stone tablet wall relief was
by eliminating Amenhotep and keeping the moniker,the most prevalent style of artistic excellence known
Akhenaten instead. The word Akhenaten personifiedas stelae. The Pharaoh motivated the transformation in
an individual who served Aten. His wife also changedthe line of thought of the artists from depicting death
her name to Nefer-Nefru-Aten, denoting 'Beautiful istowards celebrating life through their art. The wall
the Beauty of Aten'.reliefs were made for aesthetic and religious reasons
This progressive and unorthodox ideology of the rulerand represented paintings and text together. The
was condemned by the priests of Thebes. Although,opposition to his monotheistic convictions initiated the
this resentment could not challenge his authority as ademolishment of the king's heritage by the opposing
king but it did lead to the establishment of a new courtpriests of Thebes. Very little of his legacy still exists in
on the east bank of the Nile, adjacent to Amarna. Thethe form of artifacts. The Akhenaten and Family wall
king's religious conviction of monotheism was arelief in the Altes Museum at Berlin is one such
debatable issue and was opposed by many. However,remembrance. This piece of art symbolizes the innate
there were others to the score of almost 20,000 whoart form that Akhenaten supported in contrast to the
adopted the philosophy of Akhenaten and startedexisting royal and posed art forms. The wall relief
residing at Akhenaten el-Armana.highlights Akhenaten and Nefertiti with their two
The city of Akhenaten el-Armana also came to bedaughters, the father kissing one and the other
known for its art and architecture. The city wasdaughter playing with the mother's earrings.