Akhenaton was the first pharaoh to introduce the concept of monotheism, the worshipping of only one god, as opposed to polytheism, the worshipping of many gods. The people of Egypt had usually depicted gods in either animal or human form in their paintings and sculptures in order to help give them a physical form that they could worship. However, under Akhenaton's new ideas, the only god was Aton, which was represented with the form of a sun disk. Artwork also changed in sync with this change in religion. The statue of Akhenaton incorporated these new changes, and the statue itself acts like a symbol for Akhenaton's revolutionary ideas.
The statue has many interesting and defining characteristics. The statue of Akhenaton is made of sandstone and is approximately 13 feet high. Upon seeing it for the first time, the first thing that becomes apparent is that one of the arms is broken off. …
