Free Great Hymn To The Aten Literature Review Sample

Valuable insight into the main teachings of Atenism is provided by the Great Hymn and all of foremost principles of Atenism have been outlined in it. Moreover, the differences between the philosophy of King Akhenaten, the supposed composer of this Hymn, and the primary Egyptian religion that existed before his reign have been further outlined in the lyrical verses of the Hymn.
In the very first couple of lines, the sun is portrayed as a life giver who enforces justice by journeying across the sky. The New Solar Theology also shared this belief that life on earth exists because of the sun. Additionally, the Great Hymn agrees that justice and stability are indeed enforced by Aten (sun), but that it bends all life to submit to the pharaoh. In the third stanza of the Great Hymn, the nature of the world when it is night has been discussed, and it strongly equates the darkness of night with death because the Aten is absent at night.
According to the Great Hymn, whenever the Aten arises and bathes the earth with its rays, all the earthly creatures wake up joyfully to see their creator. A novel approach is taken by the Great Hymn to the conventional topic of creation. Unlike conventional forms of Egyptian religion, creation is approached from an angle that makes sense within its emphasis on the present. In other words, the Great Hymn addresses creation in the form of human reproduction, and credits the Aten for providing the breath of life, or creating conditions possible for creation to take place.
The cosmopolitan nature and diversity of the world has also been praised in the Great Hymn, and at the same time, the perfection that is supplied by the Aten to the earthly creatures has also been proposed. Finally, the Great Hymn mentions that within the Egyptian sphere, only the king properly understands the Aten, which makes him the only source of stability. Apparently, the conclusion of the Great Hymn is that the king is the Aten's son, and the Aten wakes up the world specifically for him. It is obvious that the pharaohs of Egypt had amassed unchallenged power around themselves, and the last few stanzas of the Great Hymn seem to suggest that Akhenaten is being biased and drawing attention to himself.