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The Sincerity of Egyptian Worship
Although it is ancient, the poem “The Great Hymn to the Aten” was full of figurative language. Akhenaten, the pharaoh at the time, attempted to convert Egypt to monotheism through praising only the Sun God, Aten, in forms such as this poem. Through his use of figurative language, Akhenaten is able to appear very sincere in his message. Specifically, Akhenaten uses language and imagery in the poem to create a reverent tone toward Aten.
Egyptian Pharaoh Akhenaten
Akhenaten uses language in his story to convey the Sun God, Aten, in a reverent way. One way, specifically, is when he says, “Your rays nurse all fields” (Lichtheim 42). The use of the word nurse makes the reader think of a loving and caring figure, and by comparing a feature of Aten’s to a nurse, the reader feels as if Aten is also a loving and caring figure. In another line, Akhenaten says, “Thou makest a Nile in the underworld” (Lichtheim 41). The Nile River was and still is a very important resource to Egypt. By saying that he is able to create such an important resource in the underworld, a very bad place to most people, Aten’s power seems very great and, again, makes Aten seem good. The last way the author characterizes Aten positively is found in the quote, “…O Devine Lord of them All…Lord of every land...” (Lichtheim 42). The use of the word “O” shows that Akhenaten is talking to a figure that will not respond, which makes the entire poem seem like worship or a prayer towards an important figure (Aten). Overall, the language used in the passage is a clear way of showing the positive qualities of Aten while there is no negative language to counter it. It is hard not to see Aten as good after reading this poem.