Discover the Ancient World: Top 14 Fun and Fascinating Facts About Akhenaten!

1. Divine Dad Bod

Step aside, hourglass figures and manly biceps: this ancient Egyptian pharaoh was rocking the "divine dad bod" long before it became cool! Akhenaten, a true trendsetter, flaunted his fabulously androgynous physique like nobody's business, setting a precedent for regal beauty standards thousands of years later. But wait, there's more: Akhenaten's unique appearance was actually the result of a genetic mutation which caused his body to convert more male hormones to female hormones, resulting in wide hips and breasts. As a male ruler, he still managed to father at least six children, confirmed by a Yale University physician's analysis of ancient images. That's one way to rewrite the gender norms!
Source => nbcnews.com

2. Property Brothers of Egypt

In a move that would make the Property Brothers jealous, an ancient Egyptian Pharaoh played the ultimate game of Fixer Upper by starting his own religious cult and creating a whole new sun-worshipping city: Akhenaten, originally known as Amenhotep IV, promoted the sun god Aten above all others, constructing grand temples and even founding a shiny new capital called Akhetaten. Despite this divine dedication, his so-called monotheistic religion still had a side-serving of polytheism, and his solar-powered legacy eventually faded, much like a sunset on the Nile.
Source => arce.org

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=> Fun Facts about Pharaohs

3. Ancient Poetic Prodigy

Move over Shakespeare, there's a lesser-known poetic prodigy in town from ancient Egypt: Akhenaten was not only an innovative pharaoh who dabbled in revolutionizing religion and architecture, but he was also a master wordsmith, composing some of the most exquisite hymns and prayers to the Aten, his chosen sun god – giving us rays of literary sunshine to cherish forever.
Source => metmuseum.org

4. Fairy Godmother's Egyptian Architecture

Before Cinderella's fairy godmother realized her true talent for turning pumpkins into carriages, she dabbled in the ancient Egyptian real estate game, granting a peculiar Pharaoh some out-of-the-box architectural oddities: Akhenaten, the innovative ruler, shook up the construction norms of New-Kingdom Egypt by employing standard-sized stone bricks called Talatats and houses in his capital city Amarna that didn't need to support hefty roof slabs.
Source => news.cnrs.fr

5. Ancient Aliens: India Edition

Before phoning home, E.T. may have dialed up some Indian temples: Ancient alien theorists speculate that the intricate carvings on the stonework of the Indian temples of Vijayanagara could actually depict interactions between ancient Indian cultures and extraterrestrial beings, with images suggesting possible harnessing of cosmic energy and communication with aliens.
Source => history.co.uk

6. Egyptian Picasso

Move over, Picasso, there was an ancient Egyptian king who also had a thing for elongated faces and bodies: Akhenaten introduced a groundbreaking art style that featured his family in a hyper-realistic yet bizarre manner, significantly deviating from the traditional Egyptian art and inspiring future creativity long after his reign.
Source => nationalgeographic.co.uk

7. Celestial Love Story

In a plot twist worthy of celestial proportions, Akhenaten ditched the Egyptian god squad and embarked on a golden romance with the sun disk: During his reign, he established the worship of Aten as the primary religion, resulting in significant changes in art, architecture, and even founding a new city called Akhetaten, dedicated to the sun-tastic deity.
Source => metmuseum.org

8. Amarna Tomb Makeover

If it ain't baroque, don't fix it: Ahmose, an Egyptian noble with a penchant for symmetry, built his son Nefer-kheperu-ra a fabulously pharaoh-approved tomb, Amarna Tomb 3, featuring a disfigured limestone statue and an impressive cruciform layout—although, it had nothing to do with Akhenaten's burial, as the artsy ruler had his own trendsetting tomb elsewhere in Amarna.
Source => en.wikipedia.org

9. Egyptian Minecraft

"Spot the Block!", said Akhenaten, ushering in a whole new era of ancient Egyptian Minecraft with his trend-setting talatat obsession: This innovative pharaoh not only revolutionized the building game but also stirred up the divine scene by initially embracing a variety of gods, eventually going all-in on his sun god Aten, turning him from a falcon-headed deity to the shining centerpiece of the cult.
Source => arce.org

10. Identity Theft: Pharaoh Edition

Before Horemheb was the King of Denial, he was the Pharaoh of Identity Theft: Horemheb, the last pharaoh of the XVIII Dynasty, tried to erase all traces of Tutankhamen by chiseling off Tut's name from numerous monuments and sneakily replacing it with his own, all to disassociate from the frowned-upon beliefs of Tut's dad, Akhenaten.
Source => wondriumdaily.com

11. Real-Life Amarna SimCity

When Akhenaten played real-life SimCity and outdid us all: he built an entire capital city called Amarna, compelled 20,000 Thebans to pack their bags and strike tents, and filled his new crib with palaces, ornamental lakes, and lavish gardens – all in the name of 'Temple Run: Aten Edition'.
Source => pbs.org

12. Enigmatic Family Reunion

If you think your family gatherings are filled with unusual characters, you should've seen Akhenaten's: a pharaoh's clan with heads that looked like they belonged atop Easter Island statues! The serious scoop: Akhenaten, his wife Nefertiti, and their children were known for their elongated, flat-topped skull shapes, possibly due to head binding, but the real cause remains an unsolved enigma as identities of mummies and conclusive evidence continue to elude researchers.
Source => psychologytoday.com

13. Pharaoh RuPaul's Drag Race

If Akhenaten walked into a modern-day bar, you might think he's auditioning for RuPaul's Drag Race with his peculiar curvy figure and an avant-garde headpiece: In reality, this ancient Egyptian pharaoh's unique appearance was due to genetic mutations that made his body produce more female hormones, causing wide hips and breasts, while his oddly-shaped head resulted from early skull bone fusion. Despite his androgynous physique, Akhenaten fathered six daughters and introduced monotheism to Egypt in the mid-1300s B.C.
Source => nbcnews.com

14. Extreme Makeover: Genetics Edition

Who knew Pharaohs participated in the ancient Egyptian version of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition? Turns out, Akhenaten's atypical appearance wasn't artistically inclined, but rather a family affair of genetic anomalies: In reality, the peculiar physiognomy seen in Egypt's 18th Dynasty was likely due to a hereditary disorder such as aromatase excess syndrome, sagittal craniosynostosis syndrome, or a variant of the Antley-Bixler syndrome caused by a unique mutation.
Source => acpjournals.org