Through the Eras

ReligionAn oracle indicates Thutmose III is thelegitimate king to follow Thutmose II, thefirst known use of oracles in ancientEgypt.1478–1458 Hatshepsut, a female king ruling with thechild-king Thutmose III, describes herconception through the agency of the godAmun at her temple in Deir el Bahri.1390–1353 The first known burial of the Apis bull, atemple animal worshipped as an incarnationof the god Ptah, occurs during thistime.King Amenhotep III disassembles theWhite Chapel at Karnak built by KingSenwosret I (1919–1875 B.C.E.) to expandthe Temple of Amun in Karnak.King Amunhotep III takes the title “TheDazzling Disk of the Sun,” a step towardidentifying the king with the sun itself.1353–1336 Amenhotep IV (Akhenaten), with his wifeNefertiti, decrees the worship of the sundisk (Aten) and the closing of all othertemples in Egypt. He moves the religiouscapital to modern Amarna (Akhetaten) inMiddle Egypt from the traditional capitalin Thebes, home of the god Amun.1332–1322 King Tutankhamun returns the religiouscapital to Thebes and reopens the templesof other gods throughout Egypt.Tutankhamun is buried with the Book ofthe Heavenly Cow, part of a number ofnew royal funeral texts that are popularuntil the end of the New Kingdom.1322–1319 King Ay includes the Book of Gates in histomb, a new description of the afterlife.1292–1075 Non-royal Egyptians are first shown intombs praying and making offerings atchapels. Some scholars believe this camein response to the religious upheaval ofAkhenaten’s time (1353–1336 B.C.E.).1075–945 Priests of the god Amun at Thebes controlUpper and Middle Egypt as the centralgovernment declines.1075–954 The priest of the god Amun is buried withthe Amduat (“What is in the Underworld”),an honor previously restricted tokings.716–702 During the reign of King Shabaka, a copyof the text known as the Memphite Theologyis inscribed on stone. This creationstory stresses creation through speech, notunlike descriptions of creation that willlater appear in the biblical books of Genesisand the Gospel of John.664–525 A revision of the Book of the Dead becomesnewly popular.Animal mummification increases greatlyand continues to the end of ancientEgyptian history.Cult guilds that worship one god becomepopular among non-royal people.Arts and Humanities Through the Eras: Ancient Egypt (2675 B.C.E.–332 B.C.E.) 207