"Hymn to Aten" (link to reading)
Author: Unknown
Date: c. 14th century BCE
Location: Egypt
Course Unit: Origins
Context:
"Few personalities of the ancient world excite as much interest for scholars, artists, religious believers and general public as Akhenaten, the Egyptian ruler who carried out a fundamental reform of religion and political ideology in the mid-14th century BCE. He introduced and supported the cult of the sun disc (called the Aten) as the only god venerated by the king and his royal family." (Janák)
Janák, Jiří. "Monotheism or Monopoly? Akhenaten and His Religious-Political Reform." Friends of ASOR, vol. 9, no. 5, 2021, https://www.asor.org/anetoday/2021/05/monotheism-monopoly-akhenaten.
Topics/Questions to Consider While Reading:
How do human beings fit into the world?
How many gods are there?
What is the relationship between the gods and human beings?
What is the relationship between nature and human beings?