This is a scene you are used to seeing from Ancient Egypt; a triumphant, dominating king, with a pleading & subdued enemy. But here, the tables have turned. Here the king of Egypt is the pleading subdued one, as the “Achaemenid King of Kings” holds the power. The king of Egypt pleading with the Achaemenian...
According to the Greek writer, Polyaenus, c. 200 A.D., the Persians, during their successful attempt at occupying Egypt 525 B.C., used sacred animals as bait and protection against the Egyptian military. In this painting by Paul-Marie Lenoir from 1872, we see that cats are being slung and thrown to their death in front of the...
The Great Hymn to Aten is one of the most famous texts from Akhenaten’s reign. It describes Aten as the sole creator, sustainer of life, and a universal omnipresent deity, making it one of the earliest religious texts that resemble later monotheistic traditions. The hymn, inscribed in Akhenaten’s tomb at Tel el-Amarna, praises Aten as...
