Prostrating for the Aten

This sandstone relief comes from the early reign of Amenhotep IV (later known as Akhenaten) and based upon the style it is believed this relief was from Karnak Temple, prior to the founding of the experimental capital of Akhetaten (Amarna).

Early in his reign, Amenhotep IV (Akhenaten), like many kings before him, undertook ambitious building works at Karnak. He constructed a series of temples dedicated to the Aten, including the Gem-pa-Aten (“The Sun Disc is Found”), the Hwt Benben, and the Rud-menu. These shrines stood east of the main Amun complex and were characterised by open-air courts rather than roofed halls, reflecting the Aten’s solar nature. Built hastily in small talatat blocks, they were richly decorated with scenes of the royal family worshipping the sun disc. After his religious reforms were rejected, the temples were dismantled and their blocks reused in later Theban constructions.

This posture of prostration in Ancient Egyptian depiction of worship is highly unusual, reverence was expressed with uplifted arms or kneeling, but it did sometimes exist.

Like much in Akhenaten’s Atenist revolution, the full prostration appears here as a radical visual statement. Such imagery showcases absolute submission, emphasising that all men, even high-ranking officials, were utterly dependent on the Aten’s divine life-giving power.

From the Adolph D. and Wilkins C. Williams Fund. Now at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. 64.59a-c