GEM 5853

Stela of Kings Akhenaten & Horemheb

This double-faced stela uniquely represents two very different pharaohs: Akhenaten and Horemheb. On one side, we see Akhenaten—Egypt’s most controversial religious reformer—alongside his family worshipping the Aten, the sun disc deity. Akhenaten’s reign during the 18th Dynasty (c. 1353–1336 BCE) was marked by a dramatic religious revolution. He abandoned Egypt’s traditional gods and centralized worship around Aten, relocating the capital to Akhetaten (modern-day Amarna). However, after his death, the Amarna period and its radical theology were widely rejected. The stelae and monuments of that time were often defaced or repurposed. This artifact is a perfect example: it was reused during the reign of King Horemheb, who ruled near the end of the 18th Dynasty. The back of the stela shows Horemheb making offerings to the gods Atum and Hathor—deities firmly rooted in traditional Egyptian belief. This dual-purpose monument reflects a turbulent moment in Egyptian history. It reveals how religious and political ideologies were overwritten in stone. By reusing Akhenaten’s monuments, Horemheb not only reclaimed sacred space, but also reinforced the return to orthodoxy. In doing so, he erased a heretic’s legacy and aligned himself with divine tradition. This stela, discovered in Heliopolis (ancient Iunu), serves as a physical reminder of Egypt’s resilience and its ability to reestablish spiritual order after revolutionary disruption.This double-faced stela uniquely represents two very different pharaohs: Akhenaten and Horemheb. On one side, we see Akhenaten—Egypt’s most controversial religious reformer—alongside his family worshipping the Aten, the sun disc deity. Akhenaten’s reign during the 18th Dynasty (c. 1353–1336 BCE) was marked by a dramatic religious revolution. He abandoned Egypt’s traditional gods and centralized worship around Aten, relocating the capital to Akhetaten (modern-day Amarna). However, after his death, the Amarna period and its radical theology were widely rejected. The stelae ... Discover more with Premium!

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