Great Temple of The Aten - Worship

Worship

The cult of the Aten was celebrated daily and was very simple. Although there were other priests, Akhenaten acted as his own High Priest and special roles were given to the royal women. Since there was no cult statue, the traditional acts of raising and washing the god played no role in the Great Temple and worship rather consisted solely of singing hymns and giving offerings to the Aten. Some hymns told stories, such as one that attributed the Aten with the creation of the human race and recognized that people were created differently, to speak different languages and have different colored skins, while other hymns simply expressed adoration and gratitude to the Aten. Offerings consisted of food, drink, flowers, and perfume and were often accompanied by burning incense and pouring libations. To consecrate offerings, a special baton called a hrp was used to touch the offerings, marking it as meant for the Aten.

On each day, the Royal Family approached the temple on chariots after riding up and down the Royal Road, and entered the temple precinct and presented offerings in front of the Gem-Aten. The King and Queen then consecrated their offerings with the hrp while their daughters rattled instruments called sistra. The family then passed through the pylons of the Gem-Aten and mounted the steps of the High Altar where there were offerings of meat, poultry, vegetables, and flowers already laid out and surmounted by three pans of burning incense. As the King and Queen officiated, priests then placed offerings on many of the other altars for the public people while music was played. The Princesses continued to rattle the sistra while four male chanters sang hymns to the Aten within the Gem-Aten court. Outside the Gem-Aten were female musicians who performed along with the temple choir which was made up of blind singers and a blind harpist. These musicians performed at intervals throughout the day and were never allowed beyond the outer court.