Authority of the Sun God
What is authority? The Merriam-Webster dictionary provides several definitions for this word. Authority is a person with a high level of knowledge or skill in a field, the lawful control over the affairs of a political unit (as a nation), the power to direct the thinking or behavior of others usually indirectly, and the right or means to command or control others. Authority is an important term and idea that has been present throughout the history of ancient literature in every culture in the world. “The Great Hymn To The Aten” is a perfect example when it comes to presenting the idea of authority. This Egyptian hymn is dedicated to the sun as creator and sustainer of the world. The sun god Aten is an authority in this case because of his connection and influence to his human counterparts, the king and the queen. By following Aten, the king initiated a religious and political revolution, built a new capital, and changed his name to Akhenaten, which means “He who is effective for Aten.”
In “The Great Hymn To The Aten,” Aten is described with features of authority , because he is capable of doing things that normal human beings cannot do. When the hymn begins, Aten is immediately praised: “Splendid you rise in heaven’s lightland / O living Aten, creator of life!” (30). He fills the land with beauty and is high over every land. In “Your rays embrace the land,” Aten is described as the sun and the source of light for the land. Furthermore in “As you dispel the dark,” it is saying that Aten has the ability to get rid of death. The hymn associates Aten with fertility in the lines “Who makes seed grow in women, / Who created people from sperm; / Who feeds the son in his mother’s womb, / Who soothes him to still his tears” (31). Because Aten provides fertility to women, he is also the “Giver of breath.” In other words, he is the giver of life.
Another point that the hymn shows Aten as an authoriy figure is his power to control the fields with his rays. His power can be seen in the lines “Your rays nurse all field, / When you shine they live, they grow for you; / You made the seasons to foster all that you made, / Winter to cool them, heat that they taste you. / You made the far sky to shine therein, / To behold all that you made” (32). From his power to control the seasons in nature, Aten also decides the well-being in nature. Like a source of fertility, Aten’s light also supplies life to all animals on earth as described in “All beasts browse on their herbs; / Birds fly from their nests, / Their wings greeting your ka. / They live when you dawn for them. / Roads lie open when you rise; / The fish in the river dart before you, / Your rays are in the midst of the sea” (31). People’s needs are no exception in terms of where they come from. Indeed, Aten is the one who provides them these needs. He distinguishes the people in their speech, characters, and skin color.
“The Great Hymn To The Aten” gives importance to the idea of authority and shows how an abstract figure, Aten, gives much more influence to an existing physical authority, in this case the king Akhenaten. It is interesting to see how the king believed in all these powers that the god Aten had when it is possible that he only promoted Aten to assert more of his own power over his people. By following the authority of Aten, the king can maintain his authority, because he is closely connected to the sun god Aten. In this sense, religion is a source of power.
Aiying Chen
2 responses so far
“The Great Hymn to the Aten,” in my opinion, is a great example of a “good” authority figure. Unlike Unis in “The Death Cannibal Spell for King Unis” Aten is the complete opposite of. Even the overall way the text is written shows the femaninity of Aten and how she is viewed as the mother of all things. Like you have stated, “O living Aten, creator of life!” she creates all things from the light in the sky, to the animals on land, to the seeds on the earth.
A true authority figure is one who is respected and gives respect. Aten is a perfect example of that. She doesn’t frighten the people to obey her but merely shows them her powers of everything she can control. Without her, nothing would exist.
I agree with your premise that Aten is considered an Authority figure in Egyptian society. My main concern stems with your conclusion that Aten derives his authority from the fact he can do things that no other “normal” human being can do. I believe this assumption is automatically assumed since Aten is a God of the Egyptian society, and being a God excludes him from being mortal and limited to mortal achievements. Now if we were to look as Aten in the context of the pharaoh (the human conduit of Aten), then we must look at the pharaoh’s achievements and compare them to other achievements to support your conclusion that Aten can do things no other humans can do.