A History of Religious Ideas, Volume 1: From the Stone Age to the Eleusinian Mysteries

by Mircea Eliade

All these innovations were justified by the religious value that Akh-en-Aton accorded to “truth” (maat), hence to all that was “natural,” in conformity with the rhythms of life. For this sickly and almost deformed pharaoh, who was to die very young, had discovered the religious significance of the “joy of life,” the bliss of enjoying Aton’s inexhaustible creation, first of all, divine light. To impose his “reform,” Akh-en-Aton ousted Amon and all the other gods52 in favor of Aton, the Supreme God, identified with the solar disk, universal source of life: he was represented with his rays ending in hands, bringing his worshipers the symbol of life (the ankh). The essence of Akh-en-Aton’s theology is found in two hymns addressed to Aton, the only ones that have been preserved. Beyond any doubt they represent one of the noblest Egyptian religious expressions. The Sun “is the beginning of life,” his rays “embrace all lands.”