The First Monotheistic Religion? - Akhenaten's Religion of Light

"Have you ever seen this strange man before?" Yes, I have watched the opening credits of Stargate SG1 many times.

It's also interesting to consider that the reason why the Aten became so popular during Amenhotep III's and Akhenaten's rule may have been political moreso than spiritual since Amun's priests in Thebes held an immense amount of power. The pharaohs at the time would've needed to stay on their good side and try to appease them. By demoting Amun, the royal court stripped the Amun priesthood of that power and by making themselves the only conduit between the human and the divine, they conferred it on themselves. It's kinda similar to how Henry VIII made himself head of the Church of England after splitting off from Rome. Political and spiritual power combined in one office and one person. Of course, though, we can't know Amenhotep III's and Akhenaten's exact motivations and a lot of Akhenaten's actions do seem to suggest that he did actually believe in this new religion of his so it may have been a mix of the two or it may have started out as political scheming under his father but then turned into genuine belief under Akhenaten. It's impossible to know but it's fun to think about.

Assassin's Creed brought me here. Beyond the game, I was amazed and intrigued by the detail and depth Ubisoft put into side missions and extra's.

Interestingly, the art from the Akhenaten's time is placed in a separate room in the Egyptian Museum on Tahrir square in Cairo. I wonder if they put it similarly into an isolated room once the museum moves to its new building near Giza plateau.

It bugs me more than it should that when people speak of Tutankhamun they almost all skip over his birth name being Tutankhaten.

I spent the morning going through your channel. Thank you for blessing us with your knowledge and keep up the good work. ✌

Such a valuable presentation by such a good speaker... SUBSCRIBED..

Great presentation and writing

Came for the Egyptian heresy, stayed for the nutty comment section. Between the new-age Aten worshipers, the Egypt was African folks, and pyramid skeptics I'm having an absolute blast.

You are so knowledgeable in theology, cosmology, mystical ancient mysteries....and u explain the stories so well. Gifted you are.

This is super interesting. Intelligence connects dots without playing pretentious. Thank you for uploading. Cheers 🍃

This revelation is invaluable to me. Thank you for your work. It’s like Akhnaten was a royal lightworker. Ra as a literal sun god vs. Aten as divine light.

Regarding the "art style" I always thought he was just depicted realistically... The pharoes were notorious for inbreeding, a deformed frame like that wouldn't be entirely impossible

Yess, solid. I remember hearing about this pharaoh in my younger days. Very interesting stuff. Cheers for that.

Your videos are fascinating. Feel like I just stepped out of a college history class! Thank you! 🙏

Magnificent Youtube-channel. Thank you for sharing all your knowledge about all different kinds of religions. Well balanced information given from the point of view of their believers (about what they belief) without apologetics or defending neither offending or banalizing it. The so called 'quality world press' can learn a lot about ''neutral informing the public about religion topics'' as it is given by this young man. You approach every religion with respect and dignity. This needs to become a standard approach of religions. You are a lighthouse keeper avantgardist in this approach...Well done and congratulations!👍👏👏👏

Such solid content here - thanks! I tried to visit Amarna while I was visiting Egypt several years ago. Sadly, it's pretty much only possible if you pay off-duty police/soldiers to accompany you. Ditto with Nag Hammadi.

Imagine the scandal in his day... that even slaves could be rays of the one God. Imagine all the living self proclaimed gods from their past and present being demoted as even equals of non Egyptians. As in all cases religion is political, faith is a different story.

"Praise the sun! If only I could be so grossly incandescent! I'm searching for a sun of my own you know..." Akhenaten, the original Sunbro

Love the way you put the video together. Your narration with the music and the images is thought provoking and spookily mystical.