Aton
/ˈeɪ.tən/noun
Aton is the ancient Egyptian sun disk deity, especially associated with the religious reforms of Pharaoh Akhenaten.
Did you know?Akhenaten’s worship of Aton radically displaced Egypt’s traditional gods for a time, making it one of history’s earliest known experiments in exclusive monotheistic-style worship.
Etymological Timeline
Middle Kingdom or earlier
Egyptian
jtn
“The sun disk or visible solar orb”
14th Century BCE
Egyptian
Jtn
“A divine solar disk receiving formal worship during the reign of Amenhotep III”
c. 1353–1336 BCE
Egyptian
Aten
“The supreme solar deity promoted by Pharaoh Akhenaten”
14th Century BCE
Egyptian
Akhenaten
““Effective for the Aten,” the royal name adopted by Amenhotep IV”
19th–20th Century
Egyptology
Aton/Aten
“Scholarly and English forms used for the ancient Egyptian solar deity”
Modern English
English
Aton
“The sun-disk god of Akhenaten’s religious system”