Page:The Pharaohs and their people; scenes of old Egyptian life and history (IA pharaohstheirpeo00berkiala).pdf/161

 shipped under the name and figure of the sun, but this was regarded as only one of his manifestations, who was a being 'of many names, of holy transformations, of mysterious forms.' But the new king worshipped Aten or the sun's disk, and recognised no other god. He also adopted the name of Khu-en-aten or 'Splendour of the Disk.' It is hard to understand theological controversies of so very ancient a date, but it is easy to feel what must have been the indignation among the priests and people at Thebes, when a royal edict was issued commanding that the names of Amen and of Mut should be erased from all the monuments in this, the ancient seat of their worship. Royal authority, however, proved sufficient to accomplish this outrage upon the national faith, but the king's further scheme of erecting a temple to his god Aten in Thebes itself could not be carried out, the influence of the rich and powerful priesthood and the strength of the national feeling were too great.

Khu-en-aten therefore abandoned Thebes altogether, and migrated with his court to a