Fig 1.
Akhenaten as a sphinx
Probably from Amarna
Reign of Akhenaten, 1353 - 1336 B.C. Limestone;
h. 51
cm, w. 105.5 cm, d. 5.2 cm
Egyptian Curator's Fund. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 1964 64.1944
The sphinx, an incarnation of Ra-Horakhty, the god of the rising sun,
was an
appropriate image for use by Atenists.
Akhenaten
was frequently depicted as a sphinx worshiping Aten.
-
Inscription -
West
wall of the tomb of Ay,
Tell
el-Amarna.
When
you set in western lightland,
Earth
is in darkness as if in death;
One
sleeps in chambers, heads covered,
One
eye does not see another,
Were
they robbed of their goods,
That
are under their heads,
People
would not remark it,
Every
lion comes from its den,
All
the serpents bite;
Darkness
hovers, earth is silent,
As
their maker rests in lightland.
Earth
brightens when you dawn in lightland,
When
you shine as Aten of daytime;
As
you cast your rays,
The
Two Lands are in festivity.
Awake
they stand on their feet,
You
have roused them;
Bodies
cleansed, clothed,
Their
arms adore your appearance.
Fig 2.
Fragment of a royal woman's face
Reign
of Akhenaten, 1353 - 1336 B.C. Jasper;
h. 13
cm, w. 12.5 cm, d. 11.5 cm Purchase, Edward S. Harkness Gift, 1926.
The Metropolitan
Museum of Art, New York
The semiprecious
stone and superb carving of this fragment indicate that it was part of
a statue depicting a royal woman, possibly Queen Tiye or Nefertiti. While
the face was of jasper, the remainder of the statue would have been made
of other stone. The sensuous beauty of this fragment has made it one of
the most renowned objects from the Amarna Period.
The
entire land sets out to work,
All
beasts browse on their herbs;
Trees,
herbs are sprouting,
Birds
fly from their nests,
Their
wings greeting your ka,
All
flocks frisk on their feet,
All
that fly up and alight,
They
live when you dawn for them.
Ships
fare north, fare south as well,
Roads
lie open when you rise;
The
fish in the river dart before you,
Your
rays are in the midst of the sea.
Who
makes seed grow in women,
Who
creates people from sperm;
Who
feeds the son in his mother's womb,
Who
soothes him to still his tears.
Fig 3.
Fragment of a column drum featuring the royal family worshiping
Amarna,
found at Hermopolis Reign of Akhenaten, 1353 - 1336 B.C. Limestone;
h. 22.4
cm, w. 52.5 cm, d. 6.1 cm Mary S. and Edward J. Holmes Fund. Museum of
Fine Arts, Boston, 1967 67.637
Nurse
in the womb,
Giver
of breath,
To
nourish all that he made,
When
he comes from the womb to breathe,
On
the day of his birth,
You
open wide his mouth,
You
supply his needs.
When
the chick in the egg speaks in the shell,
You
give him breath within to sustain him;
When
you have made him complete,
To
break out from the egg,
He
comes out from the egg,
To
announce his completion,
Walking
on his legs he comes from it.
[Lichtheim, M. (1976) #97-8]
Reference:
Grimal,
N. , (1992) A History of Ancient Egypt
Translated
by Ian Shaw. Oxford, UK.