Religious Hymn of Akhenaten to the Sun Essay

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Having got familiar with the piece, it becomes clear that Ancient Egypt worships God for creating all things on Earth. It is explained that God created animals, people, and nature according to one’s heart, and moreover, God is said to be almighty with “powers no other possesses.” Furthermore, he has created people giving life to men, women, and children, “Creator of the egg in woman / Maker of seed in man / Giving life to the son in the body of his mother.” Consequently, it is mentioned that God created seasons, and it is he who makes everyone and everything on this planet lives, “When you rise, they live / They grow by thee.” The hymn also includes him bringing light to the world, welcoming every living creature to do their work.

From the first lines of the hymn, one realizes that Aten is responsible for initially bringing light to the Earth when one rises from the horizon in the East. However, when God sets in the West, everything becomes filled with darkness, “The earth is in darkness like the dead.” In addition, he is known for his changing forms while creating days and nights day by day, “thou art Aten of the day over the earth.” To sum up, Aten is admired since he rules over the sky, bringing life to everything every morning.

Akhenaten is known for his intermediary position between the God Aten and his people, the Egyptians. His role is understandable as Akhenaten is Aten’s son, which is clear from the following line, “There is no other that knows thee / Save thy son Akhenaten.” Furthermore, Akhenaten was the one who declared his father to be not one of the creators but the only God on Earth.

As stated previously, Akhenaten is the son of Aten and is the only one who knows his will. His transmitter position between Egyptians and God himself proves the mentioned point, “There is no other that knows thee.” To be more exact, in this line, Aten is referred to as “thee,” while Akhenaten is stated to be the only one close enough to the creator to know his aims and desires. Another critical point is that God is appraised for making his child wise in his designs and might.

It is highly noticeable that Egyptian hymns tend to include numerous praises and compliments to Gods, primarily focusing on their positive traits and outstanding accomplishments. However, the Hymn of Akhenaten to the Sun, though worships Aten for his doing, also includes his achievements that people admire. Furthermore, even though the piece seems to be composed by God’s son, Akhenaten, his congratulations are reasonable and trustworthy, without exaggerating and unnecessary overstatements.

To begin with, the hymns of the Christian religion are mainly directed to God, as believers know him, and include only praises to him, referring to him either directly or indirectly. Jewish stories are essentially composed to be further accompanied by music even from the early times. In addition, the Judaism texts embody not only religion’s ideas or notions but also narrate about cultural, historical, and social heritages of people. Similarly, Islamic hymns tend to be also organized with music, rhythm, and special attention to intonation. Still, the last aspect emerges from the story’s or hymn’s meaning and detail, not from the musical mode itself. Overall, it is clear that Egyptian pieces are less focused on the music and are primarily meant to narrate the meaning of events or stories to the audience.

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