Amenhotep 4

In the midst of countless kings ruling while believing Amun-Re was the most powerful god, there was one king who believed differently. Amenhotep 4 believed that the god Aten was the most important God in Egypt and began building temples for him. Aten was shown in Egyptian art as the beams that came out from the sun. Amenhotep believed he was the living form of the god and built these temples for people to worship him in. He built one of these temples at Karnak. After his rule and his son's rule, order was restored and Amun-Re was the most powerful god again. When Amun came back to the top all temples and art and cities built in Aten's order were deliberately destroyed. This being the case, not much is known about the temple of Aten at the Karnak site.

What is known is that there were three separate parts to the temple. The first part had no roof and had offering tables, probably to offer things to the sun. The second room was devoted to a solar cult, and the third was believed to be used as either a royal residence or a large storage area. The building was demolished, but parts of the building were used in constructing other parts of the Temple of Amun. Some of these pieces have been put back together and are on display.