Aten
Lord of All
Symbols: sun disk, heat and sunlight
Depiction: Aten was depicted as a sun-disk with rays falling upon the Earth. At the end of each ray was a hand that extended the ankh to the pharaoh.
Mythology: The god of the sun, Aten was also called the creator of man. As the sun-god, Aten was born again each day. Like the sun, Aten nurtured the Earth and, according to the Book of the Dead, the deceased even called on him to nurture the living with his rays. The origin of Aten as the sun god is not clear. His rise to prominence came when the pharaoh Amenhotep IV, or Akhenaten, restored and enlarged a temple of Aten built by his father. The priest of Amon, who wielded substantial power at the time, did not like the promotion of Aten over Amon because it threatened their status. In response, Akhenaten built a new Egyptian capital, Akhenaten, “the Horizon of Aten.” Because the Egyptian pharaohs were gods, Akhenaten established a new religion, with himself and Aten as the major Egyptian deities. In this religion, access to Aten was only available through Akhenaten. Akhenaten took seriously the job of establishing a new state religion and attempted to erase all vestiges of Amon and all other gods. When Akhenaten died so did his new state religion.
