Akhenaten and the Religion of Light by Erik Hornung

Description

Akhenaten, also known as Amenhotep IV, was king of Egypt during the Eighteenth Dynasty and reigned from 1375 to 1358 B.C. E. Called the "religious revolutionary," he is the earliest known creator of a new religion. The cult he founded broke with Egypt's traditional polytheism and focused its worship on a single deity, the sun god Aten. Erik Hornung, one of the world's preeminent Egyptologists, here offers a concise and accessible account of Akhenaten and his religion of light. Hornung begins show more with a discussion of the nineteenth-century scholars who laid the foundation for our knowledge of Akhenaten's period and extends to the most recent archaeological finds. He emphasizes that Akhenaten's monotheistic theology represented the first attempt in history to explain the entire natural and human world on the basis of a single principle. "Akhenaten made light the absolute reference point," Hornung writes, "and it is astonishing how clearly and consistently he pursued this concept." Hornung also addresses such topics as the origins of the new religion; pro-found changes in beliefs regarding the afterlife; and the new Egyptian capital at Akhetaten which was devoted to the service of Aten, his prophet Akhenaten, and the latter's family. show less

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Hornung is niet echt geïnteresseerd in de man Echnaton en de mysteries die hem omringen. Waarom stichtte hij een religie en een nieuwe stad? Wat gebeurde er juist met Nefertiti? Wie was Smenchkare, zijn mysterieuze opvolger? Wat is zijn relatie tot Toetanchamon. Die vragen - vele andere - laten Hornung koud. Waar andere archeologen hun theorieën ontwikkelen en verdedigen, de ene al met wat meer vuur dan de andere, haalt hij zijn schouders op: we weten het niet.

Het resultaat is verrassend genoeg een dun maar bijzonder helder boek, niet zozeer over de man dus, maar wel over zijn ideeën. Dat levert een veel coherenter verhaal op dan veel andere boeken over de meest fascinerende figuur uit de oude geschiedenis. Zo worden zowel de kracht show more als de fatale beperkingen van de Atoncultus opeens begrijpelijk. Hornung staat ook stil bij de brede scoop van de hervormingen. Echnatons radicale ideeën over godsdienst mogen hem dan niet overleefd hebben, zijn hervorming op domeinen zoals taal en kunst zijn wel blijven nazinderen en zelfs de religie is nadien niet meer hetzelfde.

Geen historische situering, geen lange uiteenzetting over zijn voorgangers of opvolgers, gewoon, recht naar de essentie. show less

Aug 26, 2020Dutch

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