Tutankhamen: Anenesim, Atenism and Egyptian Monotheism

by E.A. Wallis Budge

Slight creasing, and edge wear to Dust Jacket. Pages are clean and binding is tight. Solid Book.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Egypt

160 pages, Hardcover

First published December 12, 1988

About the author

Sir Ernest Alfred Thompson Wallis Budge was an English Egyptologist, Orientalist, and philologist who worked for the British Museum and published numerous works on the ancient Near East.

Reviews

[Callum · Rating 5 out of 5]

Four stars for bulk of book, but the last chapter "Egyptian Monotheism" - before the Howard Carter excerpt - is phenomenal. Would say the last chapter is essential reading and summarises the book exceptionally well. If in a rush, just read the last chapter before the excerpt.

Next best parts to read are the actual Hymns from the papyri.

[Rick Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tutankhamen: Amenism, Atenism and Egyptian Monotheism by E. A. Budge. Now that that mouthful of a title is out of the way, on to the review. This book was written by Budge at the behest of Lord Carnarvon himself. The book was originally published in 1923, the year after King Tut’s tomb was discovered, and Carnarvon wanted Budge to write the book in order to dispel some of the crazier misinformation that had been circulating since the discovery. Budge wrote this book which lays out the information available about the development of the cult of Amun, the cult of Aten, and how the two interacted and competed from the time of Thutmose III to the time of Tutankhamen. Also at Carnarvon’s request, several Egyptian hymns were included, printed with the hieroglyphs alongside the translations.

All right, I suppose I should begin by dealing with the negative aspects of this book. First of all, yes, the material on Egyptian religion is wildly outdated. All of the standard spellings of names have also changed, which can make reading it confusing. What did you expect from a book that’s 90 years old about a subject like Egyptology that has developed so dramatically over the last century? However, it must be said that Budge was ahead of his time in many ways. He rejects the ridiculously over-the-top adulation of Akhenaten introduced by men like Breasted even if he does swing the pendulum full force in the other direction by asserting that Akhenaten must have been at least “half insane” as well as “intolerant, arrogant, and obstinate” and a “megalomaniac”.

The other problem is that King Tut gets the top billing both in the title and on the cover of the book, but he isn’t talked about all that much in the book itself. Thutmose III and Amenhotep II and III get most of the attention on the Amun side of things and the Aten side of things in the book is dominated by Akhenaten, for obvious reasons. Tut might have been the selling point, but I think it was a bit of false advertising to get people to buy the book.

However, outdated though it is, the book is still a good read. It shows a historical perspective on this period of the field, considered by many to be the golden age of Egyptology. Seeing Budges relationship with Carnarvon and getting that personal connection through letters and anecdotes is great. Also, as I said before, Budge was ahead of his time on many points and some of the material is still solid today. Just be sure you don’t’ use it as your introduction to this period of Egyptian history. The book is well-written, it has tons of pictures (always a plus in a book about Egypt), it has some good primary sources included, and you can plow through it fairly quickly.

3/5 stars

[Elliot Parker · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had the first edition of this book. It was published in 1923. It is full of wonderful artwork and hieroglyphics stemming from the multitude of dynasties of Ancient Egypt.

This book outlined monotheism and polytheism in Ancient Egypt. The Egyptians generally believed in a multitude of gods with typically one all powerful god who created the rest and gifted powers to the sub-gods to create specific things. However, when Amenhetep IV took charge, he took an extremely unpopular monotheistic route and elected Aten (Solar Disc) as his singular god. He etched any mention of other gods from tablets, statues and other structures. His attempts were wildly unpopular and did not survive after his eventual death. The next Pharaoh, Tutankhamen, restored the position of Amen (one) and reverted back to the spiritual basis that formed the foundations of most of Egyptian religion at the time.

This book provided an interesting insight and the aesthetics provided were glorious. I would recommend this book.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating read, although it was originally published in 1923, it may be a bit out of date.

[H. Givens · Rating 4 out of 5]

Outdated, so it shouldn't be your first or only choice, but as a research source it's fantastic. Clearly and intelligently written, and it's still very good factually as long as you're familiar with more recent scholarship as well.