Message #108

[Bianca]

A K H E N A T E N   A N D   T H E   R E L I G I O N   O F   L I G H T




THE GROTESQUE PHARAOH



The reliefs carved on the 'talatat' and the colossal statues in the Gempaaten temple
are the earliest evidence for the realization of an entirely new artistic style on Akh-
enaten's part.

Heinrich Schaafer described the impression it makes on modern beholders in the follow-
ing words in 1931:  "Anyone who steps in front of certain of these representations for
the first time, recoils from this epitome of physical repulsiveness.......



His head seems to float atop his long, thin neck.  His chest is sunken, yet there is some-
thing feminine about its form.

Below his bloated paunch and his fat thighs, his skinny calves are a match for his spin-
dly arms.  His face is deeply lined, and he has a sharply receding forehead and a weak
chin."