Message #96320

[Bianca]

It was Amenhotep IV who first initiated the appearance of the true god, Aten, by formulating a
didactic name for him.

Hence, in the early years of Amenhotep IV's reign, the sun god Re-Horakhty, traditionally depicted
with a hawk's head, became identical to Aten, who was now worshipped as a god, rather than as an object associated with the sun god.

Hence, prior to Akhenaten, we speak of The Aten, while afterwards it is the god Aten.

Initially, Aten's relationship with other gods was very complex and it should even be mentioned that some Egyptologists have suggested that Amenhotep IV may have equated Aten to his own father, Amenhotep III.

Others have suggested that, rather than true monotheism, the cult of Aten was a form of henotheism, in which one god was effectively elevated above many others, though this certainly does not seem to be the case later during the Amarna period.