Amenhotep III: The Dazzling Sundisk
Gayle Gibson is a respected Canadian Egyptologist and a Departmental Associate at the Royal Ontario Museum. She worked for over 20 years as a popular teacher, lecturer and Egypt specialist at the ROM, appears frequently on television as a "guest expert" and has led many groups around Egypt! Her main area of expertise as an Egyptologist concerns mummies and their coffins. Gibson was partially responsible for identifying Pharaoh Ramesses I, (Ramesses II's grandfather!) among the forlorn mummies at the old Niagara museum, and giving him an assist on the road home to Egypt.
Explore Akhenaten and the Amarna Age—Nefertiti, Tutankhamun, and rivals—in a talk series on Egypt's most controversial era.
Akhenaten, a king of the Eighteenth Dynasty, was called 'the first individual in history' by the Egyptologist James Henry Breasted. He's been called some other things, too: a madman, a fascist, or maybe Moses. Respectable scholars have almost come to blows about him.
Akhenaten was not the only larger-than-life figure in his world. In this series of talks we'll also meet his father, Amenhotep the Magnificent, his wife, Nefertiti, and son, Tutankhamun. Among the non-royals, we'll visit one of the greatest geniuses of human history, Amenhotep sa Hapu; the elusive Ay, Master of Horses, God's Father, and, eventually, pharaoh; and the brilliant, inscrutable General Horemheb who put an end to Akhenaten's Revolution and set the stage for Seti I and Ramesses the Great.
When Amenhotep III became king of Egypt, peace treaties and marriage alliances had replaced the conquests and military glory of his ancestors. He was the richest monarch in the world, and the most powerful. Denied a warrior role, he gloried in his role as Son of the Sun and emphasized his closeness to the gods. He identified with the Aten, the dazzling visible disk of the sun.
Gayle Gibson's Bibliography for Talk: Amenhotep III: The Dazzling Sundisk
YouTube
There's an almost infinite number of videos about the Amarna period online, and all one can say is, "Let the buyer beware." Some are terrific, some are factual but dull, and a great many are just nuts. Check the credentials of the speaker and the site of the lecture if you can. The Oriental Institute – now the Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures (ISAC) is always reliable. Lectures given at Museums or Universities are usually trustworthy.
Kemp, Barry. 2017. Birket Habu: Amenhotep III's Ceremonial Lake at Western Thebes. https://egyptianstudysociety.org/
The late Barry Kemp was involved with Amarna times for most of his excavation career; he was the expert on the city of Akhetaten. This particular lecture, while not the most thrilling, is a clear and detailed examination of the area of the palace of Malkata and the great artificial lake.
The Egyptian Study Society site will also lead you to other lectures by Professor Kemp, and more about Amarna by other speakers, as well as many other topics.
Online
(Amenta, Alessa) Progetto Sekhmet. A fine, brief publication of the aims and work of the Progetto Sekhmet, which began by restoring the statues of Sekhmet in the Vatican, and is now working with Dr. Hourig Sourouzian to conserve and repair all of the statues of Sekhmet recently excavated at Kom el Heitan, and to display them in the Outdoor Museum that is being established on the site. Great pictures.
https://m.museivaticani.va/content/dam/museivaticani/pdf/eventi_novita/iniziative/giovedi_musei/2023/77_progetto_sekhmet_en.pdf
Books
There are whole bookcases full of books about Akhenaten and the Amarna period. Unfortunately, they quickly go out of date as new material is excavated or gleaned from study in Museums. One of the best ways to keep up is to watch out for big exhibitions, and find the catalogue. Expensive catalogues often turn up in Second-hand bookstores when the exhibition is over, and can usually be found in libraries. There are usually beautiful images and clear, reasonable essays by a variety of fine scholars. Here are some particularly fine catalogues that are not yet hopelessly out of date.
Arnold, Dorothea et al. 1996. The Royal Women of Amarna. Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York. Lovely colour images and fine essays, one by Toronto's Dr. Lyn Green.
Freed, Rita, et al. 1999. Pharaohs of the Sun: Akhenaten, Nefertiti, Tutankhamun. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. More wonderful pictures and splendid scholarship.
Kozloff, Arielle & Betsy Bryan. 1992. Egypt's Dazzling Sun: Amenhotep III and his World. Cleveland Museum of Art. The very beautiful and thorough exhibition of Amenhotep III in Cleveland has never been surpassed or equalled for information about Amenhotep the Magnificent. There are some very fine colour plates, but most of the images are in greyscale. Well worth seeking out, if you are at all interested.
O'Connor, David and Eric H. Cline. 1997. Amenhotep III, Perspectives on His Reign. This is a companion book of essays for the Cleveland exhibition. Though slightly out-of-date in small things, there is no better guide to the whole period.
Dodson, Aidan 2014. Amarna Sunrise: Egypt from Golden Age to Age of Heresy. Cairo. American Research Center in Egypt. Not a catalogue. Dr. Dodson is terrifically thorough and always as up to date as possible. His books are invaluable, though his style can be a little dry as he tries to present and explain all the facts. Unfortunately, his excellent photos were reproduced in faint greyscale.