U. S. Department of Education Title VI Project: "The Middle East and Cross-Regional Connections 2003-2005"

Fay Beauchamp
fbeauchamp@ccp.edu
Department of English and Humanities Coordinator
Community College of Philadelphia
1. Unit Title: Religion and Women in Ancient Egypt: Focus on Akhenaten and Nefertiti

2. Target Courses: A module for Humanities 101, Cultural Traditions; History 120 World History; English 245 World Literature, History 180: Women in History, and/or Art History 103. Also intended for CAP A, B, or C or linked ESL courses combining reading and writing. C Level includes English 108 which prepares students for college work across the disciplines.

3. Unit Goals:
--To increase students' analysis and evaluation of texts through an interdisciplinary approach which juxtaposes evidence from primary written sources, archeological/visual evidence and secondary sources, and a modern novel written by the Nobel Prize winning Mahfouz.
--To show how different points of view can shape interpretation of "facts" (Mahfouz shows how different points of view can shape interpretation of Akhenatan and his wife, the famous Nefertiti.
--To understand the cultural complexity of ancient Egypt and challenge views of a static and uniform three-thousand-year recorded history.

4. Background introduction: Akhenaten was the Egyptian Pharaoh from 1375-1358 B.C.E. in what is called the New Kingdom period. He promoted worship of the sun over other gods and built a new royal city Akhet-Aten. His regard of the sun has been compared to monotheism. Akhenaten's wife, Nefertiti, is perhaps famous because of the canonical status given to the painted bust found in the city Akhet-Aten. But the number of depictions of Nefertiti also demonstrate that she was an unusually highly regarded queen.

Background questions for students: Using the map, note the location of the Mediterranean Sea, Alexandria, Rosetta, Cairo, Giza, Amarna (Akhetaten), and Luxor (Thebes), Aswan.

Write a timeline putting the following in chronological order with dates:

Alexander the Great's establishment of Alexandria
King Tutankhamen's re-establishment of the capital at Thebes (Luxor)
King David (of the Bible/Hebrew Scriptures)
Napoleon's finding the Rosetta Stone
Building of the Aswan Dam
The building of the "Great Pyramids" at Giza
King Akhenaten's building of his capital city of Amarna

5. Readings:

Akhenaten's "Hymn to the Sun" c. 1360 from The Norton Anthology of World Literature

The Bible: The Old Testament (Hebrew) Genesis I, The Creation in Norton.
The Koran: (The questions on the Qur'an below can be answered from the section on the Koran in Norton, the introductory passages and "1. The Exordium" among many sources available. There are many different anthologies published by Norton that have the Bible and the Qur'an, so no further citation is given here.

Nahguib Mahfouz Akhenaten: Dweller in Truth Trans. By Tagreid Abu-Hassabo. 1985; New York: Random House, 1998.

David Silverman, ed. Ancient Egypt. New York: Oxford Univ. Press, 1997.

Gay Robins. The Art of Ancient Egypt. Harvard Univ. Press, 1997.

6. Classroom activities: (The following questions can be used by the faculty member to guide discussion, to set up small groups to discuss the questions, or as in-class informal (10-minute) writing exercises, or as homework assignments to be written in advance and discussed in class.)

A. Study/Discussion Questions for the Primary Text "Hymn to the Sun"

Stanza One: Which of the adjectives for the sun seem to treat it as a powerful
natural object?
Which of the adjectives see the sun as divine, with qualities that go beyond the natural?
What is the relationship between the sun and Akhenaten?

Stanza Two: How does the sun seem like a moral force? What type of actions happen in darkness or night?

Stanza Three: Again what qualities of the sun go beyond the natural and seem either human or divine? What is the posture of humans "praising the sun"?

Stanza Four: What kind of ideal world is pictured?

Stanza Five: What is the relationship of the creation of men and women?

Stanza Six: Why could the image of the "chick" stand for humans?
Stanza Seven: What are the attributes of 'god' here?

Stanza Seven and Eight: How is it implied that the sun is god of more than one place?

Stanza Nine: What is the relationship between the Sun and the Nile? To what extent is this naturalistic? (Scientific?)

Stanza Ten and Eleven: How do Stanza Ten and Eleven build upon, expand upon, and summarize the other stanzas?

Stanza Twelve: *What is the relationship between the sun and Akhenaten as king?
(* This question can also be the basis of some paragraphs or a very short essay on the whole poem.)

Questions for the poem as poetry (rather than religion):
Take some lines that are broken in two, such as:

"Now from the Eastern horizon risen and streaming/ you have flooded the world with your beauty"

What is the relationship between both sides of the line? How does the second comment or expand upon the first half? If you were to copy the lines over, how could you set up the lines differently from this translator (John L. Foster) sets them up on the page?

What is accomplished by the repetition of "you" and "your"?

B. Comparative Questions:

Read The Bible, King James Version: Genesis I.

In the Egyptian and Biblical sources, how are the views of light and darkness similar? How do both texts see light and darkness in moral terms?

In Genesis, God creates the world out of a void. Is the Egyptian hymn describing a story of the creation of the earth or of continuing creation of life? What evidence would back up either view?

In comparing the Egyptian hymn to Genesis, does the God in the Genesis or the "Sun God" seem more human? Which one seems more mysterious or abstract or a natural force?

What is the relationship to male and female in Genesis? How does this compare to the Egyptian hymn? What is the relationship between humans and animals in Genesis? How does this compare to the Egyptian hymn?

What is the relationship between the narrator in Genesis and God? How does this compare to the relationship between Akhenaten and the Sun in the Egyptian poem?

C. Integrating information from other disciplines: "The Solar Cycle" Ancient Egypt pp. 118-119.

While Akhenaten and his "Hymn to the Sun" are seen as a departure to Egyptian religion and ideas of kingship, the description given in Silverman's book Ancient Egypt discusses the central role of the sun in Egyptian thought. The two illustrations given are after Akhenaten, and are from 1320 and 1200 BCE.

Exercise 1. for students: Read the section "Aspects of a Single God" (p. 118) and "Manifestations of the Sun" (p. 119). Using your own words define the relationship between between Re and Horus. Make sure you paraphrase and don't quote. Study the two boxes and then try to write your answer from memory.

Exercise 2. How does the written information on these two pages from "The Solar Cycle" explain or add to your understanding of the "Hymn to the Sun"?

Exercise 3. Look at the two illustrations (pages 118 and 119). How do the symbols help convey attitudes toward the sun disc Aten, Horus, and Khepri?

D. Study/Discussion/Essay Questions for Mahfouz's novel Akhenaten.

Chapter "The Beginning" pages 3-6. Meriamun is the narrator who is curious about Akhenaten and his wife Nefertiti.

What is the attitude of Meriamun's father toward Akhenaten?
How does the father's attitude compare to Meriamun's attitude?
Why does Mahfouz start with these two fictional characters?

Chapter "The High Priest of Amun" pages 7-26. Meriamun (and the reader) is gathering evidence from the High Priest of the God "Amun" that the Sun God temporarily replaced through Akhenaten's action.

Main question: How would a reader expect the High Priest of Amun to be biased and how is that expectation supported by the chapter?

Why is it perhaps significant that Akhenaten's mother, Tiye, is from Nubia? Why might she be interested in new policies that have "nothing to do with religion" (p. 9).

Why does Queen Tiye want rule by compassion?

Research questions for internet (or using Norton for the "Koran"): Where is Nubia? What is its connection with Kush mentioned in the Hymn to the Sun?
In the Qur'an what is the role of compassion? Who is known as "compassionate"?
How did God (Allah) reveal himself to Muhammad? (compare to the actions of the "only true god" on page 16?
How did Muhammad have to leave Mecca to get support for his new religion? How does this compare to Akhenaten on p. 23.

What is the High Priest's attitude toward Akhenaten as demonstrated on p. 13
What is the High Priest's attitude toward Nefertiti as demonstrated on p. 13 and 18?

Compare what Akhenaten says about the One and Only God on page 21 with what the Hymn to the Sun says. How is the emphasis the same and how is it different?

How does Mahfouz lead us to not believe the opinions of the High Priest in his disregard for Akhenaten, Nefertiti and her mother Queen Tiye?

Chapter "Ay" pages 27-47 Here Meriamum gets a different version of the life of Akhenaten and Nefertiti from Nefertiti's father, Ay, who was also a counselor to Akhenaten. Akhenaten is at the beginning referred to by the name Amenhotep; Akhenaten would have been Amenhotep IV after the death of his father Amenhotep III, but he changed his name along with his religion.

Main Question: Based on this chapter, Did Akhenaten experience a true religious conversion based on his observations or was he manipulated by his mother? Take a stand, consider both sides of the question, and support your conclusion.

What strengths and weaknesses did Ay find in Akhenaten when he was a child?

What positive and negative things does Ay have to say about Queen Niye?

Comparative Question: How is Akhenaten's conversion to the Sun God as the only God similar or different from Muhammad's? (pp. 33-34)

What is your opinion of Nefertiti based on this chapter (pp. 36-37, 40, 46).

By the end of the chapter, with the discussion of political problems, what is your final impression of the character of Ay? To what degree do you think Mahfouz intends us to trust his judgments or to see him as a biased witness?

E. Exercises for CAP A or B Classes (These would be used instead of some of the study/discussion questions above.)

Distinguishing Fact and Opinion

Facts are verifiable: Even if you don't have the means at hand to check facts, given the evidence two people would agree. These are often a matter of identification or definition.
Excercise I: Read through the Chapter "The High Priest of Amun" and write down in your own words three facts and three opinions given by the characters. Give the page numbers so these can be discussed in class. For example, from page 7,

Three facts:

Thebes was the name of the capital city when Tutankhamun was the Pharaoh.

There was a temple dedicated to the god Amun in Thebes.

People traveled in carriages and carts in Thebes.

Three opinions:

It was a terrible thing that Akhenaten led some people to leave ('desert') Thebes.

The architecture in Thebes was amazing.

The temple of Amun looked grand and proud.

Excercise II: Give three inferences you draw from the facts and opinions you have listed. (These are hypotheses you could test with further reading or research, but are probably not totally verifiable.)

Example of inferences from page 7.

(At this point in the story) The narrator who is traveling to Thebes is a "country bumpkin" who is easily impressed.

The narrator did not approve of Akhenaten for challenging the status quo.

The narrator believes in the worship of Amun.

7. Writing Assignments

A. Short Essay Questions (450-600 words)

For CAP Reading and Writing Courses

1) Based on these chapters from Mahfouz's novel, what opinion do you have of Akhenaten in terms of qualities such as strength, insight, sincerity, wisdom and maturity?

2) Based on these chapters from Mahfouz's novel, what was the position of royal women in ancient Egypt?

Regardless of the essay question you choose, in your answer draw upon the views of both the High Priest and Ay and discuss the differences in their opinions and how you decide among those differences. You must discuss passages from the novel and give the page numbers even when you are summarizing or paraphrasing.

For Humanities 101 and more advanced courses (or CAP A if you want to go ahead)

A. Assignment on Nobel Prize Winner Naguib Mahfouz
From these chapters it is possible to make some inferences about the biases of the author Naguib Mahfouz. You could assign the essay:

Based only on these two chapters, what are your conclusions about the intent of the author Mahfouz in writing this novel? Why is the history of ancient Egypt relevant in modern times? In this essay, you will not be proving your point by going to material about Mahfouz, but speculating based on these chapters. Your evidence must be analysis of the chapters themselves.

{Probably you want to let the above question stand by itself. Or you could have students discuss in class the following questions first:

What do you infer is Mahfouz's attitude toward the intellectual/moral potential of women?

What do you infer is Mahfouz's attitude toward women with political power?

What do you infer is Mahfouz's attitude toward people in general who try to change the political/social status quo?

What do you infer is Mahfouz's attitude toward the superiority of a monotheistic religion over other forms of religion? How religiously tolerant does he seem to be?

What do you infer is Mahfouz's attitude toward Nubian people (the people in Egyptian south and also people south of Egypt's current borders)?

For English 102:

Have students do biographical research on Mahfouz and back up their inferences from material outside these chapters.

Integrating information from other disciplines: "Royal Women" Ancient Egypt pp. 88-89. "The Heresy of Akhenaten" 128-129. "The Great Heresy" from The Art of Ancient Egypt by Gay Robins 149-154.
1. Essay Question: How does written information from "Royal Women" help to understand the relationship of Akhenaten to his mother Niye and to his wife Nefertiti? Is there anything in "Royal Women" that changed your impression of Akhenaten based on Mahfouz's chapters?

2. Exercise: Write two paragraphs focused on the "painted bust" of Queen Nefertiti on page 88 of "Royal Women." (This is best done if students can either find color illustrations on the internet or the instructor can show at least two slides including the bust in profile.) Students should back up their adjectives with details and be both observant and creative. A question: Why among Americans is this one of the most famous images from ancient Egypt?

3. There are eight illustrations of Akhenaten and Nefertiti in the pages from The Art of Ancient Egypt.

Essay Question or study/discussion questions: How did Mahfouz get some of his ideas about the personalities of Akhenaten and his wife from these famous sculptures and drawings? How do the illustrations fit Mahfouz's descriptions and how are they surprising? How does Robins' written text give a different interpretation of how Akhenaten is depicted from Mahfouz's inferences?

B. Longer Essay Assignment (600-800 words)

In this essay the main task is to integrate information from different sources. Try to develop paragraphs that combine information from different sources developing topic sentences that are complex.

Revise the essay on "What is your opinion of Akenhaten and base the essay on both the Mahfouz novel and the illustrations and explanations of those illustrations.

Or

Revise the essay on Royal Women and base the essay on both the Mahfouz novels and the visual and written texts in Silverman and Robins.

7. Further resource for faculty or students:
Tiradritti, Francesco, ed. Egyptian Treasures from the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.
New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1999.

8. Related Website:
For "Hymn to the Sun" and comparative questions see: Norton "Discovery modules" from internet: www.wwnorton.com

9. Syllabus: For different courses different assignments will be used and the length of the unit will vary. In CAP the unit will probably take 3 weeks and start after Week 4