AMARNA

ANCIENT EGYPT’S
PLACE IN THE SUN
 AMARNA ANCIENT EGYPT’S
PLACE IN THE SUN

A LETTER FROM THE MUSEUM

Dear Students,
Of all the subjects that appeal to people of every age, blockbuster Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of
and I know my own 11-year-old son would agree the Pharaohs, presented by Mellon Financial
with me, Ancient Egypt and its mysteries must rank Corporation, beginning February 3, 2007 at The
among the most intriguing. And here in West Franklin Institute. It will certainly be “The Year of
Philadelphia, at the University of Pennsylvania Egypt” in Philadelphia, and I encourage you to visit
Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, is one of both these wonderful exhibits.
the finest collections of ancient Egyptian materials in
the United States. Visit our exhibit to find out all about this mysterious
city where young Tutankhamun grew up, a city built
Come here almost any day and you can see an Eskimo in praise of the mighty god, the Aten, and where the
whaling boat, view a Japanese Buddhist shrine, walk Pharaoh Akhenaten lived with his beautiful wife
around the third largest sphinx known in the world, Nefertiti. Join us in our search for clues as to why the
and look up at two of the great cedar totem poles of ancient city of Amarna existed only a few short years
the American Northwest. Celebrate World Culture before it was abandoned again to the desert.
Days here at the Museum, come to family workshops
or enjoy our award- winning summer camp sessions. We look forward to welcoming you all to this great
Penn Museum is alive with activities and opportunities museum.
to discover more, not just about ancient peoples, but
people living today all over the world. Sincerely,

I would especially like to invite you to a remarkable

Richard M. Leventhal
new exhibit here at Penn Museum, Amarna, Ancient
Egypt’s Place in the Sun. We are pleased to be host- The Williams Director
ing this complementary exhibition to the national Penn Museum

Statue of Amun with features of Tutankhamun, provenance unknown, possibly Thebes, late Dynasty 18-early Dynasty 19
(1332-1292 BCE), greywacke

Amun typically appears as a man wearing a tall, double-plumed headdress. His tall headdress is missing from this statue, but his crown
bears traces of gilding. Amun wears the false beard of a deity, an elaborately beaded broad collar, and a short kilt decorated on the belt
with a tyet-amulet, a symbol related both to the goddess Isis and to the ankh, the hieroglyph meaning “life”. The god also holds ankhs
indicating his immortality. His hands, which have been intentionally cut back, may represent a deliberate alteration to allow the statue to
fit into a shrine or a portable ceremonial boat used to carry it in processions. Photo: Tom Jenkins.

CREDITS
The educational supplement “Amarna, Ancient Egypt’s Place in the Sun” was a collaboration between The
University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology and the News In Education program of
The Philadelphia Inquirer. Copyright © 2006 Philadelphia Newspapers, LLC. All rights reserved. The writer was Sara
Shahriari of Hollister Kids, Wynnewood, PA. The editor was Peter Landry of Hollister Kids. The Graphic
Designer was Robyn Platoni of Hollister Kids. Photos of the exhibit were provided by the University of
Pennsylvania Museum.

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 AMARNA ANCIENT EGYPT’S
PLACE IN THE SUN

LOOKING AT ANCIENT EGYPT

In ancient Egypt, a rich and strong empire grew on the banks of Early pharaohs conquered Nubia, which was in modern Sudan,
the Nile – and lasted for over 3,000 years. Under powerful and the gold mines there created such wealth for the pharaohs
pharaohs, the civilization let people settle down and farm that leaders throughout the world begged them for gold. Later,
instead of wandering the land in search of food. Once set- Nubian kings conquered Egypt and ruled there during the 25th
tled, they developed towns and cities, laws and property, Dynasty (760-656 BCE).
religions and temples, art and writing. Humankind began
to blossom, create and think in new ways. Of course, over 3,000 years Egypt went through many changes.
Historically, time in ancient Egypt is divided into 32 dynasties,
Ancient Egypt was an attractive area for people long ago. or ruling families. It also is divided into nine periods, each of
The Nile River was a source of life and transportation in which is made up of a few dynasties. The periods are The Early
the otherwise dry and sweltering North African desert. Dynastic Period, which began in 2950 BCE; The Old Kingdom;
Birds, animals and fish could be found to eat. The peo- The First Intermediate Period; The Middle Kingdom; The
ple of ancient Egypt knew that their lives depended on Second Intermediate Period; The New Kingdom; The Third
the Nile. Each summer, the river would flood and carry Intermediate Period; The Late Period; the Ptolemaic Period, and
wet, fertile earth over the dry land. When the flood the Greco Roman Period, which ended in 395 CE.
ended, people planted crops. Because of the Nile,
Egyptians saw life as a cycle. To help understand the cycle In 30 BCE, Egypt came under control of the Roman Empire.
of life and death, they developed a complex religion with The days of Egypt’s supremacy ended, and it was slowly
many gods. absorbed by the newer and more powerful Roman Empire.

Around 3100 BCE, two separate cultures developed in The people and events you will learn about in this special stu-
Egypt: the Upper Egyptian culture in the south, and the dent supplement lived during the 18th Dynasty, which lasted
Lower Egyptian culture in the north. At first it doesn’t from 1539 to 1292 BCE.
seem to make sense that Lower Egypt was in the north,
but it was lower in relation to the Nile River, which Pharaoh Akhenaten, his beautiful wife Queen Nefertiti, and his
flows from south to north, from central Africa to the probable son Tutankhamun were all part of this dynasty. During
Mediterranean Sea. In Egypt, south was upriver, and this time one of the most dramatic changes in Egypt took place:
north was downriver. Akhenaten built a new city, Amarna, for a god named the Aten,
and outlawed all other gods. The Amarna period, sometimes
In 3100 BCE a southern king named Menes united the two called “The Amarna Experiment,” resulted in some of the best-
cultures into one kingdom. This was the beginning of known art, tombs, writing and records of ancient Egypt. That is
Egypt’s tremendous power in the region. Around this time why, even though the period was only around 30 years long, it
we see signs that hieroglyphic writing was used for commu- is one of the most famous in Egyptian history.
nication and keeping records of Egypt’s wealth.

This wealth came from two sources: from its farm-

land and from gold. Farming in Egypt produced a
lot of food, but not everyone had to work on the
land. Some people could be priests, doctors,
ACTIVITY
lawyers, soldiers and writers. Society became IN THE NEWS
very organized, and this helped Egypt prosper.
The gold came into Egypt from the south.
We are constantly discovering things about the past. A
civilization, an important document or the memory of a
person’s life can fade away until someone rediscovers it.
Look through The Inquirer and find a story about a redis-
covery. Read the story and then write a paragraph on how
Statue of Meryma’at, Thebes, Dra Abu el-Naga, late Dynasty 18 or early Dynasty 19 (1332-1279 BCE), limestone
this rediscovery is valuable, and what it can teach us.
Meryma’at was a barber in the cult of Amun. The inscription on his kilt is a prayer to that god requesting offerings of food
and drink and a happy life for his ka, or life force. Photo: Tom Jenkins.

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 AMARNA ANCIENT EGYPT’S
PLACE IN THE SUN

AKHENATEN’S NEW WORLD

When Akhenaten became king in 1353 BCE he
began to make changes. He declared that there
was only one god who could be worshiped –
“SEE AKHETATEN, the Aten – and he declared that as pharaoh he
was the only person who could communicate
WHICH THE SUN DISK with this god.

WISHES TO HAVE Why did Akhenaten make this huge change?

Some people think he wanted to get rid of
BUILT FOR HIMSELF.” the powerful priests of Amun Re, whose
power could challenge the pharaoh’s. Other
people think that Akhenaten was totally
dedicated to the Aten, and that he was one
- Inscription of Akhenaten’s words of the first people in history to express
on the founding of Akhetaten, unique and personal thoughts on spirituality.
now called Amarna. The Aten literally meant “the disk of the
sun.” Akhenaten searched for a place to
build a new city for the Aten. He found it in
a spot where the sun appeared to rise from
Imagine that you have the power to shape the world around an eastern valley and spread its light over a
you: to build a city, change a religion and live as the represen- broad piece of land in front of the Nile river. Trial piece, Amarna, Dynasty 18, reign
tative of god on earth. It’s hard for people today to think of this The new city was named Akhetaten, “horizon of Akhenaten (1353-1336 BCE), limestone
kind of power, but it was the power that Pharaoh Akhenaten of the Aten.” Today, historians call the city Amarna. This relief shows the profile of Akhenaten. Traces
wielded in Egypt during the Amarna period. of ink outlines remain. While the earliest periods
The pharaoh lived at Amarna with his family. As a result, of his reign show figures with very exaggerated
features, these details quickly become more natu-
During his rule, from 1353 to 1336 BCE, Akhenaten changed all the government officials, artists, builders and families who ral. Photo: University of Pennsylvania Museum of
Egyptian life in a big way. He moved the capital city of Egypt served the king moved there, too. This was a huge move, as if Archaeology and Anthropology.
from Thebes to Amarna, then known as Akhetaten, a city he the president decided to move this country’s capital from
constructed on what had been just a piece of desert. There he Washington, D.C., to a new city in Nebraska.
created a new religion and new temples. His influence lived on
beyond his death. As the population grew, the city stretched north and south along
the Nile, which was the source of water for the wells the peo-
ACTIVITY
You may know that throughout their history ancient Egyptians
worshiped many gods and goddesses. In some ways these deities
ple of Amarna dug into the desert. Official royal buildings and
the temples of the Aten were concentrated in the heart of the
IN THE NEWS
were a lot like people: they had arguments, could get married city. Suburbs, where most people lived, surrounded the center
and had children. Together, they were believed to control of the city. Symbols of power are still very
everything from health to rainfall to the afterlife. important today. Look through
Of course, daily life went on for the Egyptian people. They The Inquirer for pictures you think
Everyday Egyptians kept images of the gods and goddesses in farmed, fished and built as they had for hundred of years. The show symbols of power. Find and
their homes and communicated with them. Making offerings, king, his wives and children went about their daily lives, but the cut out at least three symbols.
celebrating religious holidays and preparing complex funerals family had a new significance in the new religion. Instead of the Then, write a sentence on what the
were all a part of Egyptians’ constant interactions with their royal many statues of gods the people had been used to seeing when symbol is, and how it shows power.
gods. worshipping in the past, the king’s family were now Egyptians’ Share a symbol with your class.
visible link to god. In sculpture, at important events, and even Finish by drawing a symbol you
Akhenaten was born into this world of many gods. At that time, traveling around the city, the pharaoh family were not only roy- could use to show a power or skill
Amun Re was the most important of Egypt’s gods. Amun Re was alty or representatives of gods on earth: they were the people’s you have.
a mysterious god with many abilities, but he appeared to the peo- only link to god. They also took the place of myths of the gods
ple as the sun. A powerful group of priests served Amun-Re. and their families

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 AMARNA ANCIENT EGYPT’S
PLACE IN THE SUN

SIGNS OF THE KINGS’ POWER

In a world without television, radio or computers, how
would you know who was leading your country, and
Pharaohs built monuments, temples and tombs that were
covered with carved images and hieroglyphs. These pic-
“GOLD IS LIKE DUST
what he or she was doing? tures showed scenes even an Egyptian with no education
could understand, and used a few key symbols with which
IN THE COUNTRY
This was the situation in ancient Egypt, where pharaohs
came to the throne and ruled a large country filled with
people were familiar.
OF YOUR SON.”
people who would probably never even see their king. This is why symbols were so important in ancient Egypt:
The pharaohs communicated their messages of power and they allowed the pharaohs to represent their authority to - Letter from the King
protection to people through artwork and symbols. the people they ruled. Here are some symbols used by
pharaohs and what they mean: of Mittani to Akhenaten’s
mother, Queen Tiy

The Crook and Flail The Uraeus

The crook and flail usually appear together, often held crossed over a king’s chest. The uraeus (yoo-REE-es) was a rearing cobra, often made of gold, worn on the brow of
These symbols probably were inspired by shepherd’s tools. Shepherds used the crook a pharaoh’s crown. The cobra was the goddess Wadjet, who protected the Pharaoh and
to guide, catch or rescue sheep, as well as to lean on. The flail was used for shooing destroyed his enemies. She was a goddess of Lower Egypt. Sometimes the cobra is paired
flies and as a whip. They became symbols of the god Osiris, and also of pharaohs, rep- with the vulture goddess Nekhbet on the front of the uraeus. Nekhbet was a goddess of
resenting power over and protection of the people. upper Egypt, and was a mother-like protector of the Pharaoh.

The Nemes Headdress The Ankh

The nemes headdress was a piece of cloth tied around the head,
The ankh (ANK) was the Egyptian hieroglyph for life. Gods and kings
with two pieces hanging down on either side of the face. The
are often seen holding this symbol, which looks like a cross with a
nemes is probably the best known of all headdresses, because King
looped end.
Tut is shown wearing one on his beautiful gold sarcophagus.

The Red Crown The White Crown

The red crown is the crown of Lower Egypt. The white crown is the crown of Upper Egypt.

The Double Crown The Blue Crown

The double crown is the white and red crowns worn togeth- The blue crown appears in art later than all the other crowns of
er, representing the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt, Egypt. It was probably a war crown, because tomb paintings show
which happened around 3100 BCE. it worn in battles.

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 AMARNA ANCIENT EGYPT’S
PLACE IN THE SUN

EGYPT’S TRADITIONAL GODS

Amun Re
Amun Re was a combined god. He was a creator god Amarna period, all people in Egypt could worship any of the
and also the sun god. Amun and Re became one over close to 2,000 small and large gods of Egyptian myth. When
time. Amun means “the hidden one,” and repre- Akhenaten made the Aten the only god, he also made it a
sents a power that is everywhere in the universe, god that only the pharaoh and his family could worship or
but cannot be seen. Re represents the sun as it communicate with. Egyptian people’s only connection with
appears in the sky. Over time, Amun Re the Aten was through the pharaoh.
became thought of as the chief of the gods.
During the New Kingdom he became even
more important, and people believed that he Osiris
was the source of all other gods, and the only Osiris was the god of the dead. A mythical king, he was
force of creation in the universe. During this betrayed, killed, and cut into pieces by his evil brother, Seth.
period and the Amarna period Egyptians came Their sisters Isis and Nepthys found the pieces of the body and
closer to the practice of monotheism, or the wor- put the pieces back together as a mummy. Osiris is drawn as a
ship of only one god, than they ever had before. mummy with arms crossed. Isis also became the wife of Osiris,
and had a son with him named Horus. When Seth heard of
Amun Re was important to all Egyptians, from the Horus he searched for him to kill him, but Isis hid him until he
pharaoh to the most common person. Myth said was old enough to challenge Seth. A long battle followed, but
that Amun Re was the pharaoh’s father, and that Horus finally beat Seth and became king. When Horus became
he ruled Egypt through the pharaoh. However, king, Osiris came to his position as king of the dead. Instead of
this god was not only concerned with politics this being a sad job, Osiris was viewed as a peaceful god who
and powerful people. Normal Egyptians were held the possibility of eternal life for ancient Egyptians.
free to worship him and to ask him for help,
because he was concerned with order and jus-
tice in the universe, from the largest to the
smallest detail.
Isis
Isis was the goddess sister and wife of Osiris. She appears in
drawings as a beautiful woman holding an ankh, a symbol of
The Aten life. Her work healing Osiris and her devotion to her son Seth
made Isis a very popular goddess who was worshiped in Egypt,
The Aten was the round disk of the sun as
North Africa and throughout the Mediterranean world. She
you see it in the sky. Unlike other Egyptian
was the most widely worshiped of all the Egyptian goddesses.
gods, the Aten was never shown as a per-
son or animal: its only image was the sun
disk, sometimes carved with hands extend-
ing downward as rays. This god existed
Horus
before the Amarna period, but it was Horus was the son of Osiris and Isis. He defeated his father’s
Akhenaten who made the Aten the only killer, Seth, and became a king of Egypt. Horus was god of the
god worshiped in Egypt. This was a huge sky. The reigning king was always thought of as the god
change for the people of Egypt. Before the Horus.

Statue of Sekhmet, Thebes (Ramesseum), Dynasty 18, reign of Amenhotep III (1390-1353 BCE), granodiorite

Sekhmet was a warlike and protective goddess. Her imagery often accompanied the pharaoh into battle. With her fiery arrows,
she could send plagues and other diseases against her (and Pharaoh’s) enemies. The Egyptians also asked her to ward off or cure diseases.
Photo: Tom Jenkins.

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 AMARNA ANCIENT EGYPT’S
PLACE IN THE SUN

Figurine of Ptah, Memphis, Dynasty 18, reign of Amenhotep III - Tutankhamun (1390-1322 BCE), polychrome faience

Ptah, the god of creation and rebirth, appears seated on a low-back throne. Brilliantly colored and designed as part of a larger
statue, this figurine was most likely set up in a shrine or temple at Memphis.
Photo: Tom Jenkins.

Bastet
Bastet was a popular goddess who appeared as woman with a "HOMAGE TO
cat’s head. She was the gentle protector of pregnant women.
Cats were important to Egyptians because they protected their THEE, OSIRIS,
valuable food supplies from rodents. Many domestic cats were
mummified and buried in temples of Bastet. LORD OF
Anubis ETERNITY,
Anubis was a man with a jackal’s head. He was the god of KING OF THE
mummification, and may have been the god of death before
Horus. Anubis led the souls of the dead to the underworld. GODS, WHOSE
Hathor NAMES ARE
Hathor was a goddess pictured as a woman with the head of a MANIFOLD,
cow. She was the goddess of dance, love and music, and she
also protected women during childbirth. Hathor was the wife
of Horus.
WHOSE FORMS
ARE HOLY."
-Hymn to Osiris from
Thoth The Book of the Dead,
Thoth was the scribe of the gods, and known as the inventor 1240 BCE.
of writing. He was also a moon god. Thoth is one of the most
distinctive-looking of the ancient Egyptians’ gods. He is often
shown as a man with the head of an ibis: a bird with a long,
thin beak. On of Thoth’s roles was recording the decision
when a person’s heart was weighed after death.

Maat ACTIVITY
Maat was the goddess of the balance of the universe. She stood IN THE NEWS
for truth and order, and was drawn as a woman wearing an
ostrich feather on her head. This feather was important when a Religion was important to ancient Egyptians, as it is important to many
person’s heart was weighed after death. The heart was placed modern people. Look through The Inquirer for a story about religion.
on one side of a scale, and Maat’s feather on another. If the per- Read it and write a paragraph summarizing the story. Then, write down
son had led a bad life, their heart would not balance Maat’s three ways the religion in your news story is different from that of
feather, and the heart would be fed to the monster Ammut. ancient Egyptians, and three ways in which it is similar.

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 AMARNA ANCIENT EGYPT’S PLACE IN THE SUN

Learning from art and artifacts Nefertiti

Nefertiti jumps out at us from history thanks to this
From jewelry to statues to hieroglyphs carved on monuments or
sculpture, which was found in the abandoned
scarabs, the ancient Egyptians’ desire to decorate, beautify and record
Amarna workshop of the sculptor Tuthmosis by
this world and the next has left us a surprisingly large record of their
culture. Even though the Egyptian empire ended more than 2,000
German archaeologists in 1912. Her name means
“The beautiful woman has come,” but she stood
Scarabs
years ago, through their art and writing we learn that today we still
out in her time for her power as well as her beau- Scarabs are small stones carved as beetles. The rounded tops
have things in common with these ancient people. Just like us, they
ty. Ancient carvings show images of Nefetiti killing are carved as a beetle’s head, wings and legs, and the bot-
liked gold, beauty, a good meal, being in love and spending time with
traditional Egyptian enemies. toms are flat, usually with writing on them. Scarabs were
friends. Look at the objects on this page to learn more about
popular charms in ancient Egypt, and people rich and poor
Egyptians through their arts.
Usually, only pharaohs were shown in this power- wore them for luck and blessings. The writing on scarabs
ful and aggressive pose. Nefertiti was Akhenaten’s could be a spell, a good-luck wish, or a name used as a seal.
most important wife, and the mother of The scarab could be pressed into wet clay or wax, leaving
six daughters. Historians aren’t sure if its mark and showing who had made the seal.
she or another of Akhenaten’s
wives was the mother of King It may seem strange that a beetle would be
Tut. This statue is now in a such an important animal to the Egyptians,
museum in Germany. especially because scarab beetles are dung
beetles. These beetles lay their eggs in balls
SINAI they make out of animal droppings. They
NILE DELTA roll the balls around on the ground, which
(LOWER EGYPT) looks especially strange because the balls can
CAIRO become bigger than the beetles themselves. The
Egyptians saw the beetle rolling the ball like the sun god
MEMPHIS
rolling the sun across the sky. The dung beetle became
associated with the god of the newly-risen sun, Khepri.

Beauty and Style

RED Ancient Egyptians loved makeup, hairstyles and jew-
SEA elry. Of course, over the 3,000 years of the
Egyptian Empire, trends came and went, but
UPI Newspictures the people’s focus on beauty and style was
always present.
MIDDLE Makeup was an important part of their look.
EGYPT TELL EL-AMARNA Men and women wore heavy black eyeliner,
AKHETATEN and women wore blush and lipstick. Different
stones and minerals were ground up and mixed
with water to make black and green eyeliner,
King Tutankhamun and red blush and lipstick.

Better known as King Tut, King Tutankhamun ruled Egypt for Egyptians loved good smells and perfume.
only 10 years, from 1332 to 1322 BCE. Tut was about 19 years Their perfumes, which often used fat or oil bases, could
old when he died. For years, people wondered why he died so be rubbed into the skin, and probably smelled of flowers
young, and if he was murdered. A recent computer scan of his and spices.
mummy shows a seriously broken leg. It is now believed he
may have died from an infection in the broken leg, but we may
HAIR TRUE LAPIS LAZULI;
Long, thick black hair was the Egyptian ideal, but keep-
never know for sure. Tut could have been poisoned or harmed ARMS SURPASSING GOLD, ing a luxurious head of black hair would have been a real
in a way that the mummy can’t show.
FINGERS LIKE LOTUS BUDS. pain in a hot climate, especially in a time when lice were
everywhere. People usually cut their hair short, and wore
His tomb was discovered in 1922, and is one of the very few wigs on special occasions.
THEBES royal Egyptian tombs that hadn’t been robbed entirely of most 13th century BCE Egyptian Love Poem
UPPER of its gold. An incredible number of gold artifacts and jewelry
EGYPT were found there, including the one above.

8 ZUMA Press

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 AMARNA ANCIENT EGYPT’S
PLACE IN THE SUN

ATEN’S SUPREMACY
Pharaoh Akhenaten to the people of Egypt, and they “WHEN YOU CAST YOUR RAYS, THE HERDS
came as a shock. The one and only god would be the ARE HAPPY IN THEIR PASTURES. TREES AND
Aten, which had no human or animal form. It was simply PLANTS GROW GREEN. ALL THE FLOCKS GAM-
the sun in the sky. Only Akhenaten could know the BOL AND ALL THE BIRDS COME TO LIFE
Aten’s wishes, or ask the Aten for help. BECAUSE YOU HAVE RISEN FOR THEM. EVEN
THE FISH IN THE RIVERS LEAP TOWARD
When Akhenaten closed all the gods’ temples, including YOUR FACE. YOU CREATED THE EARTH TO
those of Amun Re, and announced that he was moving to PLEASE YOU - PEOPLE, CATTLE AND FLOCKS,
a new city, priests suddenly lost all their power. But life EVERYTHING THAT WALKS ON LAND OR
didn’t change just for the rich and powerful priests. TAKES OFF AND FLIES, USING WINGS.”
HYMN TO THE ATEN
When the traditional gods were outlawed, everyday
Egyptians lost their connection to the spiritual world. Did Akhenaten really believe in the Aten, or did he just use
Akhenaten proclaimed that he and his family were the the Aten to upset Egypt’s power structure and reshape it
only ones capable of communicating with the Aten. If the way he wanted? Signs show that Akhenaten really did
people wanted to communicate with the god, they would believe in his spiritual connection to the Aten. He com-
have to look to the pharaoh. posed songs and poems in honor of the god, and sometimes
neglected Egypt’s well-being and safety in his pursuit of
Of course, some people weren’t happy about all these building the perfect home for the Aten. But all of
changes, but they had also been trained for generations to Akhenaten’s devotion to the Aten couldn’t erase what the
think that the pharaoh was a god on Earth. They didn’t people of Egypt had known for hundreds of years.
challenge his changes.
Soon after Akhenaten’s death, Amarna was abandoned
You may hear people claim that the religion of the Aten and the capital cities moved to Memphis and Thebes,
was monotheistic, which means a religion with only one where the Aten was turned back into just one of many
god. Certainly the religion of the Aten was much closer to minor gods.
monotheism than the religion of the many gods Egyptians
Relief with Aten, Amarna, Dynasty 18, reign of had worshiped before. But there is one problem: The peo-
Akhenaten (1353-1336 BCE), calcite (Egyptian alabaster) ple had to worship Akhenaten, his wife Nefertiti and their
This relief fragment shows the hands at the ends of the Aten's
sun rays, one of the deity's few human features.
family as the representatives of the Aten. The royal family
would, in turn, worship the Aten. This isn’t strictly
HOW MANIFOLD
Photo: University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology
and Anthropology.
monotheism as we know it today. IT IS, WHAT THOU
Think of it - what if you had to worship the president,
who could then worship god. The Egyptians were used
HAST MADE! THEY
During the rule of Akhenaten’s father, Amenhotep III,
the numerous gods of ancient Egypt were worshiped
to thinking of their leaders as godly, so it wasn’t as strange
to them as it would be to you - but they still remembered ARE HIDDEN FROM
widely, but Amun Re was held above the rest. The priests the old ways.
of Amun Re became so powerful and wealthy that they THE FACE OF MAN.
could even challenge the pharaoh. Around 1346 BCE Akhenaten chose Amarna as the site
of a new city to be built for the Aten. All the people O SOLE GOD, LIKE
This wasn’t good for the royal family, and within his life- whose jobs depended on the pharaoh, from sculptors to
time Amenhotep III made steps to raise other gods up and builders to government officials, left their homes in WHOM THERE IS
control the power of the priests. One of the gods he called Thebes and traveled to Amarna to begin a new life under
attention to was the Aten, a solar god who was represent- one god. There, temples were built without roofs, so that NO OTHER!
ed by an image of the sun in the sky. the sun could be seen in the sky. As you can see from the
hymn to the Aten, the Aten was seen as the giver of all
Around the year 1350 BCE, new rules were given by life; a kind and protective source of all good. -The Hymn to the Aten

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 AMARNA ANCIENT EGYPT’S
PLACE IN THE SUN

CREATING ART IN AMARNA

Akhenaten set out to build the Aten a city so amazing, rich when Amarna was abandoned the sculptor put all his Glasswork was new to the Egyptians, and they were
and beautiful that it put memories of old gods out of his works in storage and shut his house and workshop forev- experimenting with adding color and pattern to their
subjects’ minds. He wanted to create a place worthy of his er. He had no reason to take sculptures of the royal fami- creations during the Amarna period. Evidence at Amarna
god, and one that would impress his people with the ly with him: They were disgraced, and no one wanted to shows that artisans made large
Aten’s magnificence. look at them. amounts of glass and faience in
the city, so much that some of it
Because the pharaoh was so wealthy, he could hire as Another important art form used to show the royal fami- was probably exported and trad-
many painters, sculptors and artisans as he wanted - and it ly was painting. Most of the best-preserved paintings are ed outside of Egypt.
seems that a virtual army of artists lived in Amarna during found inside tombs, where they have been protected from
the city’s short life. sun and sand, which would have ruined them. The paint- The life of an artisan of Amarna
ings show gods and funerals, as well as everyday activities was fairly stable. Most lived
Egyptians used a great deal of freestanding sculpture, large like hunting and preparing food. with their families in
and small, and also often carved images into rock. These comfortable, middle-class
works lasted a long time, and could be placed in public Less glamorous than sculptors and painters, but more nec- homes. When Amarna was
areas as symbols of the pharaoh and the Aten. During the essary, were potters. In a world before plastic, food and abandoned, they took their
Amarna period, Akhenaten wanted the Egyptian people to liquids were stored in clay pots. It took skill to make these tools and applied their skills
stop worshipping the usual gods, and to instead worship vessels, which were used by the very rich and the very to making paintings and
the royal family as representatives of the Aten. This made poor alike. sculptures of their new
it important to give Egyptians many images of the royal rulers, leaving behind
family at which to look. Beyond functional clay items were ornamental items made their works, which
of glass and faience (fay-ANS), a kind of baked earthen- would be lost for
One thing that made ancient Egyptian art different from ware. The artisans who worked with these materials made thousands of years.
art today is that it tended to stay the same. Artists didn’t beautiful and delicate decorations. Because glass and
develop many new ways of depicting the world. It was faience shined and gleamed like the sun’s light, they were
considered good to copy the past, so artists painted and especially popular in Amarna.
carved in the same style for thousands of years. Except in This Dynasty 18 or 19
Amarna. Faience had been used in Ancient Egypt for a long time ceramic wine jar may have
before the Amarna period. It was earthenware, like clay, but been made in Amarna.
Wine was a popular drink
Akhenaten himself developed a new style for showing the was covered with a smooth, sparkling and colorful glaze. in Ancient Egypt.
human body in art. Instead of the very stiff and straight
traditional figures, his were long and curved, with large
hips and thin arms. Some people have even wondered if
Akhenaten was born with an illness that gave him a
strange figure - but now it is believed he was shown in this
way as part of the new artistic style.

Family portraits of the royal family, Akhenaten, Nefertiti

and their daughters, also changed at this time. In addition
ACTIVITY
to formal, ceremonial pictures, the family was shown play- IN THE NEWS
ing and relaxing together, holding each other and enjoy-
ing life under the rays of the Aten. Look though The Inquirer for a story about a modern work of art or a
popular craft. Remember, jewelry, dishes and clothing can be consid-
One of Amarna’s residents was Tuthmosis, the city’s chief ered crafts. Read the story. Write a paragraph describing what your
sculptor. He was in charge of making statues of the royal object is, how it is made, and what it is used for. Then, imagine that
family. One of the most famous statues in the world, the an archaeologist finds the item from your story 2,000 years from now.
bust of beautiful queen Nefertiti, was found in his work- Write a second paragraph on what he or she could learn about our
shop in 1912. Along with this now famous sculpture were world from the item.
around 50 other works of art. How did this treasure trove
survive thousands of years in the desert? It seems that

11
 AMARNA ANCIENT EGYPT’S
PLACE IN THE SUN

A LIFE IN ANCIENT EGYPT

“DO NOT CONTROL YOUR WIFE IN HER HOUSE
WHEN YOU KNOW SHE IS EFFICIENT. DO NOT
SAY TO HER: ‘WHERE IS IT? GET IT!’ WHEN SHE
HAS PUT IT IN THE RIGHT PLACE. LET YOUR
EYE OBSERVE IN SILENCE; THEN YOU WILL
RECOGNIZE HER SKILL.”
-Advice for a happy marriage from a New Kingdom text.

Children in ancient Egypt were considered a great bless- from 15 to 20. Although a man legally was allowed to
ing. Parents hoped to have large families and that their marry more than one wife, most were only able to
children would support them in old age. support one wife. A pharaoh, however, could have many
wives, as insurance he would have an heir to succeed him.
When a child was born, it spent the first few years of life
living with its mother and other women in the home. Once married, a man had to support his new wife and the
Children were given toys such as balls, dolls and board children they would have. He usually worked the same job
games. They played outside most of the time and had pet his father had, using skills he had learned as a child. The
dogs, cats and monkeys. When they were very young, majority of men worked as farmers, and the work was hard.
most kids wore no clothes because the weather in Egypt
was hot and dry all the time. As they got older, boys would Women’s first job was to take care of the house and chil-
wear a cloth of white linen around their waists, and girls dren, which was no small amount of work. Some
would wear white linen dresses. Many Egyptians, even ancient writings show that Egyptian society valued the
kids, liked to wear jewelry made of colorfully painted clay work that women did, and saw being a mother as an
beads, stones or gold. important job. Some women, mainly those from
important royal backgrounds, worked in government
Boys who would become doctors, lawyers, scribes, priests or as priestesses. Others were scribes, singers or dancers.
or government officials went to school to learn writing
and math. Boys and girls without wealthy or middle-class Egyptians lived along the banks of the Nile, just far
parents who could afford to train them for a profession enough back that the spring floods would not reach their
probably did not go to school. Only daughters of very homes. The homes were made out of mud brick, which
wealthy families learned to read and write. was made by mixing mud with sand and straw, shaping it Steleophorus statue, provenance unknown, Dynasty 18,
reign of Tuthmosis III-IV (1479-1390 BCE), painted
in molds, then leaving it to dry in the sun. Some poor fam- limestone
The average lifespan in ancient Egypt was only 40 years. ilies lived in one-room homes, but it was more common
Because they had no antibiotics, simple illnesses killed for homes to be one or two stories, with rooms that encir- The deceased Hednakht kneels behind a stela displaying a hymn
to the sun god. Photo: Tom Jenkins.
many people by the time they reached that age. Having cled a courtyard. In the courtyard, women cooked and
children was very dangerous for women, because medi- baked in ovens built there.
cine was not advanced enough to help them if something
went wrong with delivery of a baby. Plus, life in general Beauty was a very important thing to Egyptians. Many
was more dangerous than most people’s lives today. paintings show us that they wore wigs and beautiful jew- employ a hairdresser and a makeup artist! History shows us
Wars, hard physical work and the dangers of hunting elry. Men and women lined their eyes with a black that Egyptian people had many of the same jobs and
could all shorten a person’s life. Because of shorter lives, material called kohl to cut down on sun glare, to look responsibilities, and enjoyed many of the same things we
people got married much younger than they do today. fashionable and to prevent eye infection. They used per- do - but most didn’t have our opportunity for education
Girls were usually married around 14, and boys anywhere fumes and scented oils, and a rich women might even and healthy, long lives.

12
 AMARNA ANCIENT EGYPT’S
PLACE IN THE SUN

THE OLD GODS RETURN

Tutankhaten, later known as Tutankhamun or, today, Akhenaten died. The pharaoh’s family was in a bad situa- Ankhsenpaaten changed hers to Ankhsenamun. By changing
simply King Tut, was born around 1341 BCE. It was a very tion. Tut, who could have become king, was a child, and the last part of their names from “aten” to “amun,” they
strange time in Egyptian history. His father, Pharaoh the country was unstable. A person named Neferneferuaten demonstrated that Amun Re, not the Aten, was again the
Akhenaten, had moved the Egyptian capital from Thebes became pharaoh, but no one knows who he (or she) was. important god to the royal family. Life went on with the
to Amarna and changed Egypt’s religion from one of many Was it Nefertiti using a new name, or one of Akhenaten’s young couple in charge until a sudden tragedy. At around 19
gods to one of a single god, the Aten. daughters? Neferneferuaten was followed by another mys- years old, Tut died. It has been suggested that he died from
tery Pharaoh named Smenkhkare. Combined, they ruled an infection resulting from a broken bone. His early death
Akhenaten had several wives, but his chief wife was Nefertiti. for only four years, and their identities remain hidden. came as a surprise, and he was buried in a small tomb origi-
Together, they had six daughters, but it seems they had no nally made for someone else. There he would lie, forgotten,
son who could take the throne and rule as pharaoh. In 1332 BCE Tut and his half-sister, Ankhsenpaaten, until 1922, when the tomb was discovered by a British
Tutankhaten is believed to be the son of Akhenaten and one became the rulers of Egypt. Even though they were too archaeologist.
of his other wives, a woman named Kiya. young for marriage by Egyptian standards, they had been
married because together their claim to the throne was Meanwhile, Ankhsenamun was in a dangerous position.
Life should have been secure stronger than it was separately. They were only around nine Without her husband, her claim to the throne was hard to
for the family, but years old. Obviously, the two children were under control keep. She made a plan. Ankhsenamun wrote to the king of
Akhenaten’s actions had put of the adults in their lives. Nefertiti, Tut’s grandmother Tiy, the Hittites, a group warring with the Egyptians, asking for
Egypt at risk. He would the royal advisor Aye and a general called Horemheb may him to send a prince for her to marry. This was unusual,
not wage war against have all struggled for control of the young couple. but could have worked out well for everyone. The king
people who were mov- sent a son to marry her, but the prince was murdered on
ing in on Egypt’s terri- Sometime around 1330 BCE, soon after they became his way to Egypt.
tory because he was rulers, Tut and Ankhsenpaaten left Amarna forever. Tut,
busy creating a city for who had only known his father’s city, moved his adminis- Two men are suspected of the murder: The royal advisor,
the Aten and he pre- trative capital to Memphis, an old city used as a govern- Aye, and the general, Horemheb. Aye married Queen
ferred to rely on ment center. At Thebes, the center of traditional religion, Ankhsenamun and became pharaoh in 1322 BCE, but died a
diplomacy. He also he opened the old gods’ temples and showered them with few years later, in 1319. Aye’s death marks the end of the 34-
angered many of gifts and riches. He announced that he would bring back year Amarna Period as it is known by historians. Horemheb
Egypt’s common the old ways, and the people were happy about it. In many then got his chance. He became pharaoh and his reign marks
people, who didn’t like places outside Amarna, people had never really given up the end of the 18th Dynasty. He tried to erase any memory
that he had taken their the old gods. The city of Amarna had been in use for only of the pharaohs who had come right before him, and
gods away. 18 years, from its founding by Akhenaten in 1348 BCE to removed the names of Akhenaten, Neferneferuaten,
its abandonment by Tut in 1330. Smenkhkare, Tut and Aye wherever he found them. Amarna
When Tutankhaten was and everyone associated with it was wiped from the mind of
around six years old, Tutankhaten changed his name to Tutankhamun, and ancient Egypt.

ACTIVITY
Statuette of Tutankhamun, provenance
unknown, late Dynasty 18, reign of a succes-
IN THE NEWS
sor of Akhenaten (1332-1322 BCE), bronze
with traces of gold Photo: Tom Jenkins. Politics and power were a difficult, sometimes dangerous business in Ancient
Egypt, as they can be today. In The Philadelphia Inquirer, find a story about a
modern leader who is having problems keeping control of his or her country.
Read the story. Then, go online and learn more about the leader. Write a short
biography of the leader, including information on his or her childhood, edu-
cation, rise to power, and current problems. Add a paragraph suggesting a solu-
tion to the problems the leader faces.

13
 AMARNA ANCIENT EGYPT’S
PLACE IN THE SUN

A JOURNEY AFTER DEATH

Mummies - they’re not only cool to look at: through them we One of the reasons the burial process was so important is that
learn about ancient Egyptians’ bodies, culture and religion. Egyptians believed several parts of a person lived on and had
needs after death. Egyptians didn’t see a person as made up of
We don’t know exactly why Egyptians began using mummifi- just a body and a soul. Their beliefs involved more pieces.
cation to preserve bodies before burial, but by 3100 BCE sim-
ple mummification had begun. Five-hundred years later, in After death, Egyptians thought a person’s mummy rested in the
2600 BCE, the process had become much more complicated. tomb. A form of the person who died, the ba, could travel out
Organs were being taken out of the body before burial, and into the world during the day but would come back to take
chemicals were used to preserve, or embalm, the body. care of the mummy at night. Separately, the akh, or spirit,
would be judged and if found worthy gain a place among the
Around 2700 BCE, a god called Osiris became important as gods forever. Finally, the ka was an energy that was separated
the god of the dead. His link to mummification is clear. The from a person during life, but returned at death. The ka need-
myth of Osiris says he was a king murdered by his jealous ed special steps and offerings during burial so that it could live
brother, Seth, who tore him to pieces. Their sisters, Isis and in the afterlife.
Nepthys, found the body of Osiris and put him back together
by embalming him. Osiris was the god Egyptians looked to
for eternal life, and the mummification process became linked
with him.
This Shabti is from
Dynasty 19. Shabtis At first, only the rich could afford mummification, but over
were figures placed hundreds of years it became something many people could have
in tombs. Their pur- done. It is clear that people wanted to be mummified after
pose was to perform
work in the afterlife death, and it was seen as an important step for a better afterlife.
for the person buried
in the tomb. Some of the Egyptians’ ideas about death and the afterlife are
different from those of today, yet their religion also shares ideas
with many modern religions. Many modern religions teach that
how you act during life affects what happens to your spirit after
you die. The ancient Egyptians believed this too, but they also
thought that how a person was buried was extremely important
“TO SPEAK to what happened in the afterlife. This belief led to the huge
investment ancient Egyptian people put into their tombs and
THE NAME funerals.

OF THE Commonly, a person would have his tomb constructed and

prepared during life. After death, the mummification process ACTIVITY
DEAD IS TO took 70 days. First, the brain and internal organs, except the
heart, were removed. The heart was left in place because when IN THE NEWS
MAKE HIM the deceased went to be judged, it was believed the heart
would be placed on a scale and weighed against the feather of In ancient Egypt only wealthy men learned to read and
write. Look through The Inquirer and find the opinion and
LIVE AGAIN.” Maat, goddess of the balance of the universe.
editorial section. Read the letters. Then, imagine you live
After the organs were removed, they were either wrapped in in ancient Egypt, and want to write a letter to your local
linen or placed in special jars called canopic jars. Then the body newspaper on why women and men who are not wealthy
-Ancient Egyptian was treated with natron, a salt that dries out tissue. It was this should be taught to read and write. Be sure to give at least
dryness that preserved the body so well. The body was then three reasons for your belief, and support them all with
tomb inscription coated in resin and wrapped in linen during a complex ritual examples and explanations.
of prayer.

14
 AMARNA ANCIENT EGYPT’S
PLACE IN THE SUN

THE WRITTEN ART

or write, or knew only basic symbols. Only boys who Egypt from the time he was a young boy. He wanted to
were training to be scribes, or children from wealthy fam- know what the hieroglyphs meant, and when he found
ilies, would learn to read and write. Extremely few out that no one could tell him, he vowed to solve the
“BE A SCRIBE! women could do so. problem himself.

YOUR BODY WILL Hieroglyphs were carved on the walls of temples and
tombs as part of grand monuments. Written records also
Champollion was convinced that hieroglyphs were phonet-
ic, meaning the symbols represent sounds instead of repre-
BE SLEEK, YOUR were kept for taxes, wills and lists of belongings. These
documents, however, were written in a shortened form
senting things as most other people thought. He also brought
a special skill to his work: he read Coptic, which he had
HAND WILL BE called hieratic, which was much like our cursive writing. learned from church texts. He realized that the hieroglyphic
symbols stood for sounds in the Coptic language.
SOFT. YOU WILL It is hard to believe that the language and writing of a civ-
ilization as strong and long-lasting as that of ancient Egypt Champollion learned many things about hieroglyphs,
could be forgotten, but it was. The last evidence we have including that some symbols represented a single sound,
NOT BE LIKE A of hieroglyphic writing comes from 450 CE. It is believed while other represented a group of sounds, or even a
that as Christianity became more important in Egypt, whole word. For example, in hieroglyphs the symbol of an
HIRED OX.” hieroglyphic writing was banned because it was closely owl represents the sound “m,” while a symbol of the sun
tied with Egypt’s polytheistic religion. The Greek lan- represents the sound “ra.” These signs could be used to
guage became widespread and the Egyptians use it to spell words, like the beginning of the name of the pharaoh
-From a book by scribe develop a new alphabet called Coptic. It used mainly Ramses.
Greek letters, with a few extra signs for sounds not found
Nebmare-nakht, 12th in Greek. Another thing Champollion discovered was there are no
or 11th century BCE. hieroglyphic symbols that represent just a vowel. The
With the spread of Islam throughout North Africa, the vowel sound had to be implied, like the “a” in “ra.”
Coptic language was replaced by Arabic. By 1100 CE nei- Champollion translated many hieroglyphic texts, and
ther Egyptian writing or language were used. when he died at 42 years old he left the world a renewed
understanding of an ancient script.
When we write we use symbols to represent sounds. The But the Coptic language did live on in one form: in the
ancient Egyptians did the same, but their symbols, called text of the Coptic Church. This survival of the language Being able to understand hieroglyphs has given modern
hieroglyphs (HI-er-oh-gliffs), were more complicated and in the church would eventually be the key to understand- people a much greater appreciation of ancient Egyptian
artistic than ours. ing hieroglyphs. life. It lets us in on stories as great at those of huge battles,
as personal as love poems, and as ordinary as laundry lists,
Egyptian hieroglyphs, which were used for around 3,000 Once the meaning of hieroglyphs was forgotten, people all from a people who began writing things down over
years, were in use by the time Upper and Lower Egypt became curious about what the pictures meant. Scholars 5000 years ago.
joined in 3100 BCE. It’s not known how the Egyptians assumed that they were simple picture writing, meaning
developed hieroglyphs, whose origins were different—and that a picture of a tree represented a tree, or a picture of a
probably independent—from the cuneiform writing dog represented a dog. But this theory didn’t help crack
ancient Sumerians developed at roughly the same time. hieroglyphs. The difficulty of understanding hieroglyphs
was made worse by the fact that people had no idea what
Hieroglyphic writing didn’t stay exactly the same for language they could be based on.
thousands of years. By the Old Kingdom period, a less
complicated writing style called hieratic developed. Later, In 1799, the French army discovered the Rosetta Stone in
a form that used even more simplified signs—demotic— Egypt. The stone had the same message carved on it in
was used. Greek, demotic and hieroglyphs. Researchers could final-
ly match up Greek, a language they understood, with
Ancient Egyptian people who wrote were called scribes. hieroglyphs.
Being a scribe was a prestigious job, like being a doctor or
lawyer. The scribes learned how to write at special In 1790, a child was born who would solve the hieroglyph-
schools. Most Egyptian people did not know how to read ic question. Jean-Francois Champollion was interested in

15
THANK YOU
UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA MUSEUM
OF ARCHAEOLOGY AND ANTHROPOLOGY
For Sponsoring This
News-In-Education Program

And special thanks to the following

organizations, corporations, and
foundations for supporting Penn
Museum, the Amarna exhibition
and related programs.

The Annenberg Foundation

Connelly Foundation
Greater Philadelphia Tourism
Marketing Corporation
IBM Corporation
The National Geographic Society

Penn Museum thanks its partner Penn Museum wishes to acknowledge lead
The Franklin Institute Science Museum, support from the following individuals:
host, beginning February 3, 2007, Andrea M. Baldeck, M.D., and
of the nationally traveled blockbuster William M. Hollis, Jr.
TUTANKHAMUN AND THE Susan H. Horsey
GOLDEN AGE OF THE PHARAOHS. Mr. and Mrs. Robert M. Levy
Margaret R. Mainwaring
Frederick J. Manning Family
Gregory Annenberg Weingarten