Certificate of Completion
At the end of this course you will be able to download a personalised certificate of completion from the classroom. A great way to keep track of your learning and celebrate your Egyptological journey.
The Great Hymn to the Aten
Hieroglyph Reading Class
with Dr Maiken Mosleth King
8 weeks: 10th June- 29th July
Times: 7.30-9pm* (UK Times) Tuesday evenings to join live.
We love to see you for the live lectures, but if you have to miss one, don't worry, you can of course catch up (or watch again) at your leisure via the recordings. You will have access to the recorded lectures for a whole month after the last live lecture. Recordings will be available until 29th August.
Do you have a basic understanding of Middle Egyptian grammar and Egyptian hieroglyphs? Do you wish to increase your proficiency and ability to read Middle Egyptian texts? If so, this reading course is for you!
Pharaoh Akhenaten of the 18th dynasty is famous for having created a religious reform, abolishing the worship of Amun and devoting his attention to a solar deity named the Aten. Manifested in the sun disk, the Aten had no anthropoid or animal forms. To herald the new era of Atenism, Akhenaten founded a new capital on virgin soil, named Akhetaten, ‘Horizon of the Aten’. Here, Akhenaten composed his Great Hymn to the Aten, a lengthy theological treatise describing the nature of the deity in great detail.
The most complete version of this hymn survives today from Southern tomb 25 at Amarna, belonging to an official Ay, who would later become pharaoh. It is a fascinating religious text with elements that some scholars have likened to Psalm 104.
Join us for this reading course as we read the Great Hymn. As we go along, we will discuss grammar and the cultural meanings of the text. Students will receive access to grammar and vocabulary resources for self-study between sessions. All sessions are recorded, so that you can follow the course at your own pace.
Students will receive access to grammar and vocabulary resources and homework is provided for self-study between sessions.
You can join the classes live to share translations, ask questions and discuss alternative readings, or if you prefer you can catch up via the recordings (which also provide a great way to revise.) You also have the option to join our supportive student hieroglyph group where you can ask questions, share information and discuss the text between classes.
*Please note that the session on the 1st July will start slightly later, the live lecture will start at 7.45 to enable students who are also ESB members to attend the ESB meeting
Maiken Mosleth King
Maiken Mosleth King is a Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Bristol, where she is also finalising her PhD thesis on funerary stelae and identity in Roman Egypt. She has previously completed a BA and MA in Egyptology at the University of Liverpool. She has published academic articles in Gottinger Miszellen and the Journal of History and Cultures, as well as contributing to the catalogue of the exhibition ‘Emotions in Antiquity and Ancient Egypt’ at the Museum of Cultural History in Oslo, Norway. Her linguistic skills are broad and include Coptic, Classical Greek, Latin, Biblical Hebrew, Phoenician, classical Arabic and hieroglyphs, which she has taught for a number of years.
Booking instructions
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Session links will be available in the course Classroom. Room opens 30 minutes before the lecture begins. If you do not have the course link or have any other queries please get in touch.