Podcast Episodes

120: Reverend Mother

Akhenaten (Part 10): Queen Tiye's Retirement. For the first decade of Akhenaten's rule, his mother Tiye was a background figure. But we have more evidence for her later years than you'd expect, inclu…

Published on 5 years, 10 months ago

Mini Episode: The Doomed Prince

Ancient Fairytales (Part 2). Sometime in the 18th Dynasty, perhaps around the time of Akhenaten, a fairy-tale became popular in Egypt. The story spoke of a prince, forced to flee his home after a pro…

Published on 5 years, 11 months ago

Mini Episode: The Tale of Two Brothers

Ancient Fairytales (Part 1). In the late 18th or early 19th Dynasties, a story developed in Egypt. It told of two siblings, Anubis and Bata, who contended with injustice and misfortune. Facing treach…

Published on 5 years, 11 months ago

119: Tut-ankh-Aten (Tutankhamun the Prince)

Akhenaten (Part 9): A Royal Son. By 1352 BCE, Akhenaten and his family were well ensconced in the palaces of Amarna. The pharaoh could enjoy the company of his Great Wife, Nefertiti, and his three el…

Published on 6 years ago

118b: Funding the Aten Temples

Around 1354 BCE (regnal year 8), Akhenaten took care to organise his new royal city. Among other things he expanded the agricultural domain which would serve Aten (the sun god), and he also appointed…

Published on 6 years ago

118: The Temples of Aten

Amarna (Part 5): Great Temples. When he established his new residence-city, Akhenaten made special provision for his god’s house. Two great temples, dedicated to the solar disc, rose on the east bank…

Published on 6 years, 1 month ago

Interview: Akhnaten (a MetOpera cast)

In 1983, Philip Glass debuted his opera Akhnaten, a bold musical exploration of the pharaoh, his reign and his legacy. Now, Akhnaten returns in a new run. Akhnaten by The Metropolitan Opera, in New Y…

Published on 6 years, 1 month ago

117: Adoring Ra

Precursors to Atenism.

The god Aten has a long history; and in the 18th Dynasty, many Egyptians were praising the sun god in a variety of forms (Ra, Atum, Horakhty, Aten, Khepri etc). Akhenaten's refo…

Published on 6 years, 1 month ago

116: Adoring Aten

Akhenaten (Part 7): The Great Hymn to Aten.

In 1356 BCE, Egypt sweltered under the heat of Aten's rays; the god's servant, King Akhenaten, glorified the deity above all. We see this in some remarkable…

Published on 6 years, 1 month ago

Mini: Deir el-Amarna

Amarna Tales (Part 1). East of Akhet-Aten (Amarna), a walled-village hides among the hills. This "East Village" is a well-ordered, secluded community. It seems to be the new home of pharaoh's tomb bu…

Published on 6 years, 3 months ago