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The Dream of a Pharaoh

Matthew McAyeal

    Akhenaten, the Pharaoh of Egypt, had a problem. It all began when he saw the great truth that there was only one god, the sun disc Aten. It was so simple and elegant. All life flowed from the sun, therefore the sun must be god. Of course, as he was Pharaoh, it was only through him that the people could know the will of the Aten.
    But there were those who refused to accept this new religion with its one god and one Pharaoh. These traitors seemed to want many gods and many Pharaohs. Apparently, every priest in Egypt was to be a Pharaoh who outranked him, the true Pharaoh! They called him a tyrant — a tyrant when no other Pharaoh had had less control over his subjects! In some parts of Egypt, the people were in open rebellion against his new decrees. It was unheard-of!
    “You must crush these rebels,” said Nefertiti, his Great Royal Wife. “Be firm, my love!”
    “The problem is the priesthood,” he told her, “especially the Priests of Amun. They have held too much power in Egypt for too long, and now they will not give it up.”
    “Then you must have those traitors executed,” said Nefertiti. “Demolish the whole Temple of Karnak if you must. Are you Pharaoh or are you not?”
    And so, Akhenaten summoned Grand Vizier Ay and ordered him to have all the disloyal priests put to death.
    “I beg you not to give me that order, Your Majesty,” said Ay. “I cannot obey it.”
    “What do you mean? Am I not your Pharaoh? Are you not loyal to me?”
    “To you and to the gods.” He emphasized the plural in “gods.”
    “I ought to have you executed for your disobedience!”
    “Executing me will not change what the army is willing to do, and others would be less loyal to Your Majesty than I. You must accept that the Priests of Amun are untouchable.”
    “Untouchable!” thundered Akhenaten. “Am I Pharaoh or are they?!”
    “You are, but the people aren’t just going to forget that Amun was the god who delivered us from the Hyksos.”
    “The Aten is the only god! I will not hear that contradicted in my own house!”
    “Yes, Your Majesty,” said Ay, with a bow of his head.
    To avoid offending his apparently fickle army too much, Akhenaten had to settle for merely closing down all temples that were not dedicated to the Aten. Of course, the Priests of Amun resisted this order, declaring it to be pure heresy. They stirred up the mob against Akhenaten, a mob that now claimed he was no true Pharaoh. The army was able to keep the rabble from storming Malkata Palace, but that seemed to be where Akhenaten’s power ended. He heard that people in the streets were actually afraid to voice support for their Pharaoh.
    “Please, Your Majesty, allow the temples to open,” said Ay. “The Egyptian people have always been content to serve both Pharaoh and the gods. Forcing them to choose was a mistake.”
    “The gods,” muttered Akhenaten. “According to the old ways, to which these traitors claim loyalty, am I not the reincarnation of the god Horus?”
    “Some would see a contradiction in obeying a reincarnation of Horus that denies the existence of Horus,” said Ay.
    “Do you?” asked Akhenaten.
    “I am loyal to my Pharaoh,” said Ay.
    “If that be so,” said Akhenaten, “then you must see how the Priests of Amun have become a threat to the throne of Egypt. If we do not curb their power now, someday the priesthood will be telling the Pharaoh what to do!”
    “I fear that day may have already come, my love,” said Nefertiti.
    Akhenaten seethed, but he wasn’t angry at her. He was angry at how right she was about that.
    “Enough of this treason!” he decided. “Execute the High Priest of Amun. If the others fall in line, they may live. We must set an example that shows I am still Lord of the Two Lands!”
    “You cannot do that, Your Majesty,” said Ay. “It would mean total revolution.”
    “Then so be it!” declared Nefertiti. “We will crush this revolution and teach the rabble a lesson!”
    Akhenaten’s heart swelled to hear her words of unwavering support. Sometimes, he felt she was the only one he could trust. She and their three lovely daughters may have been the only ones who really believed in the Aten as he did.
    “I cannot carry out that order,” said Ay. “The army would rebel.” The contrast to Nefertiti’s loyalty was unmistakable.
    “Why do you continue to defy me, Vizier?” asked Akhenaten. “Is Nefertiti more of a man than you? Follow my order!”
    “While we fight our own people,” said Ay, “the Hittites grow stronger. Already they are encroaching on our frontiers. Do you want to see a Hittite on the throne of Egypt?”
    “What difference would it make if the Pharaoh is just a puppet of the priesthood?” asked Akhenaten.
    “You must execute this traitor!” yelled Nefertiti, pointing at Ay. “Replace him with a man who knows how to follow orders! Or a woman, for I will be your vizier myself if it comes to that!”
    “I can order my own execution if Your Majesty wishes it,” said Ay with a bow. “But I warn you, it could lose you the support of the army.”
    Akhenaten sighed. He got up and paced around his throne room. Nefertiti and Ay both watched him, anxious to hear what he would decide.
    “I never again want to hear these evil words of treason,” said Akhenaten. “If they will not cease in Thebes, I will go down the Nile and build myself a new capital, one dedicated to the Aten.”
    “Your wisdom is great, my love,” said Nefertiti. “I will join you.”
    Akhenaten turned to look pointedly at Ay. “Will you join me too or will you stay here with the traitors and rabble?”
    “I will serve my Pharaoh,” said Ay without hesitation.

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