| We hope you enjoy your visit. You're currently viewing our forum as a guest. This means you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are some features you can't use. If you join our community, you'll be able to access member-only sections, and use many member-only features such as customizing your profile, sending personal messages, and voting in polls. Registration is simple, fast, and completely free. Join our community! If you're already a member please log in to your account to access all of our features: |
| Akhenaten - current discussion on radio; Melvyn Bragg's Radio 4 programme | |
|---|---|
| Topic Started: Oct 4 2009, 01:53 PM (116 Views) | |
| Mayati | Oct 4 2009, 01:53 PM Post #1 |
|
This is a fascinating discussion between 3 contemporary archaeologists chaired by Melvyn Bragg. It was broadcast on 1/10/09 but is currently still available on BBC I-player. I enjoyed the half-hour programme immensely, and naturally wished it could have been at least twice as long! Of course, a lot of time was taken up explaining the basic details of Akhenaten's life and his contemporary importance and relevance. The discussion clarified several aspects which had not previously occurred to me even though I have read several books and articles on the Great One, for example, the Egyptians' concept of Maat, the order which kept the hierarchy of the empire stable, was also the reason that by the time of Akhenaten the Egyptian society had been in a state of stagnation for hundreds of generations. Also, archaeologists have deciphered one of the badly damaged boundary stelae at Amarna, where Akhenaten seems to be referring to "bad things" which had prompted him to abandon the old capital and start afresh on virgin soil. What would these be? The corruption of the priests of Amun? A physical danger such as plague? This and other points raised remained unanswered, either from lack of time, or because further discoveries remain to be made. It was also unfortunate that there was no time for the participants to mention their sources, for example one alleged that there is now a school of thought that states that Akhenaten was not the first monotheist, but the first atheist! Perhaps someone can identify that quote (or has someone been reading too much Richard Dawkins!) Unfortunately, although they gave a very good account of Atenism in its context as the great innovation in ancient Egyptian religion, there was no mention at all of Atenism in the 21st century. I feel that another programme is necessary to rectify this! I hope some of you will be able to catch the programme this week, as I would be interested to hear your views. Living in truth! |
 |
 
|
| 1 user reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous) | |
 Join the millions that use us for their forum communities. Create your own forum today. |
|
| « Previous Topic · General Discussion · Next Topic » |
3:26 PM Feb 6