Religious practices did not start when Jesus Christ was born. Many people in modernity share this misconception. It started years before that, within ancient civilizations. Many of the modern era’s religious traditions, beliefs and practices derive from antiquity, hundreds of years before the birth of Jesus Christ. Some of these similarities come from leaders or figures of antiquity who rebelled against their society’s religious values. Akhenaten’s “Great Hymn to the Aten” and the Apology of Socrates have obvious superficial differences, however they both prove how each great leader’s rebellious thinking shaped modern religion.
Akhenaten reigned over Egypt from around 1353-1336 BCE. During his time as pharaoh, he radically changed traditional Egyptian religion. Preceding his rule, Egyptians’ religion was largely polytheistic. Akhenaten soon banished all religious traditions, and instituted the first recorded monotheistic religion. He believed that the sun god, Aten, was the one and only deity. In his “Great Hymn” he writes “O sole god, whom there is no other,” (Akhenaten 5). Akhenaten is stating his belief that there is only one God that rules, rather than traditional Egyptian belief that there are many. Akhenaten also believes that Aten rules over “the countries of Syria, Nubia, (and)the land of Egypt,” (Akhenaten 5). In antiquity, each country and society believed they had their own god or set of gods, however Akhenaten believed his sole god ruled over all. This idea that there is one god that is regnant over everyone is identical to the beliefs of modern day’s Abrahamic faiths. After his death, the succeeding pharaoh condemned him as the “heretic king” and believed his beliefs and memory needed to be eradicated. Historians, however, have commended Akhenaten’s reforms as being the first instance of monotheistic religion. Some have gone on to link aspects of Jesus Christ’s relationship with God to be similar to Akhenaten’s relationship to Aten. Abrahamic religions in the modern era practice with the same ideas that Akhenaten had thousands of years before Jesus Christ was even born. The religion Akhenaten initiated, which was overthrown after his death, was based on the worship of the same Holy Father that all Abrahamic believers follow today.
There is no argument that Socrates was one of the greatest contributors of intellectual development to ever live. Without Socrates, all of history and the modern era would be profoundly different, but many of his ideas at the time were widely viewed as defamation. Ancient Greeks who lived among Socrates worshiped a group of twelve gods that they believed lived on Mount Olympus in Greece. These gods strongly affected their daily lives; they held daily worships, gave offerings constantly, and believed the way to live a fulfilling life was by serving and pleasing the gods. Socrates spent his time challenging thought and questioning ideas rather than worshiping the gods. The Oracle of Delphi went to Socrates and told him he was the wisest man of all, which he did not believe. This made him question the idea of wisdom, and what makes a man wise. Socrates was charged impiety, meaning disregarding the pantheon of Athens. The Athenian government believed that Socrates ignored religious practices and did not seek to honor the gods. Plato writes his rebuttal of the charges in the Apology of Socrates; “but necessity was laid upon me- the word of the divine…(to) find out the meaning of the oracle,” (Plato 17). He believed that he was not guilty of impiety because he was following the word of the Oracle of Delphi. He spent time doing what he believed was his mission from the gods; examining people and convincing his fellow citizens that the most important thing as humans is virtue, and doing what is right. This is a major theme in religions like Christianity; the idea that the way to live is by blindly following God. Christians, among other religions, believe strongly that God has a path for everyone, and Socrates claimed he was trying to follow his. In his apology, he also makes a point to say “this occupation quite absorbs me… (and) I am in utter poverty by reason of my devotion to the divine,” (Plato 17). Socrates did not center his life around pleasing the gods in exchange for wealth, which was tradition in ancient Greece. Socrates believed that wealth was not nearly as valuable as having strong values and a healthy soul. Many modern religions focus on the same idea. The Bible states that “a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions,” (Luke 12:15). This is an idea that Socrates is harvesting in ancient Greece, close to 400 years before the New Testament was written. The trial was over, and the court sentenced him to death. Socrates did not purposely defy ancient Greek religion, nor was he ever clear on his true religious stance. Socrates, however, had an unorthodox view and practice of religion for his time and was sentenced to death because of it.
Akhenaten and Socrates were superficially different in many ways, but they shared common values. Their ideas and practices of religion were seen as blasphemous during their lifetimes, but are now customary belief in many modern religions. Akhenaten is the father of monotheism. He holds the record of being the first to believe that the one god rules over the whole universe. After Akhenaten’s death, he was referred to as heretic. Statues and memorials built of him were torn down, as the new pharaoh attempt to erase his legacy.
Akhenaten was the pharaoh and made everyone he ruled over believe in his monotheistic view while Socrates was more of a lone wolf of his time. Socrates set out on a mission he believed his god called him to do. Socrates did not worship the gods to get gratification or wealth, he followed his god in order to gain virtue and do what is best. His ideas and actions were punishable by death in his era. Socrates and Akhenaten were chastised for their defiant thought, but both of their ideas are apparent in the modern era’s religious practices.
Both Akhenaten and Socrates, however, rebelled against common religious belief of their time, and were condemned for it. Neither of them worried about being judged or consequences they would face, but instead believed in a stronger, higher power. Together, but separately, Akhenaten and Socrates shaped major aspects of modern day religions.