'The Great Heresy'?
As was mentioned previously, there are generally two camps of scholars when it comes to Akhenaten- those who consider him a heretic and those who see him as the culmination of various trends in politics, art and religion. I just wish to briefly explore this topic now. It has already been concluded that the truth lies between the two theories. It must be also noted that the victors write the history books, then as well as now. Would be even consider the term 'heretic' if he had succeeded in establishing the Aten cult as the sole religion of ancient Egypt? Likewise, if Constantine had failed to convert the Roman Empire to Christianity, would we consider him a heretic just as Julian the Apostate has been vilified throughout history? Where would George Washington stand in our history books if he was killed by the British and the Revolutionary War had been lost? These are not aimless hypotheticals; on the contrary, I feel they are important considerations. Thus, please keep in mind when weighing the actions that Akhenaten took. In some ways he went against everything the old Egyptian religion stood for. In other ways he was a visionary, building a city and changing a civilization.
