A PROGRAM OF POLITICAL THEOLOGY IN AMARNA TOMB ART : IMAGERY AS METAPHOR.

Format:

Book

Thesis/Dissertation

Author/Creator:

Meyers, Elizabeth Louise.

Contributor:

University of Pennsylvania.

Subjects (All):

Art.

0357.

Local Subjects:

0357.

Physical Description:

399 pages

Contained In:

Dissertation Abstracts International 42-11A.

System Details:

Mode of access: World Wide Web.

text file

Summary:

This dissertation addressed the question of whether or not it is possible to distinguish an underlying program for the structure and decorative images of the tombs belonging to officials of Akhenaten at Tell El Amarna.

In the context of this problem, it is demonstrated that the tomb relief decoration emerges as a skillful blend of the officials career with the doctrine of Atenism. In the process of trying to resolve the public with the private, the dilemma between the conflicting traditions of kingship: one, held in conjunction with the old religion of the Amun priesthood; the other, held as part of the new religion of the Aten practiced by Akhenaten during the Amarna period. By using the tombs of the deceased officials as a context for the articulation of a definition of kingship, the tombs and their decoration provide a ritualistic compromise between the religious factions. How this compromise was achieved is the subject of the program analysis.

To demonstrate how the transference from the personal to the political is achieved an analysis of the two primary texts inscribed in each tomb: the hymn to the Aten and the prayer to the king, has been made. Because the tombs have never been examined as a group to determine their expressive content, it has been necessary to establish either what actually is depicted in the visual images, or, how those images related to the accompanying texts. The study has resulted in a demonstration of how the liturgy of the Aten hymn and prayer can be seen to provide a context for the architectural structure and compositional program of the rock-tomb reliefs. Furthermore, the study has resulted in establishing the interrelationships of the political with the visual as the underlying principle of the tomb program. In the individual cases, the study has, in addition, been able to correlate titles with the visual program and how it has been tailored to the specific individual. The program is a carefully constructed one in which the religious and the political rely on the role of Akhenaten as king without sacrificing identification of the individual officials career.

The study demonstrates that the content of the tombs is not isolated from the reality of their contemporary world, but rather a political extension of it. The reciprocal relationship between image and text proves the framework for the visual ensemble of the tombs. By denying the religious oligarchy of the Amun priesthood, the king publically legitimizes his political authority and his religious right to do so, and in so doing re-establishes traditional sovereign prerogatives.

Notes:

Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 42-11, Section: A, page: 4630.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Pennsylvania, 1981.

Local Notes:

School code: 0175.

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license.