Abstract
The monuments of Amenhotep III at Amarna have long perplexed scholars by their ambiguous nature. In the first section of this paper the deification of Amenhotep III is examined through his votive sculpture, which appears after his Year 30 rendered in a new artistic style featuring unusual solar iconography. In the second section a new identification of a statuette group excavated by Petrie at Amarna, UC 004, is proposed, and the criteria for that identification examined. The paper concludes with a discussion of the theological relationship between Amenhotep III and Akhenaten expressed in their art, where Amenhotep III's later iconography reflects his identification with the sun's disk and the creator-god Atum-Re, while Akhenaten's iconography emphasizes his role as Atum's firstborn, Shu. It is suggested that the two kings ruled together in the ritual roles of Atum and Shu as an integral part of Amenhotep III's deification programme, and that the senior king was the original focus of his son's Aten cult.
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