From Stuart Leslie
In Jo Marchant’s article designed to debunk theories about Tutankhamun (15 January, p 42), it is a shame that a couple of myths surrounding his probable father, Akhenaten, seem to have been perpetuated. Probably the most mythologised character in history after Jesus, Akhenaten was, I believe, neither a heretic nor a monotheist.
The idea of heresy, meaning a departure of belief from a strict orthodoxy, was invented by a particular sect of Christians approximately between the years 110 and 150, and there was no concept like it before then. There was, anyway, no fixed theology or belief system in Ancient Egypt, and deities continually changed and evolved.
What’s more, a number of minor gods and spirits appear in Akhenaten’s official paintings and relief carvings, and images of other gods were found in the houses of his major officials. There is also no direct evidence that he suppressed worship or closed the temples of any gods other than Amun.
Jo Marchant writes:
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• With very little information available about Akhenaten and Tutankhamun, there will always be differing opinions on this subject. The feature went with the mainstream view, using as one of its sources the respected Egyptian historian Nicholas Reeves.
In his book The Complete Tutankhamun, Reeves writes about how Akhenaten imposed “a new order” on his subjects. Its basic tenet says “there is but one god, the Aten, the sole creator and gentle benefactor of mankind”.
As for whether Akhenaten was a heretic, it is obviously true that he wasn’t in the formal sense of disagreeing with the Roman Catholic church. The word heretic was used to suggest to the reader that his opinions were at odds with what was generally accepted at the time.
Dorrigo, New South Wales, Australia
