Akhenaten

Biography

Akhenaten was a bold and controversial pharaoh of the 18th Dynasty who introduced a new religion centered on worshiping Aten, the sun disk. He abandoned Egypt’s many gods and built a new capital city, Akhetaten (modern Amarna). His statues broke artistic norms by showing him with elongated limbs, a curved belly, and an androgynous face—reflecting his spiritual transformation. This "Amarna style" shocked Egyptian society. Akhenaten’s rule was short-lived, and his reforms were reversed after his death, but his unique statues remain a striking chapter in Egyptian art and religious history.