
Akhenaten: mad, bad, or brilliant? (2014) - dang
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/art/10561090/Akhenaten-mad-bad-or-brilliant.html
======
mooreds
If you are interested in this kind of history, you might be interested in this
book:

1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed

Which looks at the cosmopolitan trading civilizations of the Eastern
Mediterranean during the 1400-1177 bc era, and how it collapsed.

[https://www.amazon.com/1177-B-C-Civilization-Collapsed-
Turni...](https://www.amazon.com/1177-B-C-Civilization-Collapsed-
Turning/dp/0691168385)

~~~
ncmncm
There are, of course, alternative theories about "The Catastrophe" as
historians call the event, when almost all the cities facing the Mediterranean
were sacked in a few short years, preceding a 400-year "dark age".

One well-supported theory suggests a military innovation that enabled a
cheaply-outfitted, quickly recruited army of 10,000 to defeat a standing force
of 1000 charioteers. Such an army might be easily filled out from among the
overtaxed farmers surrounding each walled city. In this alternative, the "dark
age" might rather indicate freedom from centralized oppression, with
"civilization" arising again only after its faults were forgotten; and the
Catastrophe an early sort of "Mediterranean Spring".

There was never more than conjecture supporting the "Sea Peoples" idea. For
the popular-uprising approach, we may imagine a core of a few hundred
organizers proceeding from one city to the next, with local recruiting
promises (and testimonials from the last) of rich spoils from each new target.

------
mikhailfranco
_" Just imagine, though, what would have happened if his new religion had
caught on: perhaps today we would mention Atenism in the same breath as other
great monotheistic faiths such as Christianity, Judaism and Islam."_

There are theories that Akhenaten _was_ the inspiration for Jewish monotheism.
Israelite slaves in Egypt picked up the new idea, then migrated under Moses to
the Promised Land, while reinterpreting or suppressing their previous
polytheistic Abrahamic origins.

For example, the Ten Commandments from that migration are just a few trivial
and obvious rules for communal life, together with fanatical paranoid
proscriptions about worshipping other Gods. Why the stress on the one God if
it was a long established fact of life? Sounds much more like enforcement of
the new exclusive monotheistic doctrine.

~~~
mikhailfranco
... and where was this Promised Land?

In the east, where the sun rises.

------
bouvin
Seeing his face carved is one of the highlights of visiting Neues Museum in
Berlin (as well as his wife, obviously). He is indeed an intriguing person,
who is also the subject for a rather wonderful eponymous opera by Philip
Glass.

~~~
duncanawoods
The opera is absolutely epic. I saw it recently at the Coliseum in London.
Looks like it's last night is tomorrow if anyone wants to catch it:

[https://www.eno.org/whats-on/akhnaten/](https://www.eno.org/whats-
on/akhnaten/)

Binoculars were handy because the Pharaoh costumes were amazing.

You don't have to be an opera buff - Glass is is great if you like
electronica. It's an opera that could justify having a dance floor for
throwing some shapes.

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEYPaZeLhLg](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEYPaZeLhLg)

~~~
Veen
I also saw it a couple of weeks ago at the Coliseum. I was dubious about a
three-hour Glass opera, but it was fantastic.

------
jfasi
This post made me look up the Philip Glass opera to see if the 2016 ENO
production has ENO ally released a DVD, and it looks like they’re coming to
NYC!

[https://operawire.com/a-philip-glass-opera-confirmed-for-
met...](https://operawire.com/a-philip-glass-opera-confirmed-for-metropolitan-
opera-premiere-in-2019/)

------
fiduciary
In service of relevance: some claim that Akhenaten was the first rationalist,
or even the first scientist. (IIRC from my half forgotten libart coursework)

I couldn't find any citations from a 5 min goog search on the latter claim,
but here's an even more recent article (2018) that talks about Akhenaten
anticipating the Athenian philosophers.

[https://philosophynow.org/issues/128/Does_Western_Philosophy...](https://philosophynow.org/issues/128/Does_Western_Philosophy_Have_Egyptian_Roots)

~~~
ncmncm
The best story we have on the invention of science as practiced comes from Al-
Haytham's "Optics", of a thousand years ago, written while he was under house
arrest and cut off from access to reference materials. It did originate in
Egypt.

~~~
fiduciary
"Heliopolis" is almost not a stretch.

------
synthmeat
I don't think I've encountered this smooth bulbous figure art in any other
dynasty, or even under any other pharaoh. And while to some this may feel like
still fairly similar to all other Ancient Egyptian art, it must be noted that
concepts of _trends_ in art or fashion were basically absent until the Ancient
Greeks, a seafaring & trading nation. It reminds me more of ancient
predynastic figurines so, combined with sun-monotheism, it all looks a bit
like a "back to the roots" kinda thing.

This was a really huge departure from tradition in almost all the ways.

(It's so fun to speculate about all this.)

------
snapdangle
One explanation is that he made drastic reforms related to the tax collection
capacity of the priestly class. This was in addition to/a consequence of his
re-conceptualization of the state religion.

After he was deposed by that same priestly class, they did the thing that
usually happens -- defiling all monuments and writing a version of the events
that put them in the best possible light.

~~~
eponeponepon
I think the exact changes that he (or his agents) made are kind of immaterial
- ultimately, it seems, he tried to implement too large a change too suddenly,
and it failed.

There's a lesson in Akhenaten's history for many areas of many sectors - not
least the tech sector.

~~~
firethief
I find it hard to imagine such a vague lesson lending support to any view I
don't already agree with

------
eponeponepon
The Amarna period is endlessly fascinating to me - it seems such a clear
example of how little has changed in the way politics and society interact for
thousands of years.

~~~
ams6110
We are all still humans, now as then.

