The shift from polytheism to monotheism changed the world radically. Akhenaten and Moses-a figure of history and a figure of tradition-symbolize this shift in its incipient, revolutionary stages and represent two civilizations that were brought into the closest connection as early as the Book of Exodus, where Egypt stands for the old world to be rejected and abandoned in order to enter the new one.

A critical examination of the origins and development of monotheism

The shift from polytheism to monotheism changed the world radically. Akhenaten and Moses—a figure of history and a figure of tradition—symbolize this shift in its incipient, revolutionary stages and represent two civilizations that were brought into the closest connection as early as the Book of Exodus, where Egypt stands for the old world to be rejected and abandoned in order to enter the new one.

The seven chapters of this seminal study shed light on the great transformation from different angles. Between Egypt in the first chapter and monotheism in the last, five chapters deal in various ways with the transition from one to the other, analyzing the Exodus myth, understanding the shift in terms of evolution and revolution, confronting Akhenaten and Moses in a new way, discussing Karl Jaspers’ theory of the Axial Age, and dealing with the eighteenth-century view of the Egyptian mysteries as a cultural model.

Chapter 1: Structure and Change in Ancient Egyptian Religion Cult Theology The Guidance of Life Chapter 2: Myth and History of the Exodus: Triumph and Trauma The Mnemohistory of the Exodus Narrative Structure Remember the Exodus The Seder Liturgy Exodus and Utopia Chapter 3: From Poly- to Monotheism: Evolution or Revolution Evolution in Nature and Culture From Monolatry to Monotheism Egypt and Religious Change Chapter 4: Moses and Akhenaten: Memory and History Moses and Akhenaten Akhenaten The Egyptian Trauma The Legend of the 'Lepers' The Reinterpretation of the Pyramids Exodus and Trauma Chapter 5: Ancient Egypt and the Theory of the Axial Age The Theory of the Axial Age Writing as an Agent of Change Literacy and Cultural Memory Secondary Canonization and the Rise of Exegesis Chapter 6: Egyptian Mysteries and Secret Societies in the Age of Enlightenment The 'Mystery Fever' in the Late Eighteenth Century The Imagined 'Egyptian Mysteries' and their Grammatological and Topological BasisThe Magic Flute and the Egyptian Mysteries Chapter 7: Total Religion: Politics, Monotheism, and Violence The Concept ofErnstfall The ReligiousErnstfall The Maccabean Wars: An Early Case of Religious Violence Depoliticizing Religion