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Baking is one place where you don’t have a lot of wiggle room. Read a recipe wrong or try an ingredient substitution‚ and the results can become very unpredictable. So when a recipe says to “whip to firm peaks‚” you know we want to get it right! Here’s a visual guide to help us out. The stages of “peaks” is the same for beating egg whites or making whipped cream. In this guide‚ we’re using whipped cream. READ MORE...

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Tutankhamun’s funerary mask. Source: Istock   Tutankhamun is one of the most famous people in history‚ but behind the shimmering golden mask and piles of ancient treasures is a surprisingly obscure man. There are glaring gaps in the historical record that deprive us of basic details of his life‚ but the details we do know paint a fascinating picture. King Tut’s life and afterlife are a remarkable story of one boy’s rise into glory‚ only to fall into oblivion again before a glorious resurrection thousands of years after his death.   King Tut: A Boy Who Would Be King The Mask of Tutankhamun‚ held at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo‚ via Wikimedia Commons   Tutankhamun’s origins are shrouded in mystery. He was born around 1342 BCE towards the end of what Egyptologists call the 18th Dynasty. He was probably the son of the infamous heretic Pharaoh Akhenaten who overthrew Egypt’s traditional religion in favor of the exclusive worship of the solar deity Aten. Tut’s birth name was Tutankhaten (Living Image of Aten) to honor his father’s god.   Tut’s mother is a point of debate. Akhenaten’s famous wife Nefertiti‚ a lesser wife named Kiya‚ or one of Akhenaten’s sisters have been suggested as candidates. DNA studies on the subject have suggested his mother’s body is the one known as the KV35 ‘Younger Lady’ but this connection and the body’s identity have proven controversial with scholars.   Bust of Nefertiti‚ one of the potential mothers of Tutankhamun‚ via Staatliche Museen zu Berlin‚   Tut’s childhood was spent in his father’s holy city at the modern site of Amarna. There he was raised by his wet nurse‚ Maia‚ whose impressive tomb at Saqqara shows that Tut held her in high regard for the rest of his life. Princes are rarely shown in artwork in the 18th Dynasty so a handful of scattered artifacts and one possible inscription are all that survive of his early years.   Akhenaten’s reign was one of controversy and confusion. The temples of Ancient Egypt were important social and economic institutions‚ so when Akhenaten withdrew support for them in favor of his new god it had a destabilizing effect on all of Egyptian society. Diplomatic records also paint a picture of an empire in decline as Akhenaten neglected foreign affairs to focus on his religious reforms. Furthermore‚ analysis of human remains at Amarna suggests that while the royals were languishing the commoners were undernourished and overworked. Far from a religious paradise‚ Amarna seems more like a vanity project where Akhenaten pursued his zealotry as his nation withered away.   A Difficult Childhood ‘The Princess Fresco’ depicting two of Tutankhamun’s sisters‚ Amarna‚ ~1340 BC‚ via the Ashmolean Museum   Tut himself faced as many challenges as Egypt did. Tut’s mummy indicates a cleft lip that would have made it difficult for him to breastfeed and could have stunted his development. Studies have also suggested a variety of other ailments‚ from a club foot to anemia‚ that could have afflicted Tut from birth. There is no consensus on whether these studies are correct‚ but it is certainly plausible that Tut was saddled with many health problems from the start.   Tut was beset by tragedy from an early age. All but one of his six sisters probably died before his tenth birthday. Tut’s revered grandmother Tiye did not live much past his 5th birthday. His probable mother‚ the KV35 Younger Lady‚ shows catastrophic damage from a fatal accident that probably occurred shortly after Tut was born.   Akhenaten himself would die around 1336 BCE. Egyptologists disagree on the chronology of events at the end of Akhenaten’s reign. Two ephemeral Pharaohs named Smenkhkare and Nefeneferuaten ruled alongside or after Akhenaten. The first might be Tut’s elder brother while the latter could be his mother or step-mother Nefertiti under a different name‚ or perhaps his eldest sister Meritaten. Whoever they were‚ they vanished as quickly as they appeared. By 1334 BCE‚ 9-year-old Tut had lost almost all of his family and now had Egypt resting upon his shoulders.   The Boy King                    Statue of Horemheb and his wife Amenia‚ ~1330 BCE‚ via the British Museum‚   The Egypt that Tutankhamun inherited was torn apart by religious strife‚ afflicted by social and economic unrest‚ and faced a complete collapse of its imperial power abroad. It would be difficult for any ruler‚ let alone a child‚ to face those challenges. Fortunately‚ Tut was not alone. His third-eldest sister Ankhesenpaaten was still alive and he had two powerful allies to call upon: Ay‚ an experienced statesman who might in fact be Nefertiti’s father‚ and a younger military man called Horemheb. With Tut being so young‚ Ay and Horemheb might deserve the lion’s share of the credit for the actions of Tut’s reign.   The new administration’s first concern was to backpedal the unpopular and damaging religious reforms of Akhenaten. Under the guidance of Ay and Horemheb‚ Tut restored royal funding to the old temples‚ abandoned the city of Amarna‚ and dropped the ‘Aten’ element of his and his sister’s names in favor of the older god Amun‚ becoming Tutankhamun and Ankhesenamun as we know them today. Across Egypt‚ statues and inscriptions of the old gods that Akhenaten had defaced were repaired and restored.   Tutankhamun chasing down enemies on a chariot‚ form a box in the Pharaoh’s tomb‚ via Wikimedia Commons   Artwork‚ such as that found on a box inside his tomb‚ shows Tutankhamun riding a chariot and executing war captives‚ suggesting that the young Pharaoh undertook military activity during his reign. Egyptologists disagree over whether these images are pure propaganda or accurate records of events. Tut’s age suggests that‚ if he did go to war‚ it was only later in his reign — it would be quite absurd for any 11-year-old‚ no matter how royal‚ to charge into battle on a chariot. The other complications are Tut’s theorized disabilities‚ especially his club foot which might have made it impossible for him to fight.   It’s likely that Horemheb took up the responsibility of waging war. Horemheb’s tomb in Saqqara shows him offering war captives to the king and Horemheb’s military titles are strong evidence for him acting as Pharaoh’s stand-in on the battlefield. Most likely‚ these campaigns were in Asia to restore lands lost due to Akhenaten’s neglect and to confront the rising power of the Hittites who were challenging Egyptian hegemony in Canaan and Syria.   Tutankhamun’s Dynasty Gilded throne depicting Tutankhamun and Ankhesenamun‚ via Wikimedia Commons   One thing that often surprises people about Tut is that he was a father. Inside a small box in the treasury of his tomb‚ archaeologists discovered the mummified fetuses of two girls. The first was stillborn about 6 months into the pregnancy‚ while the latter was about 8 or 9 months along. Queen Ankhesenamun is Tut’s only known wife and therefore the most likely candidate for their mother‚ although it is not impossible that Tut had unrecorded mistresses or secondary wives who could have borne these children.   Without children to hand‚ Tut appears to have made a provision for Horemheb to be his contingency successor. Horemheb was bestowed the title of Hereditary Prince which is known to designate the successor. Horemheb gave that same title to his own heir Paramessu‚ who became Ramesses I. However‚ it’s reasonable to assume that this was just a contingency plan should Tut die without heirs. There is no reason to believe that Tut wasn’t planning on having more children to succeed him in Horemheb’s place. Unfortunately‚ Tut’s contingency would be needed sooner than he expected.   The Death of Tutankhamun A facial reconstruction of Tut by Moreas et al‚ 2023‚ via Research Gate   Tutankhamun died suddenly when he was no older than 19. Speculation about what killed him is a story for another time‚ but the simple answer is that we don’t know. Evidence suggests that Tut’s death was unexpected though. His burial goods were not ready and his tomb was unfinished. Whether an accident‚ illness‚ murder‚ or another cause‚ it seems Tut’s death caught Egypt unprepared.   Not only were there no royal children‚ but Hittite records and other circumstantial evidence suggest that Egypt was at war with the Hittite Empire around the time of his death. It’s likely that Horemheb was commanding this effort in Asia when Tut died and was not present for his death or funeral.   Burying Tutankhamun Tutankhamun’s mummified head‚ via Wellcome Collection   Tradition held that 90 days should transpire between a person’s death and their burial. This allowed time for the burial to be prepared and the body to be mummified. However‚ the grand tomb that Tut planned was not ready‚ so Tut was given an alternative tomb in the Valley of the Kings. The most likely scenario is that this was Ay’s tomb. Non-royals‚ including a couple many believe to be Ay’s parents‚ were sometimes granted tombs in the Valley‚ and Ay’s advanced age meant that his tomb was further along. Still‚ even this was far from finished. Only the burial chamber in Tut’s tomb was decorated and many of his treasures show signs of being repurposed from other burials.   Tut’s death is estimated to have taken place around the end of the year 1323 BCE. This is based on Hittite records which record the death of an Egyptian king and the request for a prince around the end of a campaigning season. However‚ analysis shows that flowers found in Tut’s tomb only bloomed in the spring‚ suggesting that much more than 90 days passed between Tut’s death and his burial. It is plausible that the confusion over succession caused this delay. It was tradition for the new Pharaoh to perform certain rituals for the dead Pharaoh‚ so Tut’s funeral had to wait until one was available.   Succeeding Tutankhamun North Wall decorations of Tutankhamun’s burial chamber showing Pharaoh Ay on the right performing the ‘Opening of the Mouth’ ceremony on the mummified Tutankhamun‚ via EgyptMuseum.com   Tut’s death set off a cascade of events whose vagueness in the historical record are equal parts frustrating and captivating.   With her husband gone‚ the widowed Ankhesenamun tried to secure her place on the throne by marrying a Hittite prince. This bold ploy shocked the Hittites too‚ but eventually‚ the Hittite King Suppiliulima sent one of his sons to Egypt as a groom. However‚ he died en route. It’s widely believed that someone in Egypt had him killed. Anhkesenamun’s intentions from the faulty plan‚ but clearly‚ they failed‚ The Queen vanished from the historical record soon after‚ taking her bloodline with her.   It was the aging vizier Ay who would follow the boy king to the throne. Ay appears in Tut’s tomb decorations performing the rituals that each Pharaoh owed to their predecessor. Some speculate that he had a hand in the Hittite prince’s demise‚ if not Tut’s as well‚ as he tried to steal the throne for his own.   Horemheb’s position on events is also unclear. While he was probably in Asia when Tut died‚ there would have been plenty of time for him to return for the funeral. However‚ Horemheb is completely absent from Tut’s burial goods‚ which is bizarre for such a powerful official and the man who was probably Tut’s legitimate heir. For whatever reason‚ Horemheb does not appear to have been present and he all but disappears from the historical record for several years.   A Lost King Traces of Tut’s name can be found beneath where Horemheb replaced it with his own on this statue of Tutankhamun‚ 1332-1323 BCE‚ via the British Museum   Ay would not reign for long. After no more than 4 years‚ Ay followed his predecessor into the grave and Horemheb finally ascended to the throne of Egypt. Again‚ we know precious little of what happened‚ but Horemheb’s vicious attacks on statues‚ tombs‚ and inscriptions mentioning Ay or his allies alludes to a serious factional struggle and possibly a brief civil war. It was not in the nature of Egyptian authorities to leave records of things that reflected negatively on them. If a war did happen‚ Horemheb would never want it known that he spilled Egyptian blood and we would never expect to find clear records of it.   This attitude of erasing things that reflected negatively on Horemheb or Egypt writ large was a defining feature of Horemheb’s reign. Akhenaten was long dead‚ but the scars of his controversial religious reformation remained. Horemheb decided to erase the black mark of Akhenaten and his legacy from Egypt forever. Starting in Horemheb’s reign‚ the Egyptian authorities systematically erased all references to the so-called Amarna period — including not only Akhenaten and Nefertiti‚ but Tutankhamun and Ay too. Every official inscription was erased‚ every statue destroyed or recarved‚ almost every temple torn down. Horemheb even used blocks from Akhenaten’s old temple as filler for his new constructions. It was one of the most elaborate and successful damnatio memoriae campaigns in Egyptian history.   There was one place Horemheb’s destruction never touched though: Tut’s tomb. On the contrary‚ the seal that archaeologists would break in 1922 was put up by Horemheb’s officials who repaired and resealed the tomb after a break-in during Horemheb’s reign. This contrasts to Horemheb’s treatment of Ay‚ whose tomb was opened and every image of the man destroyed.   Millennia in Oblivion Close-up of Horemheb from a statue group with Horus‚ ~1319-1292 BCE‚ contained in the Kunsthistorisches Museum‚ Vienna‚ via Wikimedia Commons   Within a few generations‚ almost no one in Egypt would have remembered the lost boy king. Within a hundred years or so‚ it’s likely that no one at all remembered Tutankhamun. By the time of Cleopatra in the 1st century BCE‚ it’s probable that no one had even spoken Tut’s name in a thousand years.   Ironically‚ this was Tut’s saving grace. When Egyptian royal power waned a few centuries after Tut’s death‚ the tombs of the Valley of the Kings were pillaged by priests and pilferers eager for the gold locked away with the dead pharaohs. By this time‚ many tombs including Tut’s had been covered over by landslides and debris from periodic flooding‚ but records preserved the locations of those royal burials. Horemheb’s own town was thoroughly looted‚ as was that of Tut’s esteemed grandfather Amenhotep III; even mighty Ramesses II’s tomb was plucked clean of all its treasures. But Tut‚ and Tut alone‚ was untouched. After all‚ no record of him existed. No one even knew there was a tomb of Tutankhamun to look for in the first place.   Rediscovering a King — Howard Carter Howard Carter‚ 1924‚ via Encyclopedia Britannica   It would take 3‚000 years for traces of Tut to re-emerge when scattered references to him were found in his birthplace of Amarna in the late 19th century. At long last‚ a handful of people spoke Tut’s name again‚ but Egyptologists at the time knew practically nothing about him other than that he was a short-lived king from the 18th Dynasty.   They concluded that he must have had a tomb in the Valley but most archaeologists believed it was one of the already discovered but unattributed burials. One archaeologist named Theodore Davies found a small tomb in 1908 which he wrongly attributed to Tut. In his 1912 report‚ Davies issued one of history’s greatest incorrect predictions: “I fear the Valley of the Tombs is now exhausted.”   Ten years later‚ excavators working under Howard Carter proved Davies wrong. On November 4th 1922‚ a workman found a stone step leading into the ground. What followed was one of the most incredible archaeological discoveries in history. An intact royal tomb full of priceless treasures turned Tut from a virtually unknown minor Pharaoh into a global celebrity.   The Resurrection of King Tut King Tut Lemons‚ 1920s‚ via the Centre for Sacramento History   Sensational media coverage followed every step of the discovery and it took years to catalog and extract everything from the tomb. The treasures that poured out captivated the world. Of course‚ the crowning glory of them all was Tut’s iconic golden burial mask whose shining visage isn’t just a symbol for him‚ but of Egypt and even history itself. His name and image have since appeared on everything from stamps to lemons. Tut’s treasures have drawn millions to Egypt and its museums but they have also acted as ambassadors around the world. A series of globe-spanning tours brought the magic and mystery of the boy king to tens of millions‚ further cementing Tut’s place as one of the most famous figures in history. The tomb has been an academic treasure too. As the only intact royal burial‚ this monument to Tut’s death has been invaluable to our knowledge of Ancient Egypt. Tutankhamun’s worldly remains have also offered scholars a chance to study the boy king’s life and death‚ inspiring endless theorizing about what led him to his early golden grave.   For modern audiences‚ the tomb is a tantalizing insight into the wealth and secrets of a bygone age. But we should not forget that it served a powerful emotional and spiritual role for its creators and inhabitants. The Egyptians believed that the tomb and all of its treasures would preserve the dead for the next life. In that regard‚ Tut’s tomb has done its job a million times over. Most of the world now recognizes his face. After thousands of years of silence‚ billions of people know his name. In the end‚ this shadowy son of a heretic‚ dead before his 20th birthday‚ got a resurrection more glorious than anyone could have predicted.

  Akhenaten (r. 1354 – 1336 BCE) — the so-called heretic Pharaoh of Egypt — embarked on a radical religious reformation that abandoned Egypt’s traditional polytheism in favor of the worship of the solar deity Aten. His fame has been elevated by his association with his iconic Queen‚ Nefertiti‚ and Tutankhamun‚ believed to be his son and eventual heir. Despite his fame‚ Akhenaten is frustratingly elusive. The heretic Pharaoh was wiped from the records after his reign‚ which left many gaps in the story of the man’s life. Also‚ the material we do have‚ such as his famously unique art and his vivid religious texts‚ do more to inspire speculation than to provide clear answers. Even in death‚ Akhenaten guards his secrets well‚ but the tireless work of historians has pierced the veil and unraveled some of the mysteries that surround one of the most intriguing figures in human history.   1. Akhenaten Was Never Supposed to Be Pharaoh Relief of Akhenaten as a sphinx offering worship to the Aten‚ via Museum of Fine Arts of Boston   Akhenaten was never meant to be Pharaoh. His older brother Thutmose was the Crown Prince and was slated to become Thutmose V. Thutmose had prepared for his role by becoming High Priest of Ptah in Memphis‚ which introduced him to the demands of public life and rituals that would be an important part of a Pharaoh’s rule.   Meanwhile‚ Akhenaten‚ then still called Amenhotep‚ was all but absent. A single wine docket from his father’s palace in Thebes which mentions the “estate of the King’s son Amenhotep” is the only certain reference to him during Amenhotep III’s reign. None of the official monuments depict young Akhenaten‚ but this isn’t unusual for princes in this period.   However‚ Thutmose died suddenly in the final years of his father’s reign. The circumstances of his death are unknown‚ but his early demise paved the way for Egypt’s most controversial Pharaoh to take his place.   2. Rebellion? Statuette of Crown Prince Thutmose grinding grain‚ 14th Century BCE‚ currently in the Louvre‚ via Wikimedia Commons   At first‚ Amenhotep IV’s reign was stable and familiar. However‚ around year 3 or 4‚ he broke tradition by holding the sacred Sed festival in honor of the Aten‚ which was only supposed to be held upon a Pharaoh’s 30th year. He also built Aten temples inside Amun’s sacred temple complex in Thebes. By year 5‚ he had changed his name to Akhenaten and was openly professing a new religion.   These blatant displays of disrespect for tradition seem to have created enemies. This might be why Akhenaten abandoned the old capital of Thebes and chose to found his new city at Amarna.   The boundary stela‚ which marked out the Amarna site‚ carries intriguing inscriptions that suggest people were not pleased with their new Pharaoh. Akhenaten’s inscriptions describe how he heard things “worse than those I’d ever heard” and worse than anything “heard by any kings who had assumed the White Crown.”   Boundary Stela N at Amarna as it appeared in 1907 (top) and a reconstruction (bottom)‚ via the Amarna Project   Some Egyptologists believe these inscriptions refer to a conspiracy‚ perhaps even a rebellion against Akhenaten. The Pharaoh would never admit such a thing openly‚ but these inscriptions hint at a secret that Akhenaten tried to bury. More than just a holy city‚ Amarna was a refuge from a resentful Egypt that opposed Akhenaten’s radical revolution.   Unrest continued throughout his reign. Tribes in Nubia rebelled in year 12 of his reign‚ and Egyptian vassals in Syria and Cannan slipped out of their grasp. Most notably‚ King Aziru of Amurru began raiding Egyptian allies in Canaan. Aziru was summoned to Egypt but was never punished and soon defected to ally himself with the rising Hittite Empire‚ which was beginning to rival Egypt’s power in the region.   At home and abroad‚ many people were eager to be rid of the power of the radical ruler.   3. Hidden Sickness? Colossal Statue of Akhenaten found at Karnak‚ now in the Berlin Museum‚ via Egypt Museum   Akhenaten’s unusual appearance has captivated scholars and artists alike. The exaggerated features — the slender face‚ elongated limbs‚ pronounced breasts‚ wide hips‚ and elongated skull‚ to name a few — have raised an obvious question: was this what he actually looked like? What secret health issues did Akhenaten have to give him his bizarre appearance?   Interpreting Amarna art is tricky. Egyptologists are divided on whether these depictions are intended to be accurate or are heavily stylized. The almost androgynous appearance has been claimed by some scholars as a symbolic representation of Pharaoh and his god’s universal dominion over all things‚ while the wide hips suggest fertility and life-giving power.   However‚ if these depictions are supposed to be lifelike‚ they hint at a number of potential health issues that could have plagued Akhenaten. Marfan Syndrome‚ which causes unusual deformations in skeletal structure‚ is one explanation for the overlong limbs‚ wide hips‚ and unusual facial shape in Akhenaten’s statues. Hormonal disorders like Aromatase Excess Syndrome or Frohlich’s Syndrome could explain the pronounced breasts and protruding belly‚ which contrast with the hard muscles and peak physical form that most Pharaohs were presented in.   One of the most controversial diagnoses is that Akhenaten had temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). One 2012 study proposed that Akhenaten’s religious schism‚ predicated upon the sun and light‚ could be the result of photosensitive seizures caused by TLE. Epilepsy has been proposed as a rational explanation for religious experiences for other figures such as Muhammad and Joseph Smith‚ and modern patients with TLE have sometimes reported that the seizures felt like a religious or spiritual experience.   Speculating about these illnesses is one thing‚ but confirming them is another. Assuming we have Akhenaten’s body — which is an entire debate in itself — DNA testing for health conditions such as these has been controversial. Attempts to find similar conditions in Tutankhamun have proved inconclusive and there’d be no way to confirm TLE through modern forensic techniques.   Still‚ there is a strong possibility that Akhenaten was not a healthy or physically well man.   4. Incest Bust of Nefertiti‚ Akhenaten’s wife and possible cousin‚ via Staatliche Museen zu Berlin   Some of those health problems might have come from incest in past generations of the royal family‚ something Akhenaten was no stranger to either.   One popular theory is that Nefertiti was actually Akhenaten’s cousin. Nefertiti may have been the daughter of the official Ay‚ who himself may have been Akhenaten’s uncle by being the younger brother of Queen Tiye. Both of these relationships are speculative or based on limited evidence‚ but they’ve enjoyed some popularity with historians.   Akhenathen‚ Nefertiti and Meritaton making a water’s offering to Aton (Re). Source: Istock   But Akhenaten’s incest only begins there. A 2010 DNA study asserted that Tutankhmaun’s parents were full-blooded siblings. Since Akhenaten is almost universally accepted as Tut’s father‚ that would make Tut’s mother one of Akhenaten’s own sisters. Akhenaten had at least 4 of them that could have given him a son. Perhaps‚ as Nefertiti kept producing daughters‚ Akhenaten tried for a son with a different member of his own family.   The worst was still to come. Not content with his cousin and his sister‚ Akhenaten went for his own daughters. Two princesses named Meritaten-Tasherit and Ankhesenpaaten-Tasherit (Meritaten the Younger and Ankhesenpaaten the Younger) appear in reliefs and inscriptions at Amarna. It has been proposed that these children were the offspring of an incestuous father-daughter marriage with his actual daughters of Meritaten and Ankhesenpaaten. They appear late in his reign when both daughters would just barely be old enough to bear children.   Statue of an Amarna Princess‚ usually believed to be Meritaten‚ via the Louvre   Other theories suggest these children were the offspring of another man‚ Smenkhkare‚ or the daughters of Akhenaten and another lesser wife called Kiya‚ but incest is the most common explanation for these two girls.   Until the remains of any of these Amarna princesses are found‚ we cannot know for certain who these young children were and whether they truly came from a union between a father and his own daughters.   5. Suffering People Reconstruction of the temples and palaces of Amarna‚ by Paul Docherty‚ via World History Encyclopedia   Amarna may have been a paradise to Akhenaten‚ but it was not so for its other residents.   To build his capital‚ Akhenaten employed thousands of laborers and filled the city with many residents. We don’t know how many people Akhenaten forcibly relocated to his new city and how many simply followed the Pharaoh by their own choice.   Amarna art depicts tranquil family scenes and other signs of splendor‚ but the reality wasn’t so rosy for those thousands who lived and worked there. Excavations have uncovered the graves of the common folk around the city and their remains paint a grim picture. The bodies show signs of damage from hard labor and many clearly died from injuries they sustained while building Akhenaten’s grand city.   Additionally‚ the bodies at Amarna are consistently smaller than remains found elsewhere in Egypt during this period. This suggests that the residents were malnourished and in poorer health than those outside of the city.   Rather than a paradise for the average citizen‚ Amarna was a place of grueling labor and limited food that must have made their lives difficult.   Lower body of Taweret‚ goddess of childbirth and protector of mothers‚ found at Amarna‚ via Liverpool Museums   It’s perhaps no surprise that archaeologists have found icons of other gods besides the Aten amid the remains of the common folk. The protective dwarf deity Bes and the hippo-goddess Taweret who protected women in childbirth are among the deities whose icons have been found hidden among the possessions of Amarna’s people. It seems the common folk were not eager to worship the god in whose name they suffered and starved‚ and in their desperation‚ they clung to the old gods who had protected their ancestors for centuries.   6. Akhenaten: Teacher of Moses? Photograph of Sigmund Freud‚ author of Moses and Monotheism‚ 1932‚ via Musée d’art et d’histoire du Judaïsme   Akhenaten’s profession of a single supreme deity in Egypt during the 14th century BCE has inevitably raised the question: did he have anything to do with another monotheistic religion that claims to have been in Egypt around this time?   The historicity of Moses and the Biblical Exodus has its adherents and its opponents. Few serious scholars argue that events played out exactly as described in the Book of Exodus‚ but many historians have been willing to accept that the story was based on some kernel of truth. Most estimates place the original event during the reign of Ramesses II‚ who took the throne about 50 years after Akhenaten’s death.   Since the re-discovery of Akhenaten and his Atenist religion‚ some have suggested that Judaism and Atenism were linked. The most famous advocate of this theory was famed psychologist Sigmund Freud‚ who argued in his 1938 Moses and Monotheism that Moses was an acolyte of Akhenaten who iterated upon the Atenist religion after Akhenaten’s death and turned it into the Abrahamic faith we know today.   Ramses II‚ British Museum and Turin Museum.   Evidence for such a theory is almost non-existent. However‚ a number of interesting coincidences have kept the fires of the Atenist-Judaism theory alive. For example‚ the dating of the Exodus to about Year 20 of Ramesses II’s reign. Placing it just over 40 years before the first mention of Israel and around the time of the death of Ramesses’ firstborn puts Moses’ birth into the reign of Akhenaten. Moses might have grown up in the heady days of Akhenaten’s monotheistic revolution. Furthermore‚ the Great Hymn to the Aten has distinct similarities with the Biblical Psalm 104. Almost identical lines and imagery led even C.S Lewis to acknowledge the similarities in his commentaries on the Psalms‚ where he accepted the possibility that Moses could have been influenced by the ideas of Akhenaten.   Was Moses an acolyte or follower of Akhenaten? Did Akhenaten’s religious experiment prefigure the Abrahamic faiths we know today? The question is unlikely to be settled any time soon‚ but that will not stop endless speculation.   7. Akhenaten — The Forgotten Heretic Reconstructed talatat relief from Akhenaten’s Temple of Aten in Karnak‚ discovered in the filling for the 9th Pylon of Karnak‚ via Luxor Museum   The underlying truth about Akhenaten is that‚ in a way‚ everything was a secret. At least‚ it was supposed to be.   After a controversial reign that sapped Egypt’s internal and external strength‚ his son pivoted back to the old religion. Amarna was abandoned‚ the new art style was phased out‚ and Prince Tutankhaten became King Tutankhamun‚ completing the restoration of the traditional gods of Egypt. Tut did not even mention his father during his reign and preferred to attach himself to his revered grandfather Amenhotep III instead.   After Tut’s premature death‚ this uncomfortable chapter in Egyptian history was torn out all together. Under Horemheb and the Ramessides‚ the heretic pharaoh who had attacked the gods was condemned to oblivion. The names of Akhenaten and his successors including Tut were struck from official records‚ all of Akhenaten’s temples were torn down and their bricks were used as filling for other buildings‚ and every image or mention of Akhenaten was destroyed or buried.   Akhenaten by Winifred Brunton‚ 1932. Source: Wellcome Collection   The traumatic experience of Akhenaten’s reign kept him alive in popular memory even if the official records refused to acknowledge him. Centuries after his death‚ when artifacts of the ‘criminal’ were discovered in the tomb KV55‚ the workers still knew to destroy all mentions of the heretic king.   However‚ Akhenaten’s enemies were not omnipotent. Some traces slipped through the cracks. Amarna itself was abandoned but not completely destroyed. From these scraps‚ modern scholars have reconstructed his fascinating reign. The man that Egypt wanted to erase is now one of its most well-known figures. Rather than causing history to forget‚ the erasure of Akhenaten has only made him more tempting. For archaeologists‚ theologians‚ psychologists‚ and more‚ the secrets Akhenaten still keeps are as fascinating as the ones he has already revealed to us.